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Jimmy Breslin: Occupy Wall Street Is A "Human Rights Movement"
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 16, 2011
Modified Oct 16, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 16, 2011
Modified Oct 16, 2011
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Famed New York City journalist Jimmy Breslin, who has spent his long, storied career highlighting the plight of the common man, has visited Zuccotti Park and mingled with the Occupy Wall Street protesters. Not surprisingly, he approves. Calling the protests a "human rights movement" that's "threatening to become historic," Breslin writes in the Daily News, "Each day, the crowd grew larger and there came a moment in a city newsroom when somebody picked up his head and wondered if they couldn't begin to cover the news."
On Mayor Bloomberg, Breslin uses his plain, matter-of-fact style to cut the politician to the quick:
He has an arrogance that, as always with the rich, comes with the poorest knowledge of people. I don't know how the city made him mayor. It also turns out that his lady friend is on the board of the real estate company that handles Zuccotti Park, and that wants to push and con the protesters out of the park. Great surprise! The mayor wants the protesters to beat it out of the park. Bloomberg seems to stand with the people in New York who don't stand for all of the city.
Breslin's most famous column came in 1963 when he wrote about the man who dug John F. Kennedy's grave, but he later wrote about the mob, corresponded with Son of Sam, exposed corruption in Queens and a few years back shined a light on shady building practices in Brooklyn and the exploitation of immigrant labor.
Tagged
corruption
james breslin
jimmy breslin
journalists
mayor bloomberg
occupy wall street
Christopher Robbins
Christopher Robbins is a New York City reporter covering transportation, affordable housing, local politics, and criminal justice. His work has also appeared in New York Magazine, The Village Voice and The New York Times. Chris is a graduate of Patrick Henry High School in Roanoke, Virginia, and enjoys biking to Fort Tilden in the summertime.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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