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Hipster Cop Montage Video: Changing Our Perspective On An Internet Meme
By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 17, 2011
Modified Oct 17, 2011
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By
Christopher Robbins
Published Oct 17, 2011
Modified Oct 17, 2011
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As the Occupy Wall Street protesters and the media become more familiar with the styles and faces of the NYPD officers charged to watch over Zuccotti Park, "Hipster Cop" AKA 1st Precinct Community Affairs Detective Rick Lee has stood out in a sea of white and blue and drab Law & Order gray. Little is known about Lee—is he gay? Does he have kids? Is he into mumblecore?—but the Sparrow Project has compiled compelling video footage of Hipster Cop in his native habitat.
Per his speech to a CB 1 meeting regarding the eventual eviction of the protesters from Zuccotti Park, the accompanying article warns demonstrators not to be disarmed by his appearance that sets him apart from his peers: he's still a cop. Yeah the "myriad tumblr references to his style" are funny, the author writes, but "it is important to remember Hipster Cop is part of the process of intimidation, ridicule, an violence being levied against us."
But do we really peg this cop as a "Hipster?" Sure he rocks browline glasses and patterned cardigans, but aren't his shoes a tad polished for a night out at Shea Stadium? And shouldn't he be working at the 90th Precinct in Williamsburg, or the 83rd if he was patrolling Roberta's? Does he even KNOW how to butcher a whole hog? Besides, "hipster" is "lazy journo-speak." And he seems a little to GQ for a stock American Apparel model.
What should "Hipster Cop's" new nom de guerre be?
Tagged
1st precinct
hipster
hipster cop
hipsters
lower manhattan
nypd
occupy wall street
stereotypes
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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