Citibank Arrests Customers for Trying to Close Accounts
from Economic Times
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Customers of Citibank were arrested over the weekend after trying to close down their bank accounts. Twenty-three customers of Citibank found themselves under arrest after being locked in the bank at 555 La Guardia Place, New York by security guards who even forced legitimate Citibank customers going about their daily business back into the bank .. The Occupy Wall Street movement has seen a resurgence of Eric Cantona’s call for people to withdraw their money from the banks and one site moveyourmoneyproject.org is attempting to assist this move. This notion of removing money from the banks in order to bring them down is a genuine threat to the banking industry and we can expect more arrests by banks who are using the police force as their private security to prevent a collapse in their interests through mass deposit withdrawal
Find a credit union near you here and move your money – mab .. read more
This entry was posted on Monday, October 17th, 2011 at 8:45 AM and filed under Activism, Crime, Economics, Law Enforcement, Legal, Peace, Youth. Follow comments here with the RSS 2.0 feed. Skip to the end and leave a response. Trackbacks are closed.
6 Responses to “Citibank Arrests Customers for Trying to Close Accounts”
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Uh…not quite. I fully support OWS. What I WON’T support is them using the same type of phony “spin” tactics that they accuse the MSM of using.
Even a cursory glance at this video shows that the woman outside was “facilitating” for the protesters inside. No, that does not justify her manhandling or arrest by the NYPD. But to suggest that this woman was JUST a “customer” – simply because she showed an all-too-readily-available checkbook – is the height of hypocrisy. She may well be a customer of the bank. But the “spin” given by the movement on her role in this incident is transparent and shameful.
As for those in the bank, they, too, may well have been customers of the bank. But their “action” was not simply to close their accounts – something which, by the way, would be a fantastic overall action by the movement nationwide. They were in the bank to “protest,” and were being disruptive: “customers” simply seeking to close accounts are not disruptive; they wait on line, get to a teller, and close their account. That was NOT what these “customers” – protesters – were doing. They were making anti-bank comments, and causing commotion within the bank, something “customers” don’t do.
That is not to say that the “occupying” of a bank – whether sitting down or standing up – is not a legitimate “action.” But to undertake such an action and then claim it was NOT an action, is lying, pure and simple, and not worthy of the integrity of the OWS protests.
Posted on 18-Oct-11 at 9:40 am | Permalinkthey’re not claiming it wasn’t an action — it was a peaceful protest – they were essentially arrested for exercising their right to free speech
“transparent and shameful” ?! come on Ian — show me evidence that they were being disruptive. I find it highly dubious with the savvy this movement has shown that they would have gone into the bank yelling and screaming — obviously any time 20 people go into a bank to close their accounts its an “action”, but the fact they there were mahandled and arrested is what’s “shameful”
frankly I’m surprised you would call them “transparent and shameful”, even if you disagree with what they did
Posted on 19-Oct-11 at 7:27 am | Permalinkhere’s a video of the arrests
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdeuuzXS_sY&feature=related
they look pretty peaceful to me
Posted on 19-Oct-11 at 8:02 am | PermalinkThe YouTube video is completely inconclusive, and shows very little except that the woman claiming to be a customer when she gets manhandled and arrested was, unquestionably, in cahoots with the protesters.
What IS conclusive is that a friend of mine who was there (a member of OWS) told me that the protesters inside WERE being disruptive; they were not simply standing quietly in line waiting to close their accounts. They were making comments (most of them snide), including insulting the “paid detail” officer in the bank. They were also making comments to the non-action bank customers, including comments that could be construed as intimidating.
You are putting FAR too much faith in your fellow man, Mike. I support OWS as fiercely as anyone else. But I am saddened and, yes, angry that an action that COULD and SHOULD have been what you seem to believe it was – truly peaceful, with a large group of people symbolically closing their accounts with the bank – became a situation in which the police had little choice but to respond – even if I agree that their response (at least in some cases) was overreactive. The protesters HAD to know that what they were doing would lead to at very least ejection from the bank, and almost certainly some arrests.
With due respect, I am surprised at your naivete and willingness to believe anything and everything you are told about OWS and their actions by whomever you are getting your information from.
Peace.
Posted on 19-Oct-11 at 9:39 am | PermalinkAddendum. To my comments that “But I am saddened and, yes, angry that an action that COULD and SHOULD have been what you seem to believe it was – truly peaceful, with a large group of people symbolically closing their accounts with the bank – became a situation in which the police had little choice but to respond,” I should have added, “and then lied about it to make it seem as if OWS members were being “angels” and the entire fault was that of the NYPD.”
Posted on 19-Oct-11 at 9:40 am | PermalinkOK so you say you have a friend who was there (really? if they took part in the action why are they bad mouthing it?), but you offer no hard evidence — i have more faith in the people who carried out the action than a 2nd hand account, and given the behavior of the NYPD lately i’m waaay more inclined believe they are lying – that’s what they do
not sure what you say OWS “lied” about – if you’re nervous about people closing there bank accounts i suggest moving your money to a credit union – its much safer there
Posted on 19-Oct-11 at 10:50 am | Permalink