A Message from Reverend Billy from the Tombs at NYC Jail
Reverend Billy at The Tombs - photo by Dogseat
The New York Police Department informed us they detained Reverend Billy overnight after his arrest because he was preaching without identification. However, since they claim his being in a Starbucks constitutes tresspassing he may have been held anyway.
Here’s what the Reverend had to say from The Tombs:
“A tough-looking man inside Starbucks interrupted my exorcism to explain that I was banned from all the Starbucks in the world. I said, yes, it’s true. I had this sudden feeling of mildness when he said that to me. I had a moment of floating in the sargasso sea - it was hard to get back to the prayer. Telling me that had the impact of - maybe I had an image of the day when so much of the world is privatized that a person can be told by a mysterious stranger that you can be banned from everywhere.
There was a Reverend Billy doppelganger at the action shouting slogans at me - he seemed to be a new figure as well. He had amplified sound!”
The NYPD have given Reverend Billy trouble on several occaisions because he used amplified sound, apparently that only applies to protest against corporate and government violence.
“I just really want to thank Savitri and James and the members of the choir who were there with me and came inside the Starbucks and sang.
I know that we probably have a lot of work to do and a lot of strange bravery to feel.
We probably have a long way to go before a company like Starbucks would share its profits with someone like a coffee farmer in Ethiopia.
But I feel we’ve taken a step tonight.
What I really want to say is let’s do this again next weekend!”
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