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Mediaite Interviews Derek And John Tabacco: The Faces Of The Anti-Occupy Wall Street Protests

VIDEO
» 59 comments

For the two months that Occupy Wall Street has been in existence, there hasn’t been any real opposition to the movement. Sure, the Tea Party has been planted on the opposite side of the spectrum, and there are plenty of people wishing the protesters would just go away on message boards and in cyberspace. But it’s taken the work of Derek and John Tabacco — two area small business owners — to actually manifest the opposition physically.

They call themselves the Wall Street Freedom Fighters and made their presence known, along with a small group of fellow anti-OWSers, at the protests on Thursday. The Tabaccos held neon green signs that read “Occupy A Desk” and “Get A Job,” catching the attention of both the PIX 11 and Fox 5 news crews.

Mediaite sat down with Derek and John Thursday afternoon, and the brothers explained why they were doing this, how they actually wouldn’t mind helping the OWS crowd with their organization, and what the experience was like being the first real anti-OWS protesters. To be clear, the duo isn’t against the movement — a point they made several times. They instead are against the protest, which they say has been a burden and eyesore on their neighborhood, as well as on small businesses in lower Manhattan. They hinted at some really creative, smart ideas that they have planned over the next couple weeks to rally support against the crowds. And they say the best way to follow them is on Twitter (@wallstfighters), as their project is barely a day old.

If the anti-OWS crowd has been looking for leaders, or at least faces, it’s clear that after watching this video, the Tabaccos can ably fill the need:

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  • Kid Dynamite

    Tabacco? More like Crack Hos. These tools are so dumb they couldn’t work for Mediaite.

  • Anonymous

    love the ‘occupy a desk’ and ‘occupy a job’ signs.  Good job, brothers! 

  • Jonathan Cantor

    Hey Mediaite your faces have less than 600 twitter followers. If thats any indication of how important their message is. 

    http://twitter.com/#!/johnatabacco

  • http://mediamatters.org/ Leedog

    “The Faces Of The Anti-Occupy Wall Street Protests”… a.k.a., the 2 “shi*theads”!!

  • Miguel

    Been gaining a lot of support today?  How’s those mighty 30 followers feeling?  Maybe you should take some public speaking and economics courses.  Then it would be a good idea to pull your head out of your ass.

  • http://twitter.com/viciousbabushka Vicious Babushka

    How many people are they hiring?

  • Mbrod

    brilliant response…..

  • MBrod

    They own a biz in new york. They have New York accents. The 30 followers are, if you bothered to listen, other biz owners in the area that are being put OUT of biz because of the protesters.  How about less insults and more positive input?

  • Norbit

    They let the brainiacs out on this thread I see!

    Hey Progressives, how effective is a Democratic/OWS campaign that elicits the common response:

    “Quick, hide the women and children…
    THE DEMOCRATS ARE COMING!
    THE DEMOCRATS ARE COMING!”

    LOL – We just have to have the economy saunter along at this anemic level, and everything else will be fine!

    btw, On FOX right now, Mikulski just embraced the OWS anarchist movement!

    Perfect time for a refrain:

    “Quick, hide the women and children…
    THE DEMOCRATS ARE COMING!
    THE DEMOCRATS ARE COMING!”

  • Anonymous

    They seem to agree with protestors… except congress screwed our economy by letting wall street call the shots, now there are no jobs, no money, economy is floundering.. and now these guys are saying they want people working.. Well so do Occupy Wall Street. Nice people can agree!

  • katie

    the guy on the left was definitely on millionaire matchmaker

  • http://gawker.com/5482474/the-mysterious-case-of-toure-praising-raped-slaves-for-seducing-massa Touré’s insane mf cousin Phd

    I don’t think anyone is looking for any anti-OWS leaders or organizations. They just want the media to stop promoting them and to give them the same rotten treatment they gave the Tea Party.

  • proud2teabagu

    That’s what your mom said when you were born.

  • Kgortowski

    One of these assholes was on millionaire matchmaker,he was a real jerk.look it up.Derek Tobacco millionaire matchmaker

  • Nick O’Teen

    Derek Tabacco also appeared on Fox business channel in 2009 and said he would sell off stocks every time he saw Pres. Obama on TV, no matter what he was saying.  So what do you expect from a couple of Fox lackeys?

  • Anonymous

    Did you stop and think about how those arguments are logical fallacies before cheerleading them? Some of the worst signs I’ve ever seen, seriously. I’m an Occupy supporter and I could come up with better slogans than that.

  • http://24Ahead.com 24AheadDotCom

    OWS already has an answer to “Get a Job”. Per a poll (maybe Greenberg), more OWS are working than TPers. Some of the *parents* of OWSers are probably a good deal richer than many TPers (and might be contributing more if not for the policies that those who get TP support like GWB pushed). So, that’s not really going to work.

    OWS opponents have been correct in concentrating on the crime and disease. But, they have largely ignored things about OWS that at a higher level are more concerning:

    * OWS has allied with anti-speech criminals (h4ck3rs), many of whom are foreign

    * OWS was started by a *Canadian* group and there’s a foreign flavour to some of the things they do. It’s not a genuinely, homegrown American movement; it’s involved foreign meddling. Most Americans aren’t going to appreciate Canadian far-lefties agitating inside the U.S.

    * OWS or at least many of them either don’t support fundamental U.S. concepts or don’t understand them: representative government, freedom to speak, and so on.

    OWS opponents need to crank it up on those to go with the crime reports.

    As for me, I’m just trying to get OWS to act smart for once:

    24ahead.com/n/10862

    Just act smart *one time*, that’s all I ask.

  • Anonymous

    I remember that. All he cared about was making sure the market went down when Obama was speaking. Essentially manipulating the market (and therefore a lot of people’s money) just to make a pathetic partisan point. Or, more succinctly, this clown would happily crash the economy if he could just to be able to blame Obama.

    And people want to know why the 75-80 percent of voters in the middle are disgusted with both sides.

  • Just a bystander

    The anti-OWS spokesmen are named “Tobacco”? Really? Only in America…

  • MadamDeb

    If you’re an American, you don’t spell it “flavour.”

  • Jason_in_Vegas

    Poor Obama.

  • http://twitter.com/Icabods Icabod

    You attack the spelling instead of the message?  That says more about you than 24.

  • http://twitter.com/Icabods Icabod

    If they were smart they would use the protesters to their advantage.  Like doing an interview to let people know about their business…….oh! that is what they are doing.  LOL!  PR ploy!

  • Anonymous

    Then why are you here?

  • Jonathan Cantor

    Touche. I’m just pointing out for you to be the face of something you should have more followers than what they have. 

  • Ruth Tobias

    Exactly. The whole “Get a job” thing burns me to no end—the whole *point* of these protests is that steady work for fair pay is so scarce.

  • Anonymous

    Not poor Obama. Who cares about that? Poor uninvolved investors whose stocks go down because these 2 jerks are manipulating the market for a political point. It’s not about Obama at all. It is about intentionally harming the market because these 2 clowns are total sore losers.

  • Anonymous

    The most effective protests are those that disturb the everyday norm… I do have sympathy for the small business owners who have been negqatively affected by the protest, but you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet.

  • http://twitter.com/JCP1975 JCP1975

    Is this him?  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xhuRusZvDno

  • Anonymous

    Hmm. Crash the economy just to make Barack Hussein Obama look bad. Sounds familiar. Orange Man Boner? TurtleHead McConnell? Eric ClostedGayMan Cantor? Could it be?

  • Pablo

    Making the market go down, or getting out of the market before it goes down?

    Are you serious suggesting that these two guys can manipulate the market a la Soros? Really?

    No, really? Heh.

  • Pablo

    Poor President Victim.

  • Pablo

    They would definitely not protect their investments unless they’re racists.

  • Pablo

    Homophobe much, hater?

  • Anonymous

    No, I’m not a “conservative” santorum sucker (like you, Shanice) nor have I ever attended a Republican presidential debate. THOSE are the homophobes you’re looking for, Mormon.

  • Anonymous

    Yes, I am suggesting just that. In a market that is skittish at best, sudden selling of large chunks of stock can easily trigger a sell off. Traders are always looking for some external event that might trigger a sell off as we have seen repeatedly.

    Besides, those are Mr. Tabacco’s words as told to Cavuto in 2009.

  • Anonymous

    See, this is the problem. It is totally not necessary to go with the insulting nicknames. It only makes the problem worse for everyone. Both sides do this, and it is wrong from both sides.

  • Pablo

    Yet you’re the guy using “ClosetedGayMan” as an insult. So, there’s your gay bashing right out in the open.

    I think you’re hiding something. In your closet.

  • Pablo

    You can often watch the market tank as Obama speaks. Clearly, the market is racist.

  • Anonymous

    I never said or even hinted at that. Do not put words in my mouth.

    I said these guys sell when Obama speaks because these 2 clowns are spore losers.

  • Anonymous

    And again, I never said that. Apparently you have run out of cogent argument and are back to the easy out.

  • Anonymous

    Cantor acts like a closeted gay man. That’s my opinion and probably the opinion of many others. I have no problem with him being that way. It’s “conservatives” like Paula the Mormon and Marcus Bachmann who would have a huge problem if he were to be outed. So in fairness, we’ll all agree that Cantor and Paula the Mormon are both closeted gay men (or women whatever, it’s all good).

  • Todd

    Yeah screw some people if it can get our goals done. This logic is way public polls on the OWS has fallen so bad. A bunch who don’t give a crap about anyone other then themselves. Thats become crystal clear from OWS.

  • Anonymous

    I hate twitter anyways

  • Anonymous

    another right wing hypocrite babbling about imaginary racist?

  • Anonymous

    Quick, shield you mind!
    Norbit is posting!

  • Anonymous

    I thought it was just Cain’s critics who are racists these days

  • Pablo

    No, what you’ve said is that they’ve dumped investments in an attempt to make Obama look bad, and you’ve said that with no evidence whatsoever and in contravention to Occam’s Razor.

  • Pablo

    You act like a homophobe. Self-hating is my guess.

  • Pablo

    Traders are always looking for some external event that might trigger a sell off as we have seen repeatedly.

    And what the hell do you think they’re doing?

  • Nick O’Teen

    @Todd –It’s going to take some real Americans to wake this nation up again.  The tea-party sold out to the Koch brothers whether they realize it or not, their time has passed.

  • Anonymous

    But it’s only a day old and I don’t think very many people know about it yet. I haven’t seen it mentioned anywhere beyond Mediaite.

  • Anonymous

    If you’re not a homophobe, then why are you posting homophobic comments? Your comments indicate you think homosexuality is a bad thing. Your own homophobia is showing.

  • Anonymous

    So, Elvis, basically you are saying f*ck the little person that just wants to go to work and honestly make a living to support their family, but can’t because the unwashed OWSers are blocking them from getting to their jobs. They are just acceptable losses? Nice.

  • Anonymous

    Then maybe these “real americans” should take their beef down to D.C. and protest where it might actually accomplish something.

  • Jonathan Cantor

    me too i don’t have it

  • Timshrute

    awesome video, i like your ideas. there should definitely be a group of people like you with smart ideas.

  • Sheik Yerbouti

    The Wall Streeters lobbied to get the rules and slash regulations that permit them to take advantage of the 99%.  Washington did their bidding but they commit the atrocities they asked to commit.

  • http://24Ahead.com 24AheadDotCom

    You do spell it “flavour” if you’re trying to stress the slight foreign flavour OWS has: English masks, Canadian leaders, globalist ideas…

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