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``We were talking to delegates as they came by. We were very calm,'' said Brendan, 23, an organic farmer from upstate New York, adding he was thumbing his nose at the crowd with other hecklers before police intervened. ``You do anything a little out of the ordinary here and they arrest you.''

What Brendan, 23, doesn't understand is that he and his ilk are revenue-killers and revenue-sappers for the city, whereas the 'well-healed' Republican delegates are bringing money into the city. The cops have a good reason to slap down the protestors. Their jobs depend on the financial support of the delegates. Their jobs are made harder because of the problems the protestors are making.