PHILADELPHIA — Local punk Andrew Snee recently spent an entire weekend binge-watching well-known crime drama “Law and Order: SVU” free of the guilt of cheering on a bunch of police officers by reassuring himself that “all cops are bastards” after each episode, sources report.
“‘SVU’ has, and will always be my comfort show because I was spending time with Benson and the gang long before I realized the entire law enforcement system is rotten and everyone involved with it is complicit,” Snee explained while instinctively saying “Dun Dun” in unison with the start of a new episode. “I mean, how can you not empathize with Officer Tutuola when he uses his gritty street smarts to help bring down a sexual deviant? Or not cheer on Detective Stabler when he cracks the skull of a child predator before hauling his ass to Rikers? Being a cop means you’re a class traitor, yes, but goddamn does it make for some binge-worthy television! With all that said, I still don’t think that makes me a boot-breathed coward…..right?”
Snee’s childhood friend and fellow punk Dani Pasada feels that her friend’s guilt over watching “Law and Order” has begun to reach unhealthy levels.
“I’ve known Andrew for going on 20 years now, and yes, he’s always watched that fucking show, and yes, he’s always been completely neurotic about it,” Pasada said, adding the fact that Snee had always gone on about how the world would be a much better place if everyone was as principled as ADA Casey Novak. “Time after time I have to tell him, ‘It’s just a TV show, those are just actors, and they aren’t the real cops who constantly shut down our house shows or shoot innocents dead in the street.’ If Dick Wolf produced a show about real cops, it would probably be more of a shockumentary than anything.”
Television and film historian Alicia Pilsen explains how certain TV and films have made many people question their own punk statuses for decades.”
“Many programs or movies over the years have made punks question their own morals and convictions. It’s really just part of the lifestyle,” Pilsen said, saying that nothing proves this more than the 1987 dystopian action film classic “Robocop.” “So many punks claim that when Alex Murphy is murdered by Clarence Boddicker, every ounce of ‘ACAB’ is sucked out of their system, and they can’t wait for him to be served sweet, robotic-cop justice. Very much at odds with their beliefs, but it’s such a badass movie, those convictions get thrown by the wayside fairly easily”
At press time, after Snee finished an episode of “SVU” focused on Ice-T’s character, he immediately listened to “Cop Killer” at a very high volume.
Photo by Shawn Schmidt.