After the NYPD again took the rare step of closing Union Square park in an attempt to silence Occupy Wall Street Wednesday night, a rowdy group gathered at the barricades to taunt the cops assigned to an obviously shitty detail. The video you are about to see is not, as they say, good optics for Occupy Wall Street, depicting as it does a group of glum, weary officers watching silently as some smug brats call them pigs and dangle donuts near them with an improvised fishing pole. From our perspective, these cops come off as not just professional and restrained but also, dare we say, rather dignified? Have you had a good cringe this morning?

To be sure, it would have been hil-aaaaiiiirrrious if one of the cops had tried to end the stupid spectacle by grabbing for the donut fishing pole, only to have it yanked away at the last moment, tee-hee. But they literally did not take the bait, and the result is a video that makes some Occupy Wall Street protesters look like whiny entitled adolescents.

Kids! Chants such as "You're on a 'roid rage, we're on the front page" aren't helping your cause (whatever that may be exactly—let's not codify it!). Shifting focus from the bankers to Bloomberg's army DOES make it easy to get photos of your cracked skull on the front page, but it's not a long-term plan. And while you were taunting the cops with puerile gags, other activists were no doubt busy with the unglamorous organizational work necessary to sustain an actual political movement. How about bringing THEM some donuts?