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Berkshire Barbers Take Manhattan

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Matthew Ketchum gave his boss Steve Vilot the '99%' treatment. More photos by Rogovoy can be found here.
Journalist and reviewer Seth Rogovoy's posted a great piece on his Zuccotti Park adventures with local tonsorial artists Steve Vilot, BC “Dez” Desautels and Matthew Ketchum on Monday.

Vilot owns Sim's Salon and Barber Shops in Pittsfield and Great Barrington and is a recognized authority in shaving (Rogovoy says Vilot was in New York the week before to give Pink tips on portraying a barber in an upcoming film).

The barbers went to the Occupy Wall Street camp armed with capes sporting the names of banking conglomerates to symbolize the need for financial institutions to "take a haircut" for the other 99 percent. They had plenty of customers and spent three or four hours giving old-fashioned ("non-electric") haircuts and shaves.

The media were all over the barbers – TV, radio, print. Not even two hours into the protest, Kink pulled up an AP report posted on the Wall Street Journal’s website that told about the event and quoted Vilot. “We barbers are happy to help bankers take a haircut on behalf of the 99 percent,” he said “We won’t even charge them for it, and they don’t have to tip us. I hope that inspires them to do likewise.

Kink is Michael Kink of Great Barrington, who is executive director of the Strong Economy for All Coalition. The coalition has offices not far from Zuccotti Park.

"Big banks are all too happy to take a haircut when it involves the one percent, but for working families on the brink of losing their home or students trying to pay off their loans it’s an entirely different story," Kink told Rogovoy.

Check out the MSNBC photo gallery here and scroll down to see Vilot's "99%" coiff.


  • Among the Occupiers
    Wall Street Journal - 13 hours ago
    Associated Press Steve Vilot, left, was among the barbers who came from Massachusetts to give free haircuts to protesters. As luck would have it, ...
    7 related articles


     

Protesters in New York Fill Park

By Joe DurwinSpecial to iBerkshires

Images taken on Friday in Zuccotti Park in New York City where Occupy Wall Street has taken up residence. Contributor Joe Durwin sent us these images, including one of the pirate who prompted a flurry of images on Twitter.
 

     
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