A
bogus costumed Elmo (how does one become a bogus Elmo unless he’s operating
without a Furry permit?) who collected tips for cuddling children in family
photos in Times Square was sent to fail for trying to extort $ 2 million from the
Girl Scouts.
Let’s
get a handle on that. Who tries to
extort money from the Girl Scouts, and for what? How much money do the Girl Scouts have? How
many cookies is that, sold from the blood, sweat, and tears of seven year-olds standing
outside a Kroger on a hot day hawking Thin Mints. What kind of monster is this? A Furry monster.
Dan
Sandler, a one-time temporary worker for the Girl Scouts, was sentenced after
pleading guilty to charges that stemmed from threatening to go public with
information that the organization arranged sex between men and young girls at a
scout camp. Now that’s a horrific story
in its own regard. If true, it’d be
utterly horrible. It seems to be false
as he tried to get money to keep it quiet rather than going public with it. This dude also has an unrelated arrest for
an anti-Semitic tirade while also dressed as Elmo.
Reuters
also reports on the prior arrest of a Cookie-Monster Furry who shoved a 2
year-old whose mother wouldn’t tip him for taking a photo.
New
York does require vendors for hotdogs and those hawking trinkets, but not those
dressing up in cute costumes and touching kids while taking pictures with
them.
Reuters
quotes: "A dangerous character could
be hiding in a cuddly character," said New York Councilman Peter Vallone,
who is set to introduce legislation this month to regulate each costumed
individual as a for-profit business
through the city Department of Consumer Affairs.
Other,
legit Elmo’s are crying foul. Edwin Garcia, 19, said, "Most of us are just
trying to make a living," said Garcia, who said he is supporting a wife
and 7-month-old daughter.” You’d think the good Elmo would want the bad
Elmo’s out of there.
Those
who actually own the copyrights to the characters that are being used, do want
the regulation. The Sesame Workshop said in a statement that it supports efforts to
find a legislative solution to the costumed characters it sees as infringing on
its copyrights.
The
Director of the New York Civil Liberties Union is pulling out the First
Amendment, but ignoring copyright law.
The copyright holders have a stake to make sure that those
who are wearing their costumes are not criminals. Licensing, and the small amount of money it
would bring in could at least cover the background checks necessary to protect
their brands and make sure criminals aren’t out there wearing their garb. Copyright holders (Disney, Sesame Street) are
likely to get into the act and push this, for safety of kids and their
brands if nothing else.
Full
Story and Italicized quotes from Reuters:
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/10/09/us-usa-newyork-elmo-idUSBRE9981BM20131009
Elmo
picture: Character copyright Sesame Street
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