In my opinion, Bunny is the most tragic character of The Wire. He was involved in two experiments (Hamsterdam and the corner kids classroom) which, if implemented on a larger scale, could have had a profound influence on the society. Unfortunately, bureaucracy, infatuation with self-preservation (and therefore statistics) prevented him from achieving those things, culminating in Season 5" "Well, I guess Mr. Mayor, there's nothing to be done." I always saw him as the show's conscience.
I wouldn’t say he’s the most tragic. Maybe tireless and underappreciated. But the outcome isn’t tragic because he continues to make an impact in life even if it is a smaller scale than it should’ve been.
The most tragic probably goes to bubbles because even with the damage of his life being mostly mended by the end, the trail of destruction in his wake would never truly leave his memory.
@Clippy he’s recovered then, but the thing with being a drug addict is that a relapse can happen any time. I say this not in like a nagging way more just a fact of life.
@Clippy yeah actually you’re right about that. Dukie’s life continually just got worse as the show went on, and this is about a character who in one of their earliest appearances is evicted from their house.
Yea it's almost impossible to put together a top 10 character list from this show but Bunny deserves a place on it. For season 3 alone he deserves major recognition, but then he comes back and pushes his arc even further after retiring from the force. A truly amazing character.
@@Kruppt808 I think The Sopranos has better written characters, you can spend and hour with a friend speaking about Tony's mind and motivations and it will get real deep. But the Wire has a more complex understanding about the city itself, institutions, relations, influences, etc.
@@shamshirhussain8198 .. Agreed. Also great writing. No other shows come close to these two. The Wire's scope was just so broad that I have to give it the nod. (p.s. have seen both shows multiple times and am current binging Sopranos again)
I've watched all 5 seasons at least 4 times now, and the enduring message of the show seems to be: Every person's idealism is compromised in this world, and anyone with the balls or idiocy to try and change things for the better will be ground into dust by the powerful institutions they serve, both legal and otherwise.
Lester: Tell me something, Jimmy. How exactly do you think it all ends? McNulty: What do you mean? Lester: A parade? A gold watch? A shining Jimmy-McNulty-day moment, when you bring in a case sooooo sweet everybody gets together and says, "Aw, shit! He was right all along. Should've listened to the man." The job will not save you, Jimmy. It won't make you whole, it won't fill your ass up. McNulty: I dunno, a good case- Lester: Ends. They all end. The handcuffs go click and it's over. The next morning, it's just you in your room with yourself. McNulty: Until the next case. Lester: Boooooy, you need something else outside of this here. McNulty: Like what, dollhouse miniatures? Lester: Hey, hey, hey, a life. A life, Jimmy. You know what that is? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come.
Except there has been-- a paper bag for alcohol is a paper bag for a kind of drug. Which kills a lot of people. But because it is old and socially acceptable (even during prohibition most juries wouldn't convict on alcohol imbibing) that people really think alcohol is something other than just the most popular recreational drug.
@@raulbetancourt5795 basically the paper bag symbolised a compromise between police and the street. Police won’t waste time hassling hounds on the street for public drinking and street hounds get by in peace. There was none of this for drugs, ofc until Hamsterdam
I assume it's necessary to be a viewer of the program in order to appreciate these excerpts. I'm not sure how this entered my suggestions list, Hill Street Blues with profanity? There was great acting on HSB and I would have to see more in order to offer such praise.
@@JM-xu8em nah, just saying a bag of rocks, on average, usually has more brains than a cop patrol car stacked with Officers, something you wouldn't hear on lapd blue or Bill st blues.
I had actually forgotten this scene. Right up there with when he tells Rawls he didn't legalize drugs, he chose to ignore them. Great character and great actor.
I don't have anything to say about your original comment, I just saw that you left it 15 years ago, and wanted to see how you are doing? Because I'm 29. and you left this comment almost half of my lifespan ago.
@@tankmaster1018 Whoa to think he left that when I was 25. At that time I don't think I'd even been on youtube. I got an ipod touch that had it and that was my first exposure. Hope that person is doing well.
Damn, that IS kinda crazy. Just goes to show that the Internet can connect perfect strangers together over the better part of two decades. They may be dead by now, we probably won't ever know- but the idea behind their comment will live on until the day UA-cam's servers are shut down... and past that to whatever waybackmachine style servers are eventually shut too.
"You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take you" - Lester Freamon
This is the moment where Carver got it, he understood what it meant to be police. This may be the finest 2 minutes of meaningful, socially relivant TV in the last 10 yrs
Absolutely. Do you think Colvin or Daniels was the greater influence on Carver? I think the progression of Carver throughout the series is very underrated acting. Was great to watch.
I think Colvin because Carver was shocked when Bunny said he wasn't a good Poe-lice and that she should spend time connecting with people, which he did immediately after that conversation. Daniels taught him to be loyal and Bunny taught him to be a better and more efficient policeman
@@Toulouse41000 Bingo. With Daniels, Carver cared more about stats, simple busts and chain of command. With Bunny, Carver learned the difference between soldiering and policing.
Bunny had greater impact on Carver. By the end of the show, he pretty much mirrors him. And yes I agree, Carvers development was one of the most compelling.
An interesting question. At the beginning, Carver seems more or less exclusively concerned with knocking heads, compiling stats, and moving up the career ladder. Daniels opens his eyes to the idea that he is responsible for determining the character of his police work, and that what he chooses will affect how the men he commands will police. Colvin shows him what kind of police he wants to be. Both are key in shaping who he ends up being, but I'd give the nod to Colvin personally - he fundamentally determines what Carver's trajectory looks like. You see aspects of both men in Carver when he later elects to suspend Colicchio, unpopular though it might be.
@Robert Murray I think each had a profound impact on Carver in different ways. Daniels showed Carver that there is more to police work than simply busting heads and taking names when he included him on the first and second details of which eventually became the Major Crimes Unit. Colvin showed Carver that there is value in community policing, and the value of "the greater good" in order to do effective police work.
Thank you. Hard to believe a non-cop wrote this scene - brilliant on many levels - should be required viewing for police and legislators... a genius idea "by some nameless smoke-hound...a great moment in civic compromise..." Bunny Colvin was good police
Ed Burns was a detective in Baltimore PD's Narcotics and Murder divisions. A number of the characters on the show were based on people he'd worked with or investigated.
Poobah is correct. Ed Burns saw the bureaucratic nonsense in the police department while David Simon saw it at the Baltimore Sun. They were both co-creators/writers on The Wire along with other people who worked on it, of course. If you watch Simon talk about the Wire, he talks about how this show is basically about middle management with heavy borrowing from Greek tragedies and Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick.
The argument of this segment isn't that heroin should be legalized. It's that they should begin a process of respectful acknowledgment as to its nature, rather than the beating-head-against-wall approach of the War On Drugs. The creation of Hamsterdam suggests, "Agree to stop posturing and compromise, and we might gain some ground." What we see then is the problem being addressed as a health/social issue -- chemical addiction in poverty-stricken areas -- rather than a strictly criminal one.
I completely agree. This short 2 minute monologue from a television show has more insight and socially relevant commentary then nearly all the political posturing and lecturing about the drug war in the last 30+ years.
Brilliant indeed! I have the utmost respect for the law, and for the authority of enforcing that law. Perhaps that's why I work for the government. But I also recognize that laws must never be 100% absolute. History has proven time and time again that laws are not always just; they are not always fair; and they are not always right. Sometimes laws are based out of fear, ignorance, and prejudice. I believe that laws forbidding the use of certain "drugs" fall into those category. And I think it's high time that police let you put that wrinkled ass paper bag in place and go about your business--so that the law enforcement, can go on to protect and serve where they are REALLY needed!
And so you can throw a snit fit or sue somebody when that generally ignored law is legally enforced. Have you ever heard of Eric Garner? The paper bag approach is fine as long as everybody knows that the giving police the (necessary) discretion to enforce the laws means they can ignore laws in the name of public good, but they can just as easily decide to do the exact opposite -- for reasons good or bad. My point is, yeah, there's no point in arresting a corner boy for open container, until there is, and when there is, the previous lack of enforcement is not a valid argument against present or future enforcement. I think there should be no laws against me doing whatever I want to my body--from hairstyle to heroin, tattoos to THC, yoga to Laetril, if I'm not free from the G in my own meatsack, I'm not free at all.
As long as old american protocol, with the assistance of false propaganda, associates it's black american population with EVERYTHING bad, common sense law enforcement will NEVER be a reality in this country. The worst place for a black male to reside? Is in white people's imagination.
Of course their was a paper bag for drugs before "now"...alcohol is a drug like any other, it is just so old and socially acceptable that people have been fooled into thinking it is "drugs _and_ alcohol" rather than the truth-- "drugs _including_ alcohol"
"Hamsterdam" was one of the greatest things to ever come out of this show. Watching the police struggle to contain the drug trade by permitting it while the gangs struggle to keep the peace was so captivating
the wire is brilliant its one of the best shows on tv the charachters like mcnulty the police chief carcetti the boxing coach and the ex junkie are so brilliant i even sent an email to tg4 who show it here in ireland thanking them
Some people just like different types of TV. It's not everyone's opinion that TV at its finest needs to be full of action on screen. Some people are just as, if not more entertained and enticed by well written, interesting dialogue with astounding acting to compliment. Each to their own - not everyone needs pants flying out of the window.
I believe that the big problem in this world isn't just that there aren't a lot of Howard Colvins, because, from what I've seen, there are quite a few Howard Colvins in the many different facets of society. The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of people who'll listen, particularly from on high.
that was great writing. its a shame this show was SO popular, but everyone still missed the message. this was a critique of the war on drugs, among other things. its not a war on drugs, its a war on people. Police dont exist anymore, we have cops. cops who dont serve, or really protect either. theyre too scared to risk their lives, so really they patrol, and help out when its safe, which makes them no more than any normal citizen. who wants it this way? who wants to worry about getting pulled over for a damn light being out on their car? its all a self imposed prison, with no good reason, or cause, & it certainly has no end, unless we make it end.
@ohen You're so damn right. Epic scene. And Bunny was the conscience of the show. He was the guy with great ideas that nobody wanted to hear or sustain.
Colvin was his mentor, I believe. There's the scene later in season 3 where he tells him... "You got your numbers, you got your stats, you're a decent supervisor, but you ain't shit when it comes to policin'"
thank you for this response. I often think the EXACT same thing about laws staying on the books. It allows thousands of officers to selectively enforce laws and unreasonable searches whenever they feel like it.
I think a missing point is that if one of the corner boys ever gets in trouble, the paper bag doesn't stop police from arresting them for a crime or for causing problems, but it does stop them from wasting time when there's no problems.
Drugs are not just a law enforcement problem. America is decades behind certain countries in Europe that have recognized it for the much deeper issue it is. But its America- things wont change: when you believe you're the best, that you have nothing to learn from the rest of humanity, a society will simply not consider any other approach. You see it in everything the US does, whether its the war on drugs or the war on terror.
Not American. A few years ago, I looked up online the deal with alcohol and that bags and found the answer. It was kinda of hard to me wrapping my head around it. This clip could have been used to explain it to me back then. It is a "civic compromisse", a means to keep the appearences up and let everyone go back to minding their own business without politicians having to admit that government can not reform citizens.
Honestly, there is something distinctly American about the corner. Standing back, taking it easy as you people watch and say hi to the folks you know, it's a communal thing. You try to get everyone off the streets, soon there'll be no neighborhood around those streets.
@teknoarcanist The heroin trade and addiction, The Wire suggests, result from the failures of the city -- rather than the other way around. A simple, but very profound insight which the show does its best to prove over the course of five seasons.
@cbench1 An open container law that only covered certain areas would be easy enough to pass, assuming there was public support. Flexibility can be good. Kids caught with alcohol have better long term results if you let them off with a warning rather than putting them into the system. The problem is, laws like the open container law aren't really enforced to deal with the problem of open containers, they are used to arrest people the police want to detain who aren't breaking any 'regular' laws.
The wire must be watched to completion before you judge it. It is a tapestry and until you see it whole you won't appreciate it for what it is. I watched the first few episodes and thought it was just a crime drama no big thing but keep watching and comeback when finished
@Rorystorm24 Not quite. the "Medical" in "Medical Marijuana" is in no way representative of the speech above. The Dutch model for quasi-legal Marijuana sales is a good example of a "paper bag". Vast differences in the 2 systems. You might enjoy the UA-cam info on the Federal Medical Marijuana program that is likely much older than you are.
@yawnn112 That is one of the most profound comments I've read on UA-cam, and you've summed up Bunny's speech perfectly. Just one thing to note about "real" police work": It has been proven that cracking down on seemingly trivial quality-of-life stuff has a ripple effect in reducing overall crime. NYC is a perfect example, when Giuliani got rid of squeegee men, cleaned up Times Square, etc. By returning pride to neighborhoods, the atmosphere becomes much less welcoming to criminals.
FYI; I never said it was a bad show overall. The only comment I originally made was that the first few episodes weren't particularly good and that it was very slow.
@GozerTheGozerian 'Broken Windows',yep. Although some say that the crime drop was due to New York legalizing abortions 18 years prior. (ie Freakonomics)
I agree CrystalFissure two great shows but apples and oranges. Both are the best in their category. But just because they are both about drugs and fall into the drama category doesn't make them the same. They are different and on different networks and one isn't even finished yet
Please stop. You're making Breaking Bad seem shit by talking about that. The level of ignorance that I'm reading here is a little bit embarrassing. Breaking Bad is a fucking awesome show, but it's non stop action. The Wire has plenty of action, but the impact is more significant because the seeds are planted and so much is said beforehand. Both shows are at the top of their respective category of TV, and they're not even in the same category.
Does anyone have these clips posted in order? I'd like to watch them in order. It seems all of the posted clips of the Wire have been posted in a pretty random way. Can someone number them? Maybe something like Season One - Episode 1, etc. Is this possible?
I disagree. The problem with the law is that they can still enforce it selectively; every bad law you leave on the books will be abused somehow. In this case, police will use it to arrest people selectively and in this case it's even more subversive because it's starts off with the premise that cops, not politicians, should be setting the laws. Say you'll enforce it. Enforce it. Let the politicians repeal it. Anything else leads to corruption.
drug culture produced by the law via goverments. recriational activities doesn't meant to be illegal otherwise it's a wide open door to create misery in society.
@Renegen1 I know police don't have the power to repeal laws, but by enforcing laws unevenly they solve one problem but leave the bull in the teashop. In politics, one of the best ways to achieve a political objective is to divide and conquer. If you only enforce a law unevenly you can arrest a black man for vagrancy or someone you know has a record for an open container. Meanwhile, another person who isn't a minority, or has lived a saintly life, can stand on the corner with an open bottle.
So it's one law for the old and another for the young? One law for the good, hardworking and respectable and another for the bad, the layabouts, and those you hold in contempt? I'm sorry, I was raised to believe in the rule of law, in equality before the law. That if a law is good enough for one of us then it's good enough for all of us; and if it's unjust to one of us, it's unjust to all of us.
@GozerTheGozerian The theory makes sense to me - less unwanted people (of any race) is going to have a dramatic effect. And if we're talking statistics, most of the crimes were committed by the poor minorities (ie blacks), so while its certainly not a pleasant thing to confront, the statistics do tell tales. Who are the ones committing crimes? Minorities. Who are the ones getting abortions? Also minorities.
In my opinion, Bunny is the most tragic character of The Wire. He was involved in two experiments (Hamsterdam and the corner kids classroom) which, if implemented on a larger scale, could have had a profound influence on the society. Unfortunately, bureaucracy, infatuation with self-preservation (and therefore statistics) prevented him from achieving those things, culminating in Season 5" "Well, I guess Mr. Mayor, there's nothing to be done." I always saw him as the show's conscience.
I wouldn’t say he’s the most tragic. Maybe tireless and underappreciated. But the outcome isn’t tragic because he continues to make an impact in life even if it is a smaller scale than it should’ve been.
The most tragic probably goes to bubbles because even with the damage of his life being mostly mended by the end, the trail of destruction in his wake would never truly leave his memory.
@Clippy he’s recovered then, but the thing with being a drug addict is that a relapse can happen any time. I say this not in like a nagging way more just a fact of life.
@Clippy yeah actually you’re right about that. Dukie’s life continually just got worse as the show went on, and this is about a character who in one of their earliest appearances is evicted from their house.
Yea it's almost impossible to put together a top 10 character list from this show but Bunny deserves a place on it. For season 3 alone he deserves major recognition, but then he comes back and pushes his arc even further after retiring from the force. A truly amazing character.
The writing in The Wire was so above and beyond anything else on TV. Not even comparable.
This comment stands in 2020. Nothing has come anywhere near it
Sopranos was quality
@@shamshirhussain8198 but imo not close to The Wire, many characters ,locations and story lines. and all top notch.
@@Kruppt808 I think The Sopranos has better written characters, you can spend and hour with a friend speaking about Tony's mind and motivations and it will get real deep. But the Wire has a more complex understanding about the city itself, institutions, relations, influences, etc.
@@shamshirhussain8198 .. Agreed. Also great writing. No other shows come close to these two. The Wire's scope was just so broad that I have to give it the nod. (p.s. have seen both shows multiple times and am current binging Sopranos again)
I've watched all 5 seasons at least 4 times now, and the enduring message of the show seems to be: Every person's idealism is compromised in this world, and anyone with the balls or idiocy to try and change things for the better will be ground into dust by the powerful institutions they serve, both legal and otherwise.
Yup. Just like my job and I'm not even in law enforcement or drug dealing
By far the best summary on the show I have ever seen . Thanks
Hmmm, isn't that the ultimate theme of every story? And every life?
There's no profit in "better!"
It's extremely fatalistic.
Lester:
Tell me something, Jimmy. How exactly do you think it all ends?
McNulty:
What do you mean?
Lester:
A parade? A gold watch? A shining Jimmy-McNulty-day moment, when you bring in a case sooooo sweet everybody gets together and says, "Aw, shit! He was right all along. Should've listened to the man." The job will not save you, Jimmy. It won't make you whole, it won't fill your ass up.
McNulty:
I dunno, a good case-
Lester:
Ends. They all end. The handcuffs go click and it's over. The next morning, it's just you in your room with yourself.
McNulty:
Until the next case.
Lester:
Boooooy, you need something else outside of this here.
McNulty:
Like what, dollhouse miniatures?
Lester:
Hey, hey, hey, a life. A life, Jimmy. You know what that is? It's the shit that happens while you're waiting for moments that never come.
This dialogue was one of the best moments in the show for me.
".....there's never a paper bag for drugs.... until now."
Brilliant. A masterpiece.
Well done for quoting a video you just watched
Except there has been-- a paper bag for alcohol is a paper bag for a kind of drug. Which kills a lot of people. But because it is old and socially acceptable (even during prohibition most juries wouldn't convict on alcohol imbibing) that people really think alcohol is something other than just the most popular recreational drug.
@@munstrumridcully smart man.
Care to explain to me please? Not all of the wire's warchers are genius.
@@raulbetancourt5795 basically the paper bag symbolised a compromise between police and the street. Police won’t waste time hassling hounds on the street for public drinking and street hounds get by in peace. There was none of this for drugs, ofc until Hamsterdam
This show should be required viewing.
I assume it's necessary to be a viewer of the program in order to appreciate these excerpts. I'm not sure how this entered my suggestions list, Hill Street Blues with profanity? There was great acting on HSB and I would have to see more in order to offer such praise.
@@JM-xu8em nah, just saying a bag of rocks, on average, usually has more brains than a cop patrol car stacked with Officers, something you wouldn't hear on lapd blue or Bill st blues.
It is in my household
I had actually forgotten this scene. Right up there with when he tells Rawls he didn't legalize drugs, he chose to ignore them. Great character and great actor.
I don't have anything to say about your original comment, I just saw that you left it 15 years ago, and wanted to see how you are doing? Because I'm 29. and you left this comment almost half of my lifespan ago.
@@tankmaster1018 that shit is kind of crazy to think of
@@tankmaster1018 Whoa to think he left that when I was 25. At that time I don't think I'd even been on youtube. I got an ipod touch that had it and that was my first exposure. Hope that person is doing well.
That's crazy that you were watching BS clips 15yrs ago. Was it on computer or first batch of Iphones?
Damn, that IS kinda crazy. Just goes to show that the Internet can connect perfect strangers together over the better part of two decades. They may be dead by now, we probably won't ever know- but the idea behind their comment will live on until the day UA-cam's servers are shut down... and past that to whatever waybackmachine style servers are eventually shut too.
"You follow drugs, you get drug addicts and drug dealers. But you start
to follow the money, and you don't know where the fuck it's gonna take
you" - Lester Freamon
This is the moment where Carver got it, he understood what it meant to be police.
This may be the finest 2 minutes of meaningful, socially relivant TV in the last 10 yrs
2020 and still people don't get the point.
@@samjones6046 can you elaborate what he said there in the video in simple words?
Absolutely. Do you think Colvin or Daniels was the greater influence on Carver? I think the progression of Carver throughout the series is very underrated acting. Was great to watch.
I think Colvin because Carver was shocked when Bunny said he wasn't a good Poe-lice and that she should spend time connecting with people, which he did immediately after that conversation. Daniels taught him to be loyal and Bunny taught him to be a better and more efficient policeman
@@Toulouse41000 Bingo. With Daniels, Carver cared more about stats, simple busts and chain of command. With Bunny, Carver learned the difference between soldiering and policing.
Bunny had greater impact on Carver. By the end of the show, he pretty much mirrors him. And yes I agree, Carvers development was one of the most compelling.
An interesting question. At the beginning, Carver seems more or less exclusively concerned with knocking heads, compiling stats, and moving up the career ladder. Daniels opens his eyes to the idea that he is responsible for determining the character of his police work, and that what he chooses will affect how the men he commands will police. Colvin shows him what kind of police he wants to be. Both are key in shaping who he ends up being, but I'd give the nod to Colvin personally - he fundamentally determines what Carver's trajectory looks like. You see aspects of both men in Carver when he later elects to suspend Colicchio, unpopular though it might be.
@Robert Murray I think each had a profound impact on Carver in different ways. Daniels showed Carver that there is more to police work than simply busting heads and taking names when he included him on the first and second details of which eventually became the Major Crimes Unit. Colvin showed Carver that there is value in community policing, and the value of "the greater good" in order to do effective police work.
I LOVE Herc's reaction, sums up anyone who doesn't like The Wire.
"That paper bag.... what the fuck was that?!"
Herc didn't get a lot of stuff, stone stupid
This show is all encompassing, relevant on every level
Thank you. Hard to believe a non-cop wrote this scene - brilliant on many levels - should be required viewing for police and legislators... a genius idea "by some nameless smoke-hound...a great moment in civic compromise..." Bunny Colvin was good police
well he did spend a lot of time with the police in Baltimore, he wrote the book homicide that became a tv series.
Sean Ryan I'm pretty sure the co-creator is a former cop.
Ed Burns was a detective in Baltimore PD's Narcotics and Murder divisions. A number of the characters on the show were based on people he'd worked with or investigated.
Poobah is correct. Ed Burns saw the bureaucratic nonsense in the police department while David Simon saw it at the Baltimore Sun. They were both co-creators/writers on The Wire along with other people who worked on it, of course. If you watch Simon talk about the Wire, he talks about how this show is basically about middle management with heavy borrowing from Greek tragedies and Paths of Glory by Stanley Kubrick.
This non cop was a journalist that understood the Baltimore streets as well as any police.
The argument of this segment isn't that heroin should be legalized. It's that they should begin a process of respectful acknowledgment as to its nature, rather than the beating-head-against-wall approach of the War On Drugs. The creation of Hamsterdam suggests, "Agree to stop posturing and compromise, and we might gain some ground." What we see then is the problem being addressed as a health/social issue -- chemical addiction in poverty-stricken areas -- rather than a strictly criminal one.
Bunny is one of my favorite characters out of a myriad of great characters
"There's never been a paper bag for drugs. Until now". A Top 5 The Wire quote.
“Somewhere’s..... back at the dawn of time...”
I completely agree. This short 2 minute monologue from a television show has more insight and socially relevant commentary then nearly all the political posturing and lecturing about the drug war in the last 30+ years.
I think this is the most clever and well written scene in any TV show or movie. Hamsterdam is the brown paper bag for drugs.
An incredible speech, ahead of it's time....
This is such a profound speech especially in the context of harm-minimisation or legalisation of drugs which is what's on his mind.
This was a, once in a generation show
Brilliant indeed! I have the utmost respect for the law, and for the authority of enforcing that law. Perhaps that's why I work for the government. But I also recognize that laws must never be 100% absolute. History has proven time and time again that laws are not always just; they are not always fair; and they are not always right. Sometimes laws are based out of fear, ignorance, and prejudice. I believe that laws forbidding the use of certain "drugs" fall into those category. And I think it's high time that police let you put that wrinkled ass paper bag in place and go about your business--so that the law enforcement, can go on to protect and serve where they are REALLY needed!
Youre the next bunny! Hopefully it doesnt take you 30 years to realize how screwed the system is b4 you decide to take action
Or youll look stuck like bunny did when he first tried talking to those kids
And so you can throw a snit fit or sue somebody when that generally ignored law is legally enforced. Have you ever heard of Eric Garner? The paper bag approach is fine as long as everybody knows that the giving police the (necessary) discretion to enforce the laws means they can ignore laws in the name of public good, but they can just as easily decide to do the exact opposite -- for reasons good or bad. My point is, yeah, there's no point in arresting a corner boy for open container, until there is, and when there is, the previous lack of enforcement is not a valid argument against present or future enforcement. I think there should be no laws against me doing whatever I want to my body--from hairstyle to heroin, tattoos to THC, yoga to Laetril, if I'm not free from the G in my own meatsack, I'm not free at all.
As long as old american protocol, with the assistance of false propaganda, associates it's black american population with EVERYTHING bad, common sense law enforcement will NEVER be a reality in this country. The worst place for a black male to reside? Is in white people's imagination.
Beautiful, beautiful writing.
I love the sound that paper bag makes... :D
So does my cat 🤣🤣🤣
Robert Wisdom was teaching history class in this scene
One of the best monologues from any show, ever.
All police officers should watch this scene and the one where Bunny schools Carver during their training.
Of course their was a paper bag for drugs before "now"...alcohol is a drug like any other, it is just so old and socially acceptable that people have been fooled into thinking it is "drugs _and_ alcohol" rather than the truth-- "drugs _including_ alcohol"
"Hamsterdam" was one of the greatest things to ever come out of this show. Watching the police struggle to contain the drug trade by permitting it while the gangs struggle to keep the peace was so captivating
Natural pooolice #lestervoice
the wire is brilliant its one of the best shows on tv the charachters like mcnulty the police chief carcetti the boxing coach and the ex junkie are so brilliant i even sent an email to tg4 who show it here in ireland thanking them
Goddamn, The Wire has so many memorable scenes that I completely forgot about this one until it popped up on my feed.
Dang man you’re an OG, posting this while the show is going on. I didn’t watch my first run of it until just a few years ago
I just watched this scene and knew that someone would have it on here. Awesome speech, great TV.
Greatest of all time writing.
Saw a vid saying how tragic it ended for the ppl who were actually trying to make a change.
Bunny, Wallace , D, Mc(nutty) lol, even stringer.
mcnulty wasnt making a difference....he just wanted to win
The Wire is unbeatable and a true masterpiece.
Best show in all of Humanity imo
Some people just like different types of TV. It's not everyone's opinion that TV at its finest needs to be full of action on screen. Some people are just as, if not more entertained and enticed by well written, interesting dialogue with astounding acting to compliment. Each to their own - not everyone needs pants flying out of the window.
I'm actually drinking "Miller High Life" right now. Hopefully for the last time.
Good luck homie
dont forget the wrinkle-ass paperbag ;)
I believe that the big problem in this world isn't just that there aren't a lot of Howard Colvins, because, from what I've seen, there are quite a few Howard Colvins in the many different facets of society. The problem is that there aren't a whole lot of people who'll listen, particularly from on high.
Possibly my /favourite/ speech in the whole of The Wire/Television at large. Thank you for uploading it here so I can link people to it.
Bunny Colvine was as close to being a hero as The Wire possibly allowed.
that was great writing. its a shame this show was SO popular, but everyone still missed the message. this was a critique of the war on drugs, among other things. its not a war on drugs, its a war on people. Police dont exist anymore, we have cops. cops who dont serve, or really protect either. theyre too scared to risk their lives, so really they patrol, and help out when its safe, which makes them no more than any normal citizen. who wants it this way? who wants to worry about getting pulled over for a damn light being out on their car? its all a self imposed prison, with no good reason, or cause, & it certainly has no end, unless we make it end.
@ohen You're so damn right. Epic scene. And Bunny was the conscience of the show. He was the guy with great ideas that nobody wanted to hear or sustain.
Bunny Colvin was casting pearls before swine.
Wow...simply, Wow!
The writing is brilliant, the acting is amazing, and directing is superb.
Greatest TV series ever!!!
He created "Hamsterdam" which was a couple block stretch where the dealers could deal without being hassled by police.
Colvin was his mentor, I believe. There's the scene later in season 3 where he tells him... "You got your numbers, you got your stats, you're a decent supervisor, but you ain't shit when it comes to policin'"
thank you for this response. I often think the EXACT same thing about laws staying on the books. It allows thousands of officers to selectively enforce laws and unreasonable searches whenever they feel like it.
I think a missing point is that if one of the corner boys ever gets in trouble, the paper bag doesn't stop police from arresting them for a crime or for causing problems, but it does stop them from wasting time when there's no problems.
Drugs are not just a law enforcement problem. America is decades behind certain countries in Europe that have recognized it for the much deeper issue it is. But its America- things wont change: when you believe you're the best, that you have nothing to learn from the rest of humanity, a society will simply not consider any other approach. You see it in everything the US does, whether its the war on drugs or the war on terror.
Not American. A few years ago, I looked up online the deal with alcohol and that bags and found the answer. It was kinda of hard to me wrapping my head around it. This clip could have been used to explain it to me back then. It is a "civic compromisse", a means to keep the appearences up and let everyone go back to minding their own business without politicians having to admit that government can not reform citizens.
Richard Price. A goddamn genius.
Honestly, there is something distinctly American about the corner. Standing back, taking it easy as you people watch and say hi to the folks you know, it's a communal thing.
You try to get everyone off the streets, soon there'll be no neighborhood around those streets.
When idealism and practical application meet in the middle.
if you liked this clip you should read simon's the corner. its goes a lot more in-depth on these issues
powerful speech
Get The Wire on DVD Seasons 1-5 It will be the best money you ever spent!
@teknoarcanist The heroin trade and addiction, The Wire suggests, result from the failures of the city -- rather than the other way around. A simple, but very profound insight which the show does its best to prove over the course of five seasons.
I love bunny but comparing heroin to beer is a real stretch
They were both substances that were outlawed at their time, alcohol being treated as an illegal item during prohibition.
this episode was supposedly betrayed bumpy johnson, the dude who fishburne played in "HOODLUM"
@cbench1 An open container law that only covered certain areas would be easy enough to pass, assuming there was public support. Flexibility can be good. Kids caught with alcohol have better long term results if you let them off with a warning rather than putting them into the system. The problem is, laws like the open container law aren't really enforced to deal with the problem of open containers, they are used to arrest people the police want to detain who aren't breaking any 'regular' laws.
The Wire truly is one of the greatest shows alongside Oz and Dexter.
okay....now I can understand why I haven't seen this program. Thank you
@RelentlessBoner actually, it's similar. It's sort of like calling the 'medical' in 'medical marijuana' a paper bag.
Greatness
The wire must be watched to completion before you judge it. It is a tapestry and until you see it whole you won't appreciate it for what it is. I watched the first few episodes and thought it was just a crime drama no big thing but keep watching and comeback when finished
@Rorystorm24 Not quite. the "Medical" in "Medical Marijuana" is in no way representative of the speech above. The Dutch model for quasi-legal Marijuana sales is a good example of a "paper bag". Vast differences in the 2 systems. You might enjoy the UA-cam info on the Federal Medical Marijuana program that is likely much older than you are.
well stated...
@yawnn112 That is one of the most profound comments I've read on UA-cam, and you've summed up Bunny's speech perfectly.
Just one thing to note about "real" police work": It has been proven that cracking down on seemingly trivial quality-of-life stuff has a ripple effect in reducing overall crime. NYC is a perfect example, when Giuliani got rid of squeegee men, cleaned up Times Square, etc. By returning pride to neighborhoods, the atmosphere becomes much less welcoming to criminals.
It's amazing for sure.
FYI; I never said it was a bad show overall. The only comment I originally made was that the first few episodes weren't particularly good and that it was very slow.
@GozerTheGozerian 'Broken Windows',yep. Although some say that the crime drop was due to New York legalizing abortions 18 years prior. (ie Freakonomics)
Brilliant
I agree CrystalFissure two great shows but apples and oranges. Both are the best in their category. But just because they are both about drugs and fall into the drama category doesn't make them the same. They are different and on different networks and one isn't even finished yet
I just realized--this is the rationale for Hamsterdam. Sending people to the designated zones is placing the bag over the beer. Brilliant.
Whats 3 vials worth in the wire? I think a 1 on 1 cost 20, so that would likely be 30 dollars for 3?
Please stop. You're making Breaking Bad seem shit by talking about that. The level of ignorance that I'm reading here is a little bit embarrassing. Breaking Bad is a fucking awesome show, but it's non stop action. The Wire has plenty of action, but the impact is more significant because the seeds are planted and so much is said beforehand. Both shows are at the top of their respective category of TV, and they're not even in the same category.
Why hello there Senator Davis
I miss it too. :( OOOOOOMAAAAAAARRRRrrrrrrr......
Does anyone have these clips posted in order? I'd like to watch them in order. It seems all of the posted clips of the Wire have been posted in a pretty random way. Can someone number them? Maybe something like Season One - Episode 1, etc. Is this possible?
0:53 "If they looked the other way..." Well who is flaunting or disrespecting in that case? The premise makes no sense.
Here from Reddit
so what is the brown paper bag for drugs? I'd like to know!
just say no.
bravo!
A great moment, of civic compromise.
I disagree. The problem with the law is that they can still enforce it selectively; every bad law you leave on the books will be abused somehow. In this case, police will use it to arrest people selectively and in this case it's even more subversive because it's starts off with the premise that cops, not politicians, should be setting the laws. Say you'll enforce it. Enforce it. Let the politicians repeal it. Anything else leads to corruption.
Hunger Games was the shit, yo!
WELCOME TO NEW HAMSTERDAM!!!
The cops aren't shit, the suits who write the ridiculous rules for them to enforce are. That was kind of the point of the whole show.
drug culture produced by the law via goverments. recriational activities doesn't meant to be illegal otherwise it's a wide open door to create misery in society.
The acting literally cannot be improved
@Renegen1 I know police don't have the power to repeal laws, but by enforcing laws unevenly they solve one problem but leave the bull in the teashop. In politics, one of the best ways to achieve a political objective is to divide and conquer. If you only enforce a law unevenly you can arrest a black man for vagrancy or someone you know has a record for an open container. Meanwhile, another person who isn't a minority, or has lived a saintly life, can stand on the corner with an open bottle.
The Drug War is a racket
So it's one law for the old and another for the young? One law for the good, hardworking and respectable and another for the bad, the layabouts, and those you hold in contempt?
I'm sorry, I was raised to believe in the rule of law, in equality before the law. That if a law is good enough for one of us then it's good enough for all of us; and if it's unjust to one of us, it's unjust to all of us.
@GozerTheGozerian The theory makes sense to me - less unwanted people (of any race) is going to have a dramatic effect. And if we're talking statistics, most of the crimes were committed by the poor minorities (ie blacks), so while its certainly not a pleasant thing to confront, the statistics do tell tales. Who are the ones committing crimes? Minorities. Who are the ones getting abortions? Also minorities.
So basically we should legalize marijuana as long as it's in a blunt or a tobacco pipe and we can't tell exactly what it is? Sounds good to me