Albany Museum of Political Corruption
With Trader Joe's now in the area, Bruce Roter has moved on to another pursuit: an Albany Museum of Political Corruption.
As Roter tells the Biz Review's Mike DeMasi: "That's what Albany is known for. Why shy away from it? Let's embrace it. If other politicians can come from around the state and sully the name of Albany, why not cash in on it?"
From the Facebook page Roter has set up for the idea:
Just think of it, a wonderful "rogue's gallery" of those who have sullied Albany's fine name!And the creative possibilities!... for example, visitors wouldn't pay an entrance fee, they'd pay a bribe! (of course). And parents will be encouraged to lie about how old their children are!
And the gift shop, ladies and gentlemen, that will be the best! We will sell little dolls of men and women in suits, and written on their backs will be this: "I bought this legislator in Albany, NY." ...
Friends, we here in Albany take ourselves too seriously. A bit of self-deprecating humor would serve us well. Or, to "corrupt" the lyrics from a famous song: "a spoonful of irreverence makes the medicine go down!"
[via @AlbBizMikeD]
From way back: No Trader Joe's, no peace: What's up with Bruce Roter's supermarket activism [CelinaBean]
Spitzer photo: US Department of State via Wikipedia
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Comments
There's a deep and rich history of graft in our country (even if we do pretty well by world standards) - I honestly think a "corruption museum" would be both good, provocative fun and educational.
... said JohnnyC on Jul 25, 2013 at 2:16 PM | link
I think this is something the NYS museum should do as an exhibit. I really don't think a whole museum based on political corruption would be worth it.
... said Hock41 on Jul 25, 2013 at 3:31 PM | link
The NYS Museum wouldn't touch that topic.
... said chrisck on Jul 25, 2013 at 4:59 PM | link
Excellent idea. I wish Mr. Rotor all the best in securing permits.
... said Lucas on Jul 25, 2013 at 8:10 PM | link
I'm just jealous I didn't think of it first.
... said abby on Jul 25, 2013 at 9:38 PM | link
Same as Abby. This is actually an excellent idea that could be approached from a lot of angles, and which would never want for new exhibits. It's just quirky enough to attract people who otherwise might not make the trip to Albany, and it's way more interesting than tanks of carp. I don't know of another corruption museum in the world. Anybody got the blueprints for Tammany Hall?
... said Carl on Jul 26, 2013 at 10:55 AM | link
I hope Mr. Roter knows someone who can execute on this. An obnoxious letter-writing and blog-comment-posting campaign probably isn't going to cut it.
Plus, he's probably not going to find a band of weirdos who think Albany "needs" this museum.
Seriously though, it's a great idea. Unlikely as it is, I would love to see it.
... said meh on Jul 28, 2013 at 12:26 AM | link
I hope Mr. Roter understands that museums in general are ridiculously expensive to develop and sustain. Single topic museums even more so because they don't have as wide an audience. Many fail. (I worked for many years chartering museums in NYS so I have some professional knowledge of this.)
Also, collecting the "artifacts" of political corruption would probably just be a lot of photographs of various political rogues and documents. This does not make for interesting exhibits. Do you really think you can get the black socks Spitzer allegedly wore with his prostitutes? If so, get back to me and I'll serve on the board of this museum.
... said chrisck on Jul 29, 2013 at 9:33 AM | link
Wow, meh, your comment is obviously targeted towards the campaign to get an Albany aquarium ... Not sure why you are hating on those who find that idea interesting. Maybe you haven't been to an aquarium before, but the audience of 'weirdos' is actually pretty huge, not to mention spanning all ages, races and socioeconomic status. I can't say the same for this extremely niche idea however clever it may be. I'm also reminded of the 'cart-before-the-horse' comments left by naysayers on every aquarium post... Good thing the Political Corruption museum is doing it right, setting entry prices and gift shop merchandise as priority number one.
... said Paul on Jul 29, 2013 at 1:25 PM | link
Paul- No, my comment had nothing to do with the aquarium idea. Do a search of some local blogs for "Trader Joes" and read some of the comments on the posts you find.
... said meh on Jul 29, 2013 at 7:46 PM | link
Knowing Albany you should have no problem getting the place wired. I am sure they already put you on the list.
... said Janet on Aug 1, 2013 at 1:41 PM | link