{"id":7494,"date":"2012-04-27T14:19:15","date_gmt":"2012-04-27T18:19:15","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=7494"},"modified":"2022-08-18T13:46:12","modified_gmt":"2022-08-18T17:46:12","slug":"at-92-a-bandit-to-hollywood-but-a-hero-to-soldiers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=7494","title":{"rendered":"At 92, a Bandit to Hollywood but a Hero to Soldiers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Good day all. Every once in a great while, the New York Times puts together a story that warms your heart and almost makes up for the incredibly bad stories they usually put out…Almost. In this case the story is about a member of the Greatest Generation who was basically bootlegging DVD\u2019s, ripping them, burning them to disk and sending them to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a few excerpts from the New York Times<\/a> written by Alan Schwartz<\/a>:<\/p>\n

MASSAPEQUA, N.Y. \u2014 One of the world\u2019s most prolific bootleggers of Hollywood DVDs loves his morning farina. He has spent eight years churning out hundreds of thousands of copies of \u201cThe Hangover,\u201d<\/a> \u201cGran Torino\u201d and other first-run movies from his small Long Island apartment to ship overseas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh NO! It\u2019s a pirate! Hollywood studios will demand his summery execution now!!<\/p>\n

\u201cBig Hy\u201d \u2014 his handle among many loyal customers \u2014 would almost certainly be cast as Hollywood Enemy No. 1 but for a few details. He is actually Hyman Strachman, a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the death of his wife. And he has sent every one of his copied DVDs, almost 4,000 boxes of them to date, free to American soldiers in Iraq and Afghanistan.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I don\u2019t what branch of the service or where Mr. Strachman served, but he knows what it\u2019s like for our troops, and in his own way he did what he could to relieve their stress and boredom.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s not the right thing to do, but I did it,\u201d Mr. Strachman said, acknowledging that his actions violated copyright law.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf I were younger,\u201d he added, \u201cmaybe I\u2019d be spending time in the hoosegow.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And I would say, Good luck finding a jury to convict \u201cBig Hy.\u201d Not only did he NOT personally profit from this, but he sank thousands of dollars into his endeavor to help our troops.<\/p>\n

He has not kept an official count but estimates that he topped 80,000 discs a year during his heyday in 2007 and 2008, making his total more than 300,000 since he began in 2004. Postage of about $11 a box, and the blank discs themselves, would suggest a personal outlay of over $30,000.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Surly, our forces were horribly upset that someone was pirating movies and sending the DVD\u2019s to them in the field. Umm, not so much.<\/p>\n

Capt. Bryan Curran, who recently returned from Afghanistan, estimated that from 2008 to 2010, Mr. Strachman sent more than 2,000 DVDs to his outfits there.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re shocked because your initial image is of some back-alley Eastern European bootlegger \u2014 not an old Jewish guy on Long Island,\u201d Captain Curran said. \u201cHe would time them with the movie\u2019s release \u2014 whenever a new movie was just in theaters, we knew Big Hy would be sending us some. I saw \u2018The Transformers\u2019 before it hit the States.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jenna Gordon, a specialist in the Army Reserve, said she had handed out even more of Mr. Strachman\u2019s DVDs last year as a medic with the 883rd Medical Company east of Kandahar City, where soldiers would gather for movie nights around personal computers, with mortar blasting in the background. Some knew only that the discs came from some dude named Big Hy; others knew not even that.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was pretty big stuff \u2014 it\u2019s reconnecting you to everything you miss,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019d tell people to take a bunch and pass them on.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh No! They were aiding and abetting! Anyone who watched one of these movies should be tossed into the stockade for life!! Why, think of the effect on the morale of the troops when they get a new movie that they can watch on a computer while cleaning their weapons. It must have utterly destroyed it!!<\/p>\n

Umm, no.<\/p>\n

As for his brazen violation of domestic copyright laws, Mr. Strachman nodded guiltily but pointed to his walls, which are strewed with seven huge American flags, dozens of appreciative letters, and snapshots of soldiers holding up their beloved DVDs.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery time I got back an emotional e-mail or letter, I sent them another box,\u201d he said, adding that he had never accepted any money for the movies or been told by any authorities to stop.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The movie industry must have known what Big Hy was doing and supported him. Otherwise they would have set loose the lawyers of war and destroyed him.<\/p>\n

The movie studios are less enthusiastic. Although the most costly piracy now takes place online through file-sharing Web sites, the illegal duplication of copyright DVDs \u2014 usually by organized crime in Eastern Europe and China, not by retirees in their 90s in the American suburbs \u2014 still siphons billions of dollars out of the industry every year. And while Mr. Strachman\u2019s movies were given to soldiers as a form of charity, studios do send military bases reel-to-reel films, which are much harder to copy, and projectors for the troops overseas.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

And troops in the field, or in camps away from the main bases will have lots of opportunity to see these movies. I\u2019m sure the military is really happy to set up a theater and have a few hundred soldiers in one place just asking for a mortar round or two to drop in for a visit.<\/p>\n

Howard Gantman, a spokesman for the Motion Picture Association of America<\/a>, said he did not believe its member studios were aware of Mr. Strachman\u2019s operation. His sole comment dripped with the difficulty of going after a 92-year-old widower supporting the troops.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are grateful that the entertainment we produce can bring some enjoyment to them while they are away from home,\u201d Mr. Gantman said.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Oh that was a really heartfelt statement. What a putz.<\/p>\n

The fun will stop soon, Mr. Strachman said. \u201cI\u2019m not sure who\u2019s going to be left over there anymore,\u201d he said, happier for the soldiers\u2019 return than for his need to find another hobby.<\/p>\n

And with that the duplicator beeped, spitting out seven more copies of \u201cThe Artist.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mr. Strachman scooped them out of their trays, put a rubber band around them and inserted the stack into a box, perhaps his very last.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

I, for one, would like to thank Mr. Strachman\u2019s efforts. In my opinion, he deserves an award for all the work he did. Hollywood? Considering that most of the movies they\u2019ve made in the last few years have bombed big time, they can go pound sand. Can you imagine these losers trying to take Mr. Strachman to court? There isn\u2019t a jury in the country that would convict him or find in favor of Hollywood. They would also royally piss off all the troops that received one of these disks and for a couple of hours, could forget where they were. I would also like to remind the MPAA that it isn\u2019t considered a good idea to annoy people with automatic weapons and heavy artillery.<\/p>\n

That is all<\/p>\n

~The Angry Webmaster~<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\"1\"2\"3\"4\"5 (3<\/strong> votes, average: 1.00<\/strong> out of 5)
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PrawfsBlawg: Compassionate Infringement<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
There, a copyist known as “Big Hy” likely spent $30000 of his own funds to ship bootlegged DVD’s to miliatary service personnnel overseas. According to the piece, “in black grandpa shoes and blue suspenders that hoisted his trousers up to …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/prawfsblawg.blogs.com\/prawfsblawg\/ \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 11:01:05 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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UNUSUAL \u2013 Big Hy, 92 years, pirate and benefactor | News 12<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
UNUSUAL \u2013 Big Hy, 92 years, pirate and benefactor. Strachman Hyman, 92, is a villain for Hollywood, but a hero for the U.S. Army, writes the New York Times. A veteran of World War II has graciously sent over 300000 pirated DVDs to the …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/news-12.com\/ \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:50:52 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Know All That! \u2013 92-year-old bootlegger sends thousands of DVDs …<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
Known as “Big Hy” to his customers, Strachman found that soldiers were consistently requesting DVDs on a website dedicated to publishing care package requests. When asked about the ethics of his actions, Strachman admits “It’s not the …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/knowallthat.com\/ \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:40:31 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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Meet The 92-Year-Old Man Who Pirates Movies For The Troops …<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cIt’s not the right thing to do, but I did it,\u201d Strachman \u2014 known by the handle \u201cBig Hy\u201d in the bootlegging world \u2014 told the New York Times. \u201cIf I were younger, maybe I’d be spending time in the hoosegow.\u201d Strachman, who lives on Long Island, …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/usmag.net\/ \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:32:48 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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WW2 Vet Sent 300000 Pirated DVDs To Troops In Iraq, Afghanistan …<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
nbauman writes \u201cWW2 veteran ‘Big Hy’ Strachman, 92, pirated 300000 DVD movies and sent them to soldiers in Afghanistan and Iraq, where they were widely distributed and deeply appreciated. Soldiers would gather around personal …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/kenmay.net\/ \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:30:16 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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NY Times Outs 92 Year-Old DVD Bootlegger Who’s A Hero To …<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
The soldiers he supplies free entertainment to (he pays for everything himself and charges nothing) refer to him as \u201cBig Hy.\u201d \u201cIt’s not the right thing to do, but I did it,\u201d Strachman told the New York Times. \u201cIf I were younger,\u201d he added, \u201cmaybe I’d …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/www.uproxx.com\/<\/a> \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 10:04:57 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n
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At 92, A Bandit To Hollywood But a Hero To Soldiers | Joel Housman<\/a><\/h3>\n<\/div>\n
\u201cBig Hy\u201d \u2014 his handle among many loyal customers \u2014 would almost certainly be cast as Hollywood Enemy No. 1 but for a few details. He is actually Hyman Strachman, a 92-year-old, 5-foot-5 World War II veteran trying to stay busy after the …<\/div>\n
http:\/\/joelhousman.com\/<\/a> \u2014 Fri, 27 Apr 2012 09:56:53 -0700<\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Good day all. Every once in a great while, the New York Times puts together a story that warms your heart and almost makes up for the incredibly bad stories they usually put out…Almost. In this case the story is about a member of the Greatest Generation who was basically bootlegging DVD\u2019s, ripping them, burning them to disk and sending them to the troops in Afghanistan and Iraq. Continue reading →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6302,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[4,37,71],"tags":[11,4,12,17,101,28,30],"class_list":["post-7494","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-entertainment","category-liberty-politics","category-news-of-the-day","tag-america","tag-entertainment","tag-freedom","tag-liberty","tag-news","tag-united-states","tag-war"],"views":1708,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/01\/patton.jpg?fit=321%2C465&ssl=1","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":35159,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=35159","url_meta":{"origin":7494,"position":0},"title":"Actress Rose McGowan opens fire on Hollywood Cuomosexuals","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"August 12, 2021","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all Actress and activist Rose McGowan has been hammering people who have sexually abused women, generally using their positions to force women to submit to them. 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A new report has come out on where the number one destination for pizza is and it\u2019s not where you would normally think it would be.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=176"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/i.pinimg.com\/736x\/f4\/ba\/da\/f4bada384231b5ee0d3d1f45c30a9fe8.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":22613,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=22613","url_meta":{"origin":7494,"position":2},"title":"Precious Snowflakes distraught over Pres. Trump","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"November 10, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. 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His board of directors was trying to figure out a graceful way to deal with him. Winestain has been a major\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Crime"","block_context":{"text":"Crime","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=3"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/06\/Thrown-under-the-bus-300x240.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":37033,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=37033","url_meta":{"origin":7494,"position":4},"title":"Musk pulls the trigger","author":"Angry Webmaster","date":"April 14, 2022","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all. This is a breaking story, but it looks like Elon Musk has just pulled the trigger and tendered an offer to take Twitter private in a deal worth over $40 billion dollars. The details are still coming out, but it looks like Musk is going to offer\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Economy"","block_context":{"text":"Economy","link":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?cat=176"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/angry.net\/blog2\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/12\/schadenboner-246x300.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":21128,"url":"https:\/\/angry.net\/blog2\/?p=21128","url_meta":{"origin":7494,"position":5},"title":"Former Top Gear hosts have named their new show","author":"Angry Systems Administrator","date":"May 11, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Good day all, this is the Angry Systems Administrator. 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