When the protests over the grand jury decision in the case of Eric Garner broke out I was expecting them to take place around police stations. It was also expected that the marchers would take to streets and sidewalks in popular areas where the media could easily film them. But there are new targets in their sights, and as you might expect they shut down business at the Apple Store and Macy’s.

I’m sorry… what was that again?

Protesters staged a “die in” Friday night in an Apple store on Fifth Avenue and in Macy’s at Herald Square.

Hundreds of people angry over police treatment of African-American men crowded the street outside the Apple store, and some made their way through the store’s large glass doors…

Zandir Santos, 30, of Brooklyn, relished in the idea that protesters had disrupted life at an Apple store and a Macy’s in New York. The filmmaker said this is a pivotal time in American history and that police must change how they treat people.

“The CEO of Apple knows we shut his store down–that means capitalist America is going to take us seriously,” he said. “We are going to shake up your business and we want to hit you where it hurts. “

So you’re upset about race relations between police and the black community, so you are going to… shut down capitalism? Okay, then.

So who is this Zandir Santos? The media footprint is thin, but he appears to have a brand spanking new Twitter account which only had 15 tweets as of Saturday morning. And a majority of those seem to be attempts to promote a ten minute short film he produced created about Ferguson and published on You Tube.

But Zandir wasn’t the only one with a message to send. He was joined by Chernell Brown.

Chernell Brown lay down on the floor and encouraged other protesters to do the same in memory of Michael Brown, an unarmed 18-year-old black man who died after an altercation with a Ferguson, Mo., police officer in August. The move was symbolic of the four hours Brown lay on the ground after he died.

“This is our house,” shouted Brown, 25. “No more business as usual. Revolution is not comfortable.”

We’re seeing a repeating theme about sending a message to capitalist America. There was probably a time when that would have left me scratching my head since the local and city police aren’t generally seen as fat cats and robber barons. Then again, I’ve long since given up trying to suss out the rationale for some of these events. But seeing the assembly and tactics of the New York City crowd, combined with the messages on display here, I do have to wonder one thing. Are these just the dead enders from the Occupy movement finding a reason to dash back out into the streets and strike another blow against big business, this time using the death of Eric Garner and racial tension in general as a beard?