E.R.N. Reed wrote:
Shel Belinkoff wrote:
... I had no intention of turning it into a
pissing match with a cop who was only doing the job his community wanted
him to do. He was polite - almost to the point of being apologetic -
and a
gentleman, and we shook hands when the encounter was over.
See, here's a point I think was mostly missed in an earlier thread (I
pointed it out but I don't know if anybody picked up on it) -- It's not
necessarily a case of "police want to harass" as that some people get
suspicious and call them, and then they have to make inquiries --
knowing that most of the time it's going to be "nothing" but once in
some large number of times, it might be "something." (Like, how many
people ever pulled over for a missing licence plate had just bombed a
Federal building?)
Personally I don't understand the mindset behind calling the cops on a
person with a camera in the vicinity of a high school (I don't even get
excited about "person with a camera in the vicinity of a playground" --
I generally assume the latter are parents, grandparents or otherwise
connected to the children, after all that's why *I*'m there with my
camera) but apparently that particular paranoid mindset exists. The
police are probably about as tired of it as the photographers with whom
they have these casual little chats.
I dont understand the mindset either. Perhaps its a reaction to the
tendency of today's media to sensationalize everything. You know, the
typical story of a child that gets abducted, was last seen playing in
the playground with other kids. And the media focuses attention on why
no one stopped the stranger with a camera that was seen lurking around
earlier. This on-air mock trial and conviction sticks in people's minds
and the presumption of innocence is gone the next time someone with a
camera is seen anywhere near a playground/school.
(If "strange person with camera near a playground" strikes up
conversation with my child at a distance from me, I'd start taking a
close interest, but otherwise, no.)
I take it this story means you're on the mend physically, Shel? Good to
hear, if so.
ERNR
- Re: Today I Was Stopped by the Police While Photographing Gonz
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