Agree with all you said about the police, Morris. Since I have said various things about cops on this list in the past, this might be a good time to restate something I've said before:
I like cops as individuals. They have a difficult, dangerous, thankless but absolutely necessary job. Society couldn't function without them. I've known some socially, many more professionally and a few who had to (ahem) deal with me in the course of their duties (traffic tickets...). The vast majority of those are great people who chose their career so they could do good and make society better. However, since they hold so much power, it doesn't take much for one of them to stomp all over the civil rights someone who just happens to begin the wrong place at the wrong time. Could be a "bad apple" cop or maybe a good cop just having a bad day but they can sure ruin the lives of someone they decide to cross. Theirs is a job in which it's all to easy to become jaded and cynical, where the ends justify the means, where "bending the law" is okay because otherwise some soft judge will hand out a too-light sentence or some smartass lawyer will get a guilty guy off on a technicality. That is why we need to be vigilant, not because cops are bad, but because a very few are. Because even a good one can make a bad decision under stress. Mostly though it's just because they possess so much power. That's why I'm glad for the Gliks of the world. Btw, Morris, glad to hear of your father-in-law's 99th. Happy birthday to him (even if he is a Nikonian). ;-) cheers, frank "What can be asserted without proof can be dismissed without proof." -- Christopher Hitchens --- Original Message --- From: Morris Galloway <[email protected]> Sent: March 31, 2012 3/31/12 To: [email protected] Subject: Re: Photography in public places ([email protected]) Lurker Galloway crawls out from under his rock to comment on Doctor Theriault's legal analysis of public photography and the police. Exactly like his photography, it is precisely thought- out, clearly executed, and devoid of ambiguities. Which should remind all that he is apparently as good at law as at photography and bike riding. Not that anything needs to be added, but I can't help myself, so I press on -- The police, to a man (or woman), started life as a person first, and was trained in a skill-set that taught them they should expect the public to obey, and yet would face frequent defiance. So they are taught to enforce compliance, using the gun you see, or the back-up gun you don't see unless things go horribly wrong, and finally the 'weapon-retention system' which is police jargon for the 6" Benchmade knife you will never see until they are in a desperate fight for their lives, trained to use it to "cut you off of the gun" by severing your arm so severely you cannot grasp anything, or if that fails, they then open up your belly so you can concentrate on holding in your intestines, while they get away. Granted that is somewhat graphic, but all should realize them's the facts, and that is the situation. So, next time we all consider challenging the police, or sheriff's deputy, keep that in mind before embarking on mindless escalation. Of course a lot of you will wonder what possible background I could have to suggest such things, and I offer therefore to answer my 'criminal law phone' when you are put in jail in my county in the bread-basket of central America. Don't worry, my office is just south of the jail, it is the last sign you see before going inside. Just remember the phone number. We accept collect calls from Pentaxians. Other than that I'm going to play with the photos I just took of my step-father's 99th birthday party taken a few hours ago. If anything is half good enough (which I doubt) I might post something. Dad is in a neck-brace, because two weeks prior to today he lost his balance and fell head-long into the wall, breaking his neck. It would have certainly killed him except he is fortunate to be an orthopedic surgeon and realized what had happened on the way to the floor. He held is head in place with both hands, and told the caregivers not to move him until a neck-brace was obtained. Oh, he was a Nikon guy, but I'm bringing him around. (Yes, he was lying face-down on the bedroom floor, and told the caregiver "I've broken my neck. I've got a bi-lateral cervical fracture. Don't move me until you call 911 and get a neck brace." How's that for thinking quickly?) Galloway, Re-lurking now. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions. -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net to UNSUBSCRIBE from the PDML, please visit the link directly above and follow the directions.
