I just noticed your question today, Charles, so my apologies for not responding sooner. Anyway, subsequent posts by Andreas, Jan, and others basically summed up what I was trying to say: Generally, "Truth is a matter of perspective".
More on this point: The event that occurred at the UCLA library was witnessed by a variety of people, but it was the video that made it a sensation. Without the video, perhaps nothing would have been made of the event; certainly it wouldn't have been drawn to our attention here, in the videoblogging Yahoo!Group. But just because some of the event was "captured" on video, it doesn't relate the full truth of what occurred. Certainly, it can be used as evidence, much akin to eyewitness reports. But we -- as a society, not this group of videobloggers -- tend to give much weight to what we see on video, often out of proportion to other evidence being presented. To a jury, eyewitness reports may not hold a candle to a video presentation in the courtroom. We're (generally) more swayed by video than we are by words these days. (Again, this is a generalization, perhaps practiced less by this group, since we're all attuned to the camera's "tricks".) I don't wish to belabor this point, as it's already been discussed to some extent. I will clarify another detail, however, as it relates to an earlier post I made in this thread. I had previously posted that I'd never been asked for ID at Powell (the UCLA library in which this event took place). Since then, I've been reminded me that the UCPD are *required* to ask for identification in the computer labs and during Night Powell (UCLA library's night hours). My girlfriend has been asked for ID during Night Powell, and both her and I were *always* carded before entering the computer lab -- in fact, the last time I used the lab, there was a sign-in process. (Though, to be perfectly honest, it's been more than a few years since I've entered the computer lab there.) So if the staff of Powell were asking for ID, it is likely they were doing their required job, rather than being discriminatory. As for the behavior of the police -- well, that's another matter. I make no judgement on their actions without further evidence, since I wasn't there and don't have much information beyond the video to make a reasonably solid assessment of the situation. (Dang, I sound so, uh, *bureaucratic* or something!) Harold an ongoing occurrence at http://somethingthathappened.com On 11/26/06, Charles Iliya Krempeaux <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > Hey Harold, > > On 11/20/06, Harold Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<harold.johnson%40gmail.com>> > wrote: > > > > So I was in that library last week; as usual, nobody asked for any type > of > > identification or anything. I've no complaint about that; I'm just > noting > > the fact. I've been in this library perhaps a hundred times since I > > graduated, and don't recall an occasion in which I was "carded". Perhaps > > the library is open to the public; I don't know. Just an FYI for anyone > > interested here. > > > > This an interesting story, to say the least, and I appreciate your > making us > > aware of it, Jay. IMO, there's probably a bit of (or perhaps alot of) > > useful information we're not getting here. I've seen some of the > characters > > who hang out in this library (me, for example!) -- and on campus, in > general > > -- and though the campus *feels* quite safe, there are enough homeless > > hanging around to have the UCPD patrol the library from time to time. > I'm > > not trying to generalize about the homeless here, many of whom I talk to > > regularly -- but some of my homeless friends are somewhat "touched", so > to > > speak. Certainly they can be distracting to anyone trying to study -- if > > not downright unpleasant to be around. (Take my schizophrenic fellow, > calm > > on most days, punching ghosts on others.) > > > > What I think is important here is perhaps the most obvious: that this > story > > demonstrates how personal video can "fill in the gaps", to a certain > extent, > > on many events -- but that does not imply that video records "the > Truth". > > I'm not sure what you mean here. How could that video show anything > but the truth. (You don't believe it to be a fake do you?) > > Are you saying that people might assume extra things not shown in the > video? Or am I misunderstanding you? > > See ya > > > Video can certainly provide more information regarding an event, yet it > can > > also dramatize and perhaps skew perception of the event. By no means, > > however, would I advocate suppressing this time of evidence; I simply > feel > > that it should be accepted with a grain of salt. It's too easy to be > swayed > > by video, allowing it to hold more weight than other evidence. > > > > My opinion, > > Harold > > http://somethingthathappened.com > > > > > > On 11/20/06, Harold Johnson <[EMAIL PROTECTED]<harold.johnson%40gmail.com>> > wrote: > > > > > > Oh, my. I've spent many long hours in that very library... > > > > > > Harold > > > > > > On 11/17/06, Jay dedman <[EMAIL PROTECTED] <jay.dedman%40gmail.com>> > > > wrote: > > > > > > > > Some of you may have read how a recent California student was > tasered > > > > by security guards > > > > lets see how the story plays out. > > > > > > > > Text: > > > > http://www.nysun.com/article/43718 > > > > "UCLA Officer Shocks Student With Stun Gun > > > > A UCLA police officer shocked a student with a stun gun at a campus > > > > library after he refused repeated requests to show student > > > > identification and wouldn't leave, police said. The student, Mostafa > > > > Tabatabainejad, was shocked Tuesday at about 11 p.m. as police did a > > > > routine check of student IDs at the University of California , Los > > > > Angeles Powell Library computer lab." > > > > > > > > Video: > > > > http://youtube.com/watch?v=m3GstYOIc0I > > > > > > > > Now.. text is extremely important because it allows us to discuss > the > > > > depth and subtleties of a story. > > > > > > > > But just watch the video taken by a fellow student using her > > > > videophone and uploaded to the web. > > > > The video shows the real drama behind the incident that usually gets > > > > washed over in text stories. > > > > > > > > Jay > > > > > > > > -- > > > > Me ----> http://www.momentshowing.net > > > > My Book ---->http://tinyurl.com/e6cap > > > > SF community ----> http://RyanIsHungry.com<http://ryanishungry.com/> > > > > Community Capitalism----> > > > > http://HaveMoneyWillVlog.com<http://havemoneywillvlog.com/> > > > > Educate ----> http://node101.org > > > > Collaboration ----> http://spinxpress.com > > > > Call now to activate----> 917 371 6790 > > -- > Charles Iliya Krempeaux, B.Sc. > > charles @ reptile.ca > supercanadian @ gmail.com > > developer weblog: http://ChangeLog.ca/ <http://changelog.ca/> > __________________________________________________________ > Make Television http://maketelevision.com/ > > __________________________________________________________ > Cars, Motorcycles, Trucks, and Racing... http://tirebiterz.com/ > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
