I'm just not so naive to believe that me as an ordinary member of the public photographing some policemen beating the hell out of a drunk while "resisting arrest" is going to change the police or the World either in my country or yours.It's not the job. It is the right. And if no media are there, it will go unrecorded, so the "it's the job of the media" argument is inapplicable in that situation.
I consider it my obligation, to the victim and to society, to record it if I have the means to do so.
I'm just not so naive to believe that me as an ordinary member of the public photographing some policemen beating the hell out of a drunk while "resisting arrest" is going to change the police or the World either in my country or yours.
Bodycams certainly saved the day here: http://time.com/3667089/albuquerque-police-murder-charge-body-cameras/
One is justified in wondering how may more murders these officers committed while incognito.
My opinion is that photography is VITAL towards maintaining a credible society that is not threatened with police usurping the rights of those not in a position to fight back. If police cannot police themselves, who can? Maybe a camera can.
But more troubling will be the ongoing efforts by police to remove such evidence, or not allow it in the first place to be recorded. A camera is a technical instrument, not a truth (which cannot be voided). Thus, it remains to be seen how much of a commitment towards this new technology will be supported by those placed in a position to really matter.
It is sad that a law enforcment oath is, all too often, but an oath of hypocrisy, and duly backed, confirmed, by sycophants in power. - David Lyga
Americans emigrated to Canada before the war of 1812 primarily because they were offered grants of free land to do so by the government to settle there because the country was so underpopulated.Good Lord, things must be very bad in the USA.
There are quite a few credible societies that are not "threatened with police usurping the rights of those not in a position to fight back" Nor wondering with the concept of police murdering innocents, incognito.
Perhaps it has to do with the historical nature of the foundations of the state.
Many Americans came to Canada around the time of the Revolutionary War, helping to found Canada on the basis of Peace, Order and Good Government i.e. society based on the group.
The concept of society based on the personal, we are taught, was basic to the United States.
This tread reminded me of that.
Actually, Brian, this issue has been vetted before here and the Philadelphia Daily News has, on its front page, told people to take pictures. The Police Commissioner, Charles Ramsey, has 're-educated' its police as well. I actually have little fear of police in Philadelphia. That said, when I was living in NYC back in the 70s, I was afraid to even visit Philadelphia because we had, as Mayor, the infamous Frank Rizzo, who may be forever remembered as Philadelphia's fall from grace (to put it mildly). - David Lyga
Americans as a matter of fact emigrated to Canada before the war of 1812 primarily because they were offered grants of free land.
But things aren't really as bad in USA as David and Mike make it seem.
There is a lot of truth to that, Blansky. Sometimes for good reason, though. It is a societal ill -- not just the police abuse but the reason why the police need to interact with citizens at all.
It did with Rodney King. Yes, the cops were acquitted, but it brought the subject to the fore, and the incident has never been forgotten. It did make a difference.I'm just not so naive to believe that me as an ordinary member of the public photographing some policemen beating the hell out of a drunk while "resisting arrest" is going to change the police or the World either in my country or yours.
Rodney King wasn't an innocent bystander getting beat up for no reason at all. His behavior at the time of the incident and throughout his subsequent lifetime proved him to not be a saint. There was a lot of shared responsibility on his side.
Saint or sinner, nobody deserves that kind of beat-down by a mob of policemen.
It did with Rodney King. Yes, the cops were acquitted, but it brought the subject to the fore, and the incident has never been forgotten. It did make a difference.
Some of us do. I have had employees and co-workers who have had to deal with driving while black/brown, etc. Some guys were late to work because of it. These were ordinary guys in ordinary cars, minding their own business.White people just don't get it, because it never happens to them.
Oh gosh... cut the political-correctness crap (referring to the thread in general, not any specific post). Or just join the nightly looters and recreational anarchists around here, down the street in Oakland, and watch your business get trashed and robbed under some political pretext. The news always wants some stereotyped scoop, and it's generally pretty distorted. What do crowbars, claw hammers, and baseball bats have to do with legitimate protests? There's only been over twenty of them. They shut down the freeway and even ambulances can't get through to a heart attack victim intimidated by the mob. Maybe time to treat criminals like criminals and stop pretending they have a "right" to terrorize the rest of the community. Guess what utterly destroyed the startup momentum of the arts & gallery community downtown? Who wants to visit a war zone? I know some of these cops they're slandering and trying to provoke. They risk their lives trying to protect people like you and me. Why not go protest the pimps, gangbangers, human traffickers, and drug dealers instead, who kill people every day. Utter hypocrisy!
kills dozens of
No doubt, but to bring the discussion back to photography... its too bad that it was electronic video and not analog photography that contributed to righting that wrong.
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