Intimidation Goes Down To The Bottom Levels Of Our Society

With all of our national and international news on the "War on Terror," it is easy to overlook the smaller moments of intimidation that occurs in our society. Those of us who grew up during the latter end of the struggle for civil rights in the US--those of us that can remember the riots in Watts, Newark, Detroit, as well as the March on Washington and the speeches of MLK, Jr.--we know how the local police can intimidate and over-step their bounds.

Today, while taking pictures of a public event--an event occurring at a public park and open to the public--I was approached by an off-duty police officer, after taking a picture of several police officers participating in the event--and asked the purpose of my photography. I merely responded that I was taking background photography with the possibility of freelancing one or two pictures to a local newspaper. The off-duty officer then asked me the following question: "What's the law regarding freelance photography?"

While I did not miss a beat in my answer, informing him that as long as it was a public event on public property and I was not acting in a criminal matter, there was no law against taking pictures, it was clear that he was attempting to intimidate me. In my assessment, this guy was trying to push me into a psychological corner and throw his "authority" at me. When I did not buy into it, he walked away.

On the surface of the interaction, one could not say that he had done anything wrong. No law, rule or procedure was breached in the exchange. But it was intimidation and it was intended to be such. The challenge was not so much to my right to take pictures, but my right to even be present within the park.

The fear and intimidation in our society reaches way down to the local level. Our culture of fear is taking over our culture of freedom and liberty... and as a native-born American citizen, a veteran of two branches of military service, and as a teacher, it shames me.