[Leica] The story of my detention by the NYPD

[tedgrant at shaw.ca (Ted Grant)]

Kyle Cassidy offered:
> but if you're not there to take the picture, what happens to the people?
the
> job of the media is to be an eye for the public. if the police can scare
off
> photographers with threats of arrest, what happens then? year by year the
> media in this country is losing access, i suppose this is a logical
> continuation. they've been defanged. <<<<<,

Kyle,
Actually the bottom line boys have defanged the media, not the police.
Although police officers are carrying out the "plan as they've been
ordered," it's money behind the whole thing. Because the multi-owner
newspapers and TV corporations do not want to rock the profit margin for
themselves and share holders.

It isn't like it was in the real olden days when a newspaper was a one owner
and he could say anything about any politician or President in any fashion
he wished his writing and editorial staff to do. Not so today!

It's like having access to the White House Press corp. If you're bad
mouthing the wrong guy it isn't long until your questions are never
acknowledged at a press conference or all of a sudden you find your media
credentials are null and void!

And if a TV Network is supportive of the head honcho politician, that TV
network sure as hell isn't going to report the "cops were beating on the
poor folks today" certainly in any way to cause embarrassment to the head
guy!

So I'll go on record, no matter what cause one might have, the world is
totally screwed-up and it's not worth getting arrested for doing nothing.
Nor getting your camera gear smashed or confiscated when no matter how
strongly one feels about police harassment, you are beating your brains
against a gun barrel loaded with shot pellet and in a no-win position.

So get a South Pacific assignment, photograph beautiful women, lie on the
beach, have a cold beer and veg out until the world returns to some sense of
normalcy after the next century, if we're lucky.

Be a heck of a lot more fun, not so hard on your nerves, nor blood pressure
going through the roof in a cardiac arrest! Certainly when you really can't
change anything no matter how much you believe you can.

ted