[Leica] In Your Experience Walt

[buzz.hausner at verizon.net (buzz.hausner@verizon.net)]

In an earlier post on a prior thread, I described negative encounters I have 
had with authority figures throughout Europe, Africa, the Middle East and 
the USA, all while simply exercizing my right to take pictures.  These 
encounters stretch back across nearly forty years and have been no more 
common since September 11, 2001.  It happens all the time...it has happened 
frequently in the four decades of my photographic experience.  It is nothing 
new and I feel no more loss of rights than I felt as a kid getting run in by 
New York City Transit Cops in 1963.  I have always been able to talk, 
cajole, threaten or bribe my way out of these encounters.

I think that professional photographers and reporters from other media would 
tell you that a quasi-adversarial relationship has always existed between us 
and authority figures.  I know indignation feels great, especially righteous 
indignation, however, I believe this is nothing to get particularly worked 
up over at this selected moment.

Buzz Hausner
> 
> From: "Walt Johnson" <walt@waltjohnson.com>
> Date: 2004/07/30 Fri PM 12:52:13 EDT
> To: "Lugmail" <lug@leica-users.org>
> Subject: [Leica] In my experience Buzz
> 
> Yes, some of us have had varying experiences with secret service types
> guarding candidates and office holders.
> 
> In my experience Buzz, many are typical government bureaucrats but armed
> rather than plain old tenured.
> 
> I am a bit curious though. Any one on the LUG ever had a negative 
> experience
> with "authority" while practicing (or pretending we have) constitutional
> rights and not have you come across as an apologist for officialdom?
> 
> Walt J.