Welcome to My World

I’m officially sick of people lording artificial power just because they can. I’m tired of people who aren’t causing harm or even inconvenience being harassed for taking pictures of a public place. Lest a language lawyer pounce on me by pointing out “but, but, but Union Station isn’t a public place, it’s privately owned and operated!” I will explain that when I use the term “public place” in this rant, I refer to the concept of a place wherein random persons can freely enter, mill about, and exit unmolested under most circumstances. This includes places like bus stations, train stations, airport lobbies (the bits where you don’t have to go through security to reach), even 24-hour Wal-Marts. I refer to it as any place where you can walk in without paying an admission fee, goof around harmlessly for awhile, then leave.

“Officially,” I’m probably not allowed to even be in those places unless I have direct, legitimate business there (getting on a bus, train, or airport, or dropping off/picking up someone who is/was; or buying something sold at the store or at least pricing with a clear intent to purchase), but practicality (how the hell would someone effectively police against “harmless loitering” anyway?) and common sense (what hope do you have of ever getting my business if you throw me out just for looking around or taking some pictures?) has so far stopped any kind of “official” action taken against me (except for the bastard pictured in the thumbnail, who told me I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures whilst inside The Wynn in Las Vegas). It is absolutely insane, though, to stop legitimate journalists and professional photographers (hell, I’m “just” a wanker with a camera and a big mouth, and I get to take pictures where I want) from taking one-of-a-kind photographs (using a brand new robotic panoramic camera arm designed to aid in capturing high-quality 360-degree panoramas) of a well-known landmark that could only possibly serve to make people further notice and appreciate said landmark.

On one hand, it’s a fantastic thing that these assholes are flexing their muscles in inappropriate ways — it gets the behavior way out there in the open and makes everyone start to realize that this stuff is getting far out of hand. On the other, though, this is an increasingly alarming sign that the bullies have all taken jobs as security guards or police officers, and that all the fun stuff we as Americans once took for granted are being eroded away.

Let me put this in terms that might matter to you, in case the point I’ve made above hasn’t scared you enough:

• At any shopping mall in the nation, you can be told to stop taking pictures and leave the property immediately, and you can be (successfully) prosecuted for trespassing if you ask any questions instead of immediately complying. That photograph of you and your friends by that spiffy fountain could give you a criminal record.
• Taking a picture of yourself or of someone else standing in front of your own car could land you in court, because the car manufacturer has a copyright on the design of the car, and your photograph technically constitutes an unauthorized use of the vehicle’s “likeness.”
• On your next trip to Disney World, Disney Land, any other theme park, or your favorite zoo, remember that, since it is technically “private” property, a similar demand can be issued. You’re technically not “allowed” to take pictures at Disney World (or any other park), but it’s just never (or is very rarely) enforced. That picture of your kid hugging Mickey Mouse could get you sued.
• If you live in an apartment complex, your landlord can technically order you never to take a photograph of the property (inside or out, including within your own apartment) and can kick you out on your ass (using the “must adhere to all property and community rules whether given in writing or orally by management” clause in your lease … go find it, it’s fun) if s/he ever proves you did it anyway. Yeah — that picture of your cat sitting in your bathtub? That can get you evicted from your home if your landlord is enough of an asshole.

I imagine you think I’m really grasping at straws here, but the shopping mall thing has already happened (several times, in several places), and Ford has pulled the “design copyright” nonsense (successfully, even tested in court!) with its Mustang line of vehicles. Disney and other theme park owners have resisted this temptation to stem all “unauthorized leakage of their intellectual property via amateur photography” solely because the public outcry and backlash would be crippling (just imagine the broadcasts on the news programs: “Disney announced today that all photography at its parks by its guests has been banned, citing copyright concerns. Guests can still have pictures taken with their favorite characters, but must find a park photographer to have the picture taken and guests must purchase prints directly from Disney. Making copies of the prints is strictly forbidden — the company is refusing to permit guests to post even low-quality copies online in personal web sites.”).

The apartment thing is a serious stretch, and I get the feeling you’d at least be able to put up a strong fight in court if something that stupid happened, but just imagine if a landlord was able to actually pull this off successfully: he could sue you for violating the terms of your lease then just for taking pictures or videos of the apartment when you move out to document its condition when you left.

This war on photography is hilarious to me — cops and security guards are top on the list of people who absolutely fucking loathe being caught on film, even when they actually are obeying the law and doing things “by the book.” You’ll note that in Andy’s description (in the article linked above) of the encounter with the security guards at Union Station that they repeatedly demanded that the photographs, especially those of the guards themselves, be erased from the cameras (this, fortunately, continues to be something the courts have said is not something a person can force you to do in most circumstances).

Nobody really ever comes out and says it plainly, but I need to: a police officer and/or a security guard absolutely hates the idea of being watched. An “honest” cop who isn’t actually trying to deliberately screw with someone “just because he can” hates being watched because it’s an insult to his pride — “how dare you distrust me so much that you have to record what I do?” A corrupt cop that’s in it for the bullying hates being watched because it can be used later to prove he went too far, either getting charges dropped or landing him in the middle of a lawsuit himself. It makes it hard to be bad when anybody could be watching.

A person who adopts the attitude of “I’m wearing a uniform and a badge, you will do as I say” is the easiest person in the world to piss off. All you have to do is say “no, I won’t.” If it’s a cop you say this to, you’d best have some damned good recording going on and have a fantastic reason why you’re disobeying an officer, because he’s going to do something nasty to you in retaliation and even if you’re completely right, courts tend to side with cops. If it’s just a simple security grunt at a shopping mall or a “private business,” though, you’ve got more leverage. All they can really do is call the police and try to press charges, but if the cops show up as you’re leaving and you make it clear that you’re on the way out and have no interest in a fight, you usually don’t end up with any trouble.

A side note: this does not apply in casinos, especially in Las Vegas, where security grunts within those buildings have remarkably police-like powers. Heh. Bluntly, they’re a bit scarier than real cops in Vegas, so it’s “yes sir/no sir” all the way with those spooks.

Getting back to the Union Station incident linked above, I find the reaction here by the security guards to be deeply disturbing. If these photographers were getting in the way, impeding foot traffic, slowing down departures somehow, making people miss their rides, hurting people, costing Union Station money, or otherwise actually damaging someone in some fashion, I could see the complaint. But simple “you can’t take pictures here because you didn’t get explicit consent from us first, get out!” is absolute crap. Plain and simple.

If you have no other reason to complain about a person’s actions, other than “you didn’t get my permission first,” something’s wrong, and it’s not what the other person is doing. It’s likely something wrong with you or your policies. I need to hear a legitimate explanation why professional journalists can’t take pictures without permission inside Union Station. Besides the bullshit of “because it’s our property and we say so.”

Do people hoping to catch a ride at Union Station (you know, those pesky commuters and paying ticket holders) have to have express written consent to be on the property? Do I have to have express written consent to walk onto the property unannounced/uninvited just to look around and stare in awe at the architecture and construction? Do I have to have express written consent to go watch the trains there, just because I happen to like trains?

Does anyone else out there hear a little weasel voice answering “yes” to some of those? Does anyone think that’s really fucked up besides me?