Humiliated, Angry, Ashamed, Brown

#1 Rob

It's surprising that you all haven't realized most of your rights have been taken away by the persons you've elected. Looks like they're going for a second term. When will you all learn?

B

1:44 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#2 Robert Grenetz

Paranoia steals freedom. As individual americans, we take our freedom for granted. Now, the government trying to steal it from us, by claiming that they are trying to protect us all. It's all so sadly typical.

Sadly, I'm also guessing some racial profiling was used to make you a target of their questions.

Carry your i.d. at all times. It may get worse, for all of us, before it gets better.

I'm just a cynical student of history

1:58 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#3 Dax Carand

Not only the American people have to bare the consequences. All in the name of security, the fact is that this doesn't improve security, it takes away privacy. Security is improved by assessing why a certain insecurity as occursed. Like my work as a IT security I assess infrastructures, homeland security is about much more then securing the population, unluckily a lot of people have no clue about the hidden agenda. And no, I don't believe in conspiracy theories, I believe in what I see .

2:52 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#4 Barb

Looks like the guy lived throught it all - and I didn't find any stray pieces of sky lying around anywhere in my yard...

I suggest the guy stick to a career doing child portraits and avoid more stressful forms photography, it would be far too much for him to handle.

Poor baby! May Mr. Edwards could file a class action suit after the election. I think he will have some time on his hands.

5:14 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#5 Oleg Kikin

They didn't arrest him, so whf is he worrying about? All they did is ask for his ID. Big f###ing deal.

6:39 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#6 peter

Ian posts a lot of follow-up stuff in his blog, http://www.brownequalsterrorist.com

7:06 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#7 S Fleming

When security asks me for my ID while I'm out photographing I readily produce it and thank them for doing their Job. I mean it sincerely. Maybe some cop, being diligent, will keep my family from being bombed.

All this guy cares about is the chip on his shoulder. Makes me sick to my stomach. Of course it will be somebody elses relatives having to jump from an eightieth floor window to avoid being roasted alive by burning jet fuel.

All the whiners care about is themselves. Thank God their political power is melting away every day.

8:10 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#8 Kev

It's not whether he was arrested or not, it's how he was *treated* by authorities. It's pretty much abusing their power, by being overly cautious or paranoid.

8:39 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#9 fredyr

Not normal. You should be happy that the police are on the ball. All you had to do was show your ID. In Israel, people and cars are spot-checked constantly and no-one minds. I have been stopped by police to ask what I am photographing and I am just happy they are alert. AND I am a 65 year old woman with grey hair. Get real we are living in a crazy world and that is why you have an ID so that they know who you are.

9:15 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#10 Ed Garrard

Are you allowed to photograph anything at all in the UK? Aren't you required to get some sort of clearance to shoot certain things? This is no different. I'm really surprised this was posted.

Instead of whining about the police, he ought to be castigating his instructor for not briefing him a little better on the law. Maybe that was the instructor's goal. To get his students to be his political surrogates.

9:16 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#11 Steve

"The police are on the ball?"

"Thank them for doing their job?"

Please. If a cop thinks that a terrorist is going to set up a tripod and take his sweet ass time taking pictures of historical bridges, then he definitely isn't "on the ball". He's most likely on something else.

And regardless of whether they arrested him or not, they asked him for his ID on several occasions. This is the fundamental point you're missing. If they asked for it once, and let him carry on and be done with it, fine. But over and over again, even though they long established that he's not a "threat"? That's harrassment. In the United States, that kind of behavior breeds activistism.

In other places in the world, it breeds terrorism.

Sigh. Seems to me that this type of officer - homeland security / puppet - is potty-trained and brainwashed to ignore common sense and human compassion in order to "do his job". Kinda like a terorrist is, wouldn't you agree?

And racial profiling is a joke, because if you only keep your eyes on "young dark males", then it will be very ironic the day a non-arab female commits an act of terrorism.

Nazi Germany enacted a similar ban on public photography shortly after Hitler came to power.

9:34 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#12 refuse to give

I guarantee that Ian Spiers will have trouble next time he wants to board an airplane. I think "homeland security" will have put him on the no fly list. If Senator Kennedy ended up on that list, I'm sure that these "suspicious" activities will place someone on that black list. Just my writting this comment could place one on such a list.

9:40 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#13 Andy

I now no longer feel bad for people like Ian who encounter these situations. When it first started happening after 9/11 I was dissapointed, but now that I personally have been through several instances like this (being approached by security or the police) and I realize how EASY it is to be done with it in 3 minutes I now consider people like Ian, well, big whiners.

If you have a problem with showing your ID to a police or security officer just because you feel like you need to go on some personal crusade to defend your consitutional right bla bla bla then don't be surprised when you get special treatment. I have done many ride-alongs with police officers, and they are all the same. They are looking for the BAD GUYS, they don't want to harass good guys, so don't make yourself a bad guy. Cooperate, as they check your ID continue to take pictures and compose shots, even while they "interrogate" you, don't act afraid. Don't pee your pants because he has a gun on his hip.

Ian here acts like this was a traumatizing incident and claims it was a "loss of innocence." Let me tell Ian something, you want traumatizing? - how about some kids younger than you right now overseas with bullets flying over their head, where they don't even know if the woman walking towards them is strapped with a bomb, where being captured means getting your head sawed off. You want some goddamn loss of innocence Ian?

Okay, now I am getting a little too worked up but stuff like this gets downright annoying. Being in a car accident is more traumatizing than talking to the cops for 30 minutes, Ian acts like he was in an Iranian prison or something.

Go ahead, protest the regualtions on photography, complain about it. Lets get them overthrown, and then in some cave in the middle east we can celebrate as a demolitions expert points out to 5 operatives where the best place to put explosives on that bridge are to bring it down. Last senstence a little far-fetched.

10:02 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#14 peter

America, the land of the free... LOL

10:16 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#15 messo

I'm sorry but all of you guys slamming him are way out of line. If its no big deal why don't go try and take some typical NYC subway shots? Then when your in jail and have had your equipment taken we will see who is overreacting. Most cops already think its illegal to photograph in many areas in nyc.
http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0423/haber.php

This gestapo crap or harassing photographers has got to stop and has gotten way out of line on several occasions now. Unfortunately it look like 4 more years of W so things are only apt to get worse. *crys*

11:03 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#16 Barbara

how does anyone really know that his version is the whole truth? Its only his word that it even happened.

11:05 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#17 Jia

so sad to see so many people who call themselves creative artists who don't appreciate the fragile freedom and civil rights so many have died as a gift to us and humanity. wwII was faught because our civil rights and freedom of speach and freedom of creativity was in danger of been erased under nazi ideology. the same is happening today but because its been done in a so called democratic country with a supposed democraticly elected leader it makes it all alright! have u all forgotten that hitler was also elected and that germany was also a democratic country until he came to power? ian was a unfortunat result of this tyranny 50 years after millions died to defeat it. I REALLY hope you guys can really feel safe at night, if u think that just going with the flow is the answer ur wrong! maybe when one day they ban photography or any other forms of expression you'll understand why voices and stories such as ian's has to be heard and our civil rights defended. seems like some people would be happier to live in countries like iran or n.korea, u already gave up most of ur civil rights under the patriot act ahd the freedom u enjoy is just a lie to keep those sheeps happy. Some people are so dumb its unbelivable their genes got pass the screening process.

11:57 pm - Thursday, September 2, 2004

#18 Richard Tallent

I completely agree with Ian. "Three minutes" of detainment is three minutes of my rights being violated and me being detained rather than doing my art. That "three minutes" is the sort of thing that causes a chilling effect on anyone attempting to express themselves. I just had a long email argument with someone (cc'd to half my church by him) on the Patriot Act and am constantly weirded out by how many "freedom-loving" Republicans swallow this commie KGB crap lock, stock, and barrel.

But, Godwin's Law has already been invoked, so this thread is officially over .

3:16 am - Friday, September 3, 2004

#19 johnny

Sad, reading all of your posts it's easy to tell the snapshoters from the real photographers

7:08 am - Friday, September 3, 2004

#20 refuse to give

The extent to which our freedom of speech and basic rights have been taken away from us was clarified for me several days ago when my 8 year old daughter was asking me questions why I feel so strongly on why it dangerous for us to re-elect President Bush. I started to answer and my husband stopped me. He pointed out that he did not want me to get into political discussions with her until she could comprehend all the ramifications and risks one takes these days talking openly these days or refusing to fully co-operate with the government (whether or not the have the right to demand what ever they are asking). I was about to state how silly he was being, that this was the United States. Then I stopped in my tracks and thought of Guatanamo Bay, Abu Ghraib, etc. and realized that he was right. I had never really put two and two together until then.

I knew that I was afraid of the Bush administration who I see as much more of a threat than any number of terrorist. It is sad to see so many people so gladly throwing away our way of life. The ability to speak out about whatever you feel strongly about should never be stopped. Yet under the patriot act, that has been taken away from us.

Simple things like taking an inocent picture (with or without standing up to the police) probably has changed Ian's life in more ways than he can imagion. Next time he tries to take a business trip, he might loss his job since he probably is now on the no fly list. This is not too far stretched. My husband was told that he would lose his job if he did not get a credit card (needed to rent a car at airports) when he ended up having to drive to another company site instead of flying. He got the credit card and kept his job.

6:28 pm - Friday, September 3, 2004

#21 erica

from reading these reactions you can see why 'w' will most likely win again.

11:30 pm - Friday, September 3, 2004

#22 Ed Garrard

"It is sad to see so many people so gladly throwing away our way of life." That's one way to look at it. Another is that we should adapt to changing times. We were thrown out of Eden a long time ago. Would you feel the same way if he had been photographing your daughter's school? Wouldn't you be glad to have someone asking him what he was doing? And yes, it IS the same thing.

2:19 am - Saturday, September 4, 2004

#23 shane

I agree with many posts that showing your ID is no big deal. There are other issues at play though. First, since when are you required to carry ID? Granted, life could be a little difficult without a state issued ID, but we are not required by law to have one. Imagine what may have happened to Ian, had he left his drivers license at home? He would have been arrested (for what crime?), questioned, harrassed, etc...

The next time I am out taking pictures of anything, I am not taking my ID. I am free to do as I like, I am free to take pictures, sing songs, write books, to think. I am under no obligation to prove to anyone what my identification is as long as I have not commited a crime. And even then the only reason proof of ID is required is so that I can be charged with a crime.

11:08 pm - Saturday, September 4, 2004

#24 Beverly W

I believe that the patriot act (along with many other things) did make it a crime not to show your ID to a police office when requested to do so.

Papers Please....

2:29 pm - Monday, September 6, 2004