Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2005/06/08
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]You can thank O.S.L. (Osama bin Laden) for this. The same thing happened or
worse during WW II. Unfortunately in our great free socety, civil rights are
restricted when we are under attack. We must endure during these
extraordinary times.
Interestingly, this kind of harassment occurs in many other countries on a
daily basis w/o threat of attack.
Mark Kronquist <mak@teleport.com> wrote:
Got to love our culture these days. My father is a Royal Rosarian-Portland
Oregon s Ambassadors to the world (imagine a fraternity for retired execs)
each year they help put on the Rose Festival.
Each year my wife and I watch my father march in the parade with his
grandchildren (our 10 and 7 year olds)...
Cute family photos.
This year, as usual running from meeting to meeting I pencil in the parade
shoe-horn in the Miata, grab my Domke with D100 and 180 and D1 and 20
Nikkors (sorry), and sprint to the kick off point...dressed in a suit...
I cross two major streets and have 20 minutes and 3 blocks to go (coooooool)
when an officer plants himself firmly in my path and arrests (detain was the
term he used) me.
Where are you going in such a hurry?
To watch the parade I blurt out (duh only 50,000 other people are doing the
same thing..what the f*** is his problem is running through my mind)
Mr power trip then demands ID
weighing civil rights vs family harmony and marital bliss (my wife is with
my kids and parents not 2 blocks away and my dad, is a Rosarian) I hand over
my drivers license which he promptly radios in...
I am pretty clean cut, almost a black belt in Tae Kwon Do and not small
person...wearing a nice suit...not like I couldn t afford a D100 or 2 and am
a demographic fit (say 42 y/o dad look)
Mr Power trip asks what other ID I have (really my DL turned up 3 traffic
infractions in the past decade and perhaps the fact that as a registered
republican I voted for Kerry?)
I need to know who you are and where you are going in such a hurry (mind you
this is on Sandy and 57th PUBLIC STREETS on the side walk) or some such
babble
I hand him my business card, and piece after piece from my wallet which he
promptly radios in.
I try to say hey, I need to be there for my family. Mr Donut Brain (actually
he was build like a defensive lineman and his partner was too) is at this
point toying with me
He asks to see my cameras
Are you a professional?
No
then why do you need these cameras?
Why do you need a Kawasaki Police Special Bike? Is my smart a**
answer...point being because D1/D100s and Police Specials are good tools but
I could never get that far in the rather one sided conversation
His partner comes over and puts his hand FIRMLY on my shoulder and says CALM
DOWN
Knowing full well that from here on out ANYTHING I SAY DO will cause them to
crucify me (my uncle also a Rosarian and in the parade 2 blocks down with my
dad is a prosecutor for the local DA)...I hand over my cameras
They look through them radio them in and generally harass me for another 10
minutes (hey it is parade duty)
We need your home address
Where did you park?
Where did you come from?
Why are you taking pictures?
mind if we look in your bag (no means trip to jail)
What is this item after item lenses hoodman, caps CF cards
What is this (D1 Battery looks menacing as it is aftermarket generic and has
no stickers on it...must be a weapon or something)
Oh look we have intimitaded the white suit-boy (they too were white)...
Parting comment was that they were asked to be on the look out for people in
a hurry with cameras near the parade...
50,000 soccer moms and dads with kids in the parade and with Kodak Easy
Shares and such need not apply.
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