http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyid=4705698
There is the correct link.
Yeah, so?
Adrianspeeder
Railfan Photographing will be “NO MORE”!
No more Railroad Pictures on the Internet.
We are all prisoners in our country because of our POWER HUNGRY GOVERNMENT!!!
Typical knee jerk over reaction by “the authorities”.
there was a page long article in time magazine about this about a year back…
I hopr the two guys in the story that were harrassed and got $2500 each in settlement buy new photography gear and hit it with a vengence… [:D]
I wonder what the security man would do if he saw a railfan set up a stool and easel and start painting a picture of a railroad yard or locomotive on his canvas.
Nothing if he was wearing a turban… That would be un PC.
“News” Item: Tourist arrested for purchasing postcards of “sensitive” buildings and structures during vacation in [insert name of city]. Police said that the tourists choice of postcards, all of well known structures within the city, aroused the attention of the clerk at the tourist trap where the postcards were being purchased. The clerk then called police, voicing her concern that the ‘tourist’ might be gathering data for a possible terrorist attack.
I expect a knock at the door any day now as they come to confiscate my collection of “coffee table” railroad and fire department books…
Buffalo Springfield had it right:
“Paranoia strikes deep,
Into your life it will creep.”
Well in that case,I guess I’d better be expecting a knock on the door
like Larry is. Although most of mine aren’t on the “Coffee Table”.
And that is a very good analogy for the times.
(psssstt,I almost forgot,I’ve got some sensitive "post cards"over here,
what city do you need them for ?)
Sensitive? Hah. How about that Ammonium Nitrate Loader in sometown West some state in several of my MR books. I deliberately left out precise info. But if a terror group read the same books or mags we do then they already know about it.
The only really sensitive installations are Missile Bases and associated security. And other bases vital to National Defense.
There are many buildings in the civilian world that can be identifiable. For example there is a Telephone exchange in one town of maryland that would not be too hard to truckbomb out of comission. That one exchange controls a great deal of traffic.
Sensitive. Hanh. There are important areas we take care to avoid and overly sensitive people should be careful about calling authoritys down on those they dont like the looks of.
It s anyone right to take a picture of anywhere or anything, as log as they are on public property. It falls under the first amendment in the freedom of the press clause. Therefore, I will take a picture of basically anything I please from public property, or on private property with written permission .
If we get any more knotheads like the one UniHead (of ILK) encountered in Houston, I hope they get fined and thrown in the clink. I continue to see boneheads (railfans and surveyors) try similar stunts here and I am not the least bit bashfull about telling them how stupid they really are.
BNSF Railfan:
- Read miniwyo’s post. I couldn’t have said it better unless I was a 1st Amendment Lawyer!!! [^]
- Our Government is a reflection of the people in this country, just look around and see how greedy & power hungery we all are!!! [}:)] [}:)] [}:)]
Again I post:
Yeah, so?
I’m not sure if I envy your naive attitude, or resent it. Apparently you either cannot or will not see what this thread is telling you about how our rights have been devastated by the current administration.
How would you feel if everyone who owned a 4x4 off-road vehicle was considered a potential tresspasser, and had to justify their possession of such a vehicle; or worse yet, were outlawed except for those in government service. Or maybe if modifying a 4x4 vehicle to other than factory standards is prohibited, due to other drivers “safety”. My guess is that I would here your cries of indignation way up here in Wisconsin.
You may think that the above example is too far-fetched to even be considered. Most folks would have said that about photography five years ago. What if someday a terrorist does attack a sensitive installation? And what if that terrorist used a modified, over-powered, lift-kit-installed 4x4 to gain access to said installation? Surely you can see the potential for over-reaction by the government towards such vehicles.
While this thread is essentially about photography, it is also about personal freedom, the one thing this country used to have over and above almost everywhere else. I for one am saddened, not only because of what I see happening, but also by the indifference of the people of the United States. As the police state broadens it’s grip, more and more people will begin to notice, as their various hobbies and activities are n
What if an attack happend at night??? put up a curfew?
4x4s have been under the gun long before photography has been since 9-11.
Try to insure one of my modded broncos for the same price of a stock one. Or better yet, insure a modded rig for the price of a stock one and get into an accident.
Any public park or trails have been all but banned from use for any 4x4 for many years now. Private property is about the only place to play. But if the neighbors don’t like it, cops can cite you with disturbing the peace.
Try to put up with environmentalist wackos that freak out on you at gas stations, put flyers on my windshield saying im as bad as terrorists , and are darn well trying to get 4x4s banned. (where are these morons during a snowstorm when I volunteer my time and rig transporting nurses and doctorsto hospitals?) .
If it ever comes down to photography banning of our beloved hobby, I think we will have other more important things to worry about.
Adrianspeeder
We already do. (see my post above, as well as the links on the site originally provided by BNSF).
As you have already have heard,cops don’t even care about the First Amendment.
The Amendment is meaningless to them. Alot of cops have already said that.
Just a thought.
I live in the Phila. area and I recall these incidents clearly. You know, until recently I have not been much of a fan for NPR or the ACLU but now that it is my ox that is being gored I see these organizations in a new light. I railfan this area intensively and have been accosted by any number of law enforcement types and wannabe G-men. They do not know the law in many cases. Here in NJ NJ Tansit has given rail fans enormous problems even going so far as to try to forbid photos of trains from public streets. today I carry my passport with me to prove my citizenship (don’t laugh. Its worked) and a laminated letter from NJT to the ACLU backing off their claims to have the right to control phtography. That too has saved me a couple of times. On only one occasion have I lost my cool with a railroad employee, a trackworker who tried his junior FBI routine on me. When I first tried to patiently point out his error on insisting taking pictures of trains was illegal he threatened to call the cops. I stood my ground and told him to go ahead. Cops never did show up. By the way if had been legitimate law enforcement I would have left out of deference to his authority but I recommend that rail fans as much as possible resist the effort to stifle our interests which go beyond that of a hobby. We are documenting the transport industry and someday our archival photographs will reveal to a generation yet unborn how we once moved people and goods, that is if we don’t allow ourselves to be silenced and blinded.