TooMuchSexy.blog

I was declared a terrorist, today. As I was walking around campus photographing art, buildings, cars, people, I was stopped by police.

The policemen asked who I was, what I was doing, why I was taking photographs, where I lived, all the good stuff. When I told them I was a student taking photographs for my own personal enjoyment (a concept they couldn’t comprehend); I was told this is illegal under the USA PATRIOT act.

I was greatly confused by this statement. My understanding is that I am legally allowed to take photographs of public buildings. I informed them of this and they were taken aback. They then went on to tell me that NJIT is not a public institution. They told me that it is publicly funded but not a public school. This is a blatant lie. If you visit NJIT’s website you see very clearly, “A Public Research University.”

Furthermore, the police refused to give me their information, even after I gave them my three pieces of ID (Rutgers, NJIT, and Driver’s License). I asked for their information and they told me they are from the precinct down the block. I didn’t want to push for their Badge Numbers as I had no paper with me. Instead I walked to the precinct and spoke with Sergeant Lincoln who told me to come back tomorrow and speak with him further on this matter.

Sergeant Lincoln was told it may be possible for me to get permission to take pictures on campus, until then I am a terrorist. He, too, did not give me their badge numbers.

All I have to say is that photography is not a crime. If I had been dark skinned I can only imagine the trouble I would be in. In fact, I can more than imagine… I’ve read about it.

Here are the photos I was taking; shocking, aren’t they?

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Comments

1. Bullshit they should have stopped you! My advice is to talk to the Sergeant, but don’t a dick about it.  Yeah, they are the ones being dicks, but if you’re a jerk to them you play into every attitude they want to believe. Get them to give you permission and be firm about it.  And then if you can at least try to ask them “Who wants to do anything on the Rutgers and NJIT campuses?”

   And from a practical standpoint, take pictures when cops have more things to do with their time.

   Also, talk to some campus counseller and find out what the real deal is. The cops will always be “by the book” but at least if you talk to campus staff you’ll be dealing with someone who is more relaxed and casual.  Even try the student paper or public relations office and find out the deal.

   Man, I cannot wait for election day.

   — Jack 

1. Oh, I forgot the obvious!  Go to the photography department or art department or whatever department would be in charge of photography and talk to them about this stuff.

   If you’re a student, then whay would you do?

   — Jack 

1. I definetly plan on returning tomorrow and talking with Sergeant Lincoln. I am pretty sure he expects me to forget/give up between now and then.

   In the meantime I am trying my best to find out what is and isn’t illegal regarding photography and The Patriot Act.

   It’s not as easy to find out as I had hoped it would be.

   — Nate 

1. Well, my attitude is you should get the Police to work for you and explain where and how the Patriot Act dictates that a cop in Newark can stop you.

   The thing I really want to emphasize is that when dealing with cops, they will always be on the defensive when people complain.  Even more than others nowadays. So I would recommend being as respectful and open to them as you can so you can find out what the deal is. Remeber, when push comes to shove this is really just their job.  And perhaps they think this crap is stupid.  Seriously, when I was in Union Square during the RNC I ran into a few cops who were talking to people and being decent saying “Look, if I weren’t with the NYPD I’d be with you. And I respect what you’re doing.”

   Remeber, cops are people and if you treat them with calm respect they’ll be more open to helping you.  I would even say that pointing out you will be taking photography classes and you just want to know what the deal is, would be the best idea.

   — Jack 

1. Well of course, taking pictures of the big uhm…. rusty cross thingy… is impinging on national security!  You, like any other good american citizen should *volunteer* to be searched both inside and out, declare your faith to The Great Leader Bush, and offer up your home and all possessions and articles of your property to the Truth Corps!  Didn’t you learn anything at the Ministry of Truth?

   
   Seriously, WTF…. I can’t really believe that your country is doing this sort of thing, even as a joke. 

   Sorry to hear your story dude, hopefully november will change all….

   — Arcterex 

1. Good luck at the meeting, Etan.  Just remember when you go in there… you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong, you’re wrong. 

   And this blog proves you’re a terrorist, not an American voicing independent views. 

   Has someone put up a study yet on weighted variables, propaganda, and the Bush Administration?  I want to know if we’ve nimbly hopped over the Nazi era and jumped into Maoism yet.

   Did you know that I’m a terrorist for making that comparison? 

   This is such a fucking headache of a nightmare of a joke, and I’m really sorry you have to go through this.  Best of luck.

   — Otter 

1. I was going to post a link to http://www.brownequalsterrorist.com, but I see you already know about them.

   Unfortunatly, Nov. will not decide what is to be done about the PATRIOT ACT. Even if by some miracle Kerry/Edwards wins, the ACT will still be there and will be very hard to change.

   You do realize that Osama will be “caught” sometime in mid October, right? This will, of course, win the election for Bush. It’s all a big plot by the Saudi’s to keep making tons of money off the USA.

   — Dave M. 

1. Otter, I think Etan being stopped was bad, but I’m a bit sick of hearing people comparing this stuff to Nazism and Communisim in a way. As someone who comes from a family that truly lived through Nazi and Communist bullshit, I’m tired of hearing people compare things like this to actions that are relatively not close to that level.

   If this were truly a police state, this blog would not have been updated, Etan would have been sent to jail.  And his family and friends would only know about it after days and weeks of no contact. Heck, friends would have also been jailed and Etan would not be in school now.

   All things considered, while this is not good, I think people comparing incidents like this to a police state or a fasist entity have no clue what they’re talking about.  Etan can go and talk to the cops and be in the precinct and be fully confident that nothing will happen to him outside of having to talk to another human being.

   Patriot Act is bad. And the vagueness of what it truly means is what results in things like this happening. But I think when all is said and done you’re not living in a facist state. You’re living in one that is highly confussed and bit paranoid and nobody knows what to do.

   Even the cop who stopped Etan must know this in the back of his mind because—when all is said and done—he was not arrested or fined or anything. A car parked incorrectly was given more of a harsh interpretation of the law than this… It’s bad, but calling it a form of Nazism or facism really shows little understanding of who/what Nazis and facists are/were.

   — Jack 

1. Well Jack, let hope that you never have your home searched without your being told until maybe a year later, or that you are not targeted for what you read. Be careful when taking pictures, even if you have a subject, you don’t want the background to be something illegal. Those are just the ones I happen to know about.

   I sure hope your skin is WHITE, because if it’s anything other than white, you might just be in a lot more trouble than talked to like Etan. You might just get your butt arrested.

   Oh, by the way, don’t even think of taking pictures of planes or airports, financial institutions, large buildings, monuments, etc…

   — Dave M. 

1. Jack, that’s a very articulate response, and I should apologize for throwing out something fast and flippant.  I wanted to show support and didn’t think I needed to write a manifesto.  However, you’re right, this is not a time where we can use loose words. 

   But you are very much incorrect in writing that this era is not comparable to the beginnings of facism/Communism.  We are in a state which is amazingly, phenomenally similar to that which occurred in Germany prior to the rise of Nazism. America has a clearly defined villain, and we are witnessing an environment in which those who provide a dissenting voice are themselves vilified. 

   As for confusion and paranoia…  Again, this isn’t entirely true.  The general public is confused, frightened, and therefore extremely vulnerable to manipulation.  While the general public might only be relating to a strong sense of community as promoted by the existing administration, the government is not scared, nor is it paranoid.  It is developing and manipulating our basic emotions to serve its own ends. 

   To me, the comparisons between the emergence of a fascist state ring true.  Etan, a white male, will likely not experience any physical abuse, true, but he’s going to get attacked in some way.  It’s a comparison made by matters of degrees, not between apples and oranges. 

   And what is amazing to me is that I can read over what I write, and read Etan’s post, and realize that three years ago today all of this would have sounded literally impossible to me.  I sound like a conspiracy theorist.  Etan sounds like a nutball.  The police sound like representatives of a government which is given powers and liberties which would not exist in the America I knew at the time.

   What will we write three years from now?

   — Otter 

1. “But you are very much incorrect in writing that this era is not comparable to the beginnings of facism/Communism.”

   Nope. You’re a tad paranoid and over-reactionary.  Attitudes like that is the reason why the anti-Bush movement gets tagged as being “loony” at times.

   I don’t know how old you are, but if you think this is the beginnings of a facist state you haven’t actually studied history that well.  I’m not saying any of this is good, but I am saying that the U.S. has been in worse shape when it comes to freedoms.  And the civil rights movement and the general 1960s counter-culture movement comes to mind as well.  The lockdowns on freedom were much stronger then.  And heck, just look at the red scare crap of the 1960s as well.

   The point is, that while history might be boring you can learn a few things.  And in the big picture, while none of this is great you’re in much better shape nowadays even with this bullshit happening then about 50 years ago.

   Paranoia is paranoia.  Plain and simple.  A cop arresting a jaywalker can be interpretted as the beginning of a facist regime if you want to see it as such.  None of this is good, but it’s something that can be fought and people are fighting and not magically disappearing and being wiped off the face of the earth.

   Find out what the Patriot Act has to do with taking pictures of buildings. But calling it facism—or a step towards it—is idiotic.

   “What will we write three years from now?”

   That George W. Bush sure was a dick and while he’s not perfect, John Kerry is doing a fine job!

   — Jack 

1. Fantastic!  I write like an idiot.  I’ve always wondered.

   Do me a favor, Jack… If this is nothing more than a punch-fest between personal interpretations of history, intermixed with a little bit of name-calling, do it over email.  rockonaspring AT yahoo DOT com I have no desire to co-opt Etan’s blog to slog out something that will never be resolved.

   — Otter 

1. Otter, I really couldn’t care less. But please read what I wrote and point out where I ever said you “Write like an idiot…”  I think cries towards facism are idiotic and the equivalent of people yelling “The sky is falling!”, just like chicken little.

   The key is to deal with the issue at hand and not to throw out huge paranoid conspiracy theories about what may or may not happen.

   None of this is good, but none of it is fascism or Nazism. It’s as simple as that.

   — Jack 

1. While I don’t believe we are in a police state I do think what was done to me is unjust. What gave these policemen the right to stop me and question me, threaten me, take my identification?

   How was I harming or inflicting injustice upon others, or the campus, by photographing bricks and steel?

   In fact, I thought they were stopping to question why I took a photograph of their car. I was more than willing to delete that photo. The question never even came up.

   — Nate 

1. Welcome to George Orwell’s worst nightmare! Quite simply, rhis sucks! I have heard so many stories about abuses of this Act.. check out my anti-patriot act gear here: Anti-Patriot Act

   —Matt

   — Matthew Foley 

1. Fucking evil Bush administration. This is looking more and more like Nazi Germany.

   — nick 

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