[Sussex] [OT] Photography petition

[Steve Dobson]

Hi Geoff

On Fri, 2008-04-18 at 14:04 +0200, Geoffrey Teale wrote:
> Steve Dobson wrote:
> > Yes that *can*, because they did.  One of my English teachers taught me 
> > the difference between can (having physically ability) and may (having
> > permission/authority).  I have a feeling you meant "should". 
>
> Well said.   I believe the police have the right to confiscate evidence 
> if they believe a crime has taken place.   Before we get over zealous on 
> that particular point we must remember that this is not a black and 
> white issue - if the police could not gather evidence in advance of 
> being sure a crime has taken place then they could never make a case.

Yes, a good very point.

> However, photographers are being stupidly targeted in many cases in the 
> UK and US alike with justifications seeming to be either protecting 
> children and/or the terrorist threat.  So the question is not the right 
> of the police to do their job, but what constitutes a good enough reason 
> for them to suspect wrong doing.

If a policeman was to come up to me and ask what I was doing I don't
have a problem with that.  One of the nice things about a digital camera
is the fact that there is the little screen on the back where you can
show what you've been taking there and then.

But I do object to the over zealous use of powers granted to the police
for purposes for which they were not intended.  This appears to be
happening more and more.  The police are there to protect our (as in
Britain's) way of life, that includes my freedom to take photographs in
a public place as well as everyone's right to be safe.

> > Sure some of these freedoms can be used for undesirable purposes.  But I
> > would rather live with the very small risk of these offences effecting
> > me and those I love than to have the freedoms that facilitate the
> > planing and execution of those activities to be revoked. 
> >   
> Agreed.   Anyone who reads a decent photography magazine these days will 
> be well aware of these issues.

Or the web.  An e-mail to sign the petition has already been out from
the Eastbourne Photographic Society to get their members to fight the
good fight.

> The great philosophical question is this: is the fear of people who 
> would like us to live in a religous dictatorship without many of the 
> freedoms we enjoy today justification enough to restrict those 
> freedoms?   It's an interesting questions.  

I don't find the question interesting at all, emotive yes, but not
interesting. For me there is only one reasonable point of view -
tolerance.

Why should one group of people be allowed to dictate how the vast
majority live?  Any society where this is the case is going to be a
breading ground for resentment and revolt.  Groups that otherwise would
have nothing to do with one another will band together to fight the
common foe.

I like the fact that Britain is a multicultural country.  My favourite
take-away isn't "Fish 'n' Chips", I like the fact that my local
supermarkets have beers and wines from all over the world.  Variety is
the spice of life.  But to get that one *must* be tolerant of others'
views.

Of course saying that tolerance is the only valid position is an
intolerant position to take, but I will not be moved on this issue!  :-)

Steve

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