Haters gotta hate
Eyes of instant suspicion
I had a strange and unpleasant experience today while I was taking pictures for my article on the PULSE shootings and memorial.
I wanted to get a few shots of people reacting to the site. It’s all well and good to show lots of flowers and crosses and love notes, but it’s important to show the people there, too.
Among others, I saw this guy and his two sons, and thought they would be a good subject. The guy saw me taking his photo, and felt the need to come over and accost me. ‘Why are you taking my picture?”, he stormed. I told him that pictures of flowers just go so far, I needed people.
This seems obvious to me, as is the fact that we were in a very public place, I was clearly taking lots of pictures, there were cops everywhere and why would I give a damn about this bozo anyway?
(It is completely legal for me, or you, to take a picture of anything you can plainly see in public. It is legal to post that photo, for non-commercial use.)
So he decided that he need to take pictures of me to get even, or something. No problem. I smiled and waved for his iPhone. He kept taking photos. I think he has a close-up of my right ear.
I walked away. A few minutes later he came back, still taking odd close ups of my face. I gave him my card with the URL of this blog and told him to check it out–there is nothing for me to hide. I have done nothing wrong and am not in the least threatened by his ludicrous behavior.
Paranoid jerks confound me. They are at the same time so self important that they think I care and so insecure that they think everyone is part of some conspiracy against them. This bozo could have been shown in a good light in my blog, teaching his sons to respect others. Now he is just embarrassed to be shown as a redneck clown.
Totally Unauthorized 