Originally Posted by
PhoenixRev
Nonsense.
Hindsight is always 20/20 and at the time of Rosa Parks, most of the country did not anticipate that her actions would ignite such a huge push for civil rights legislation. Most people were content to say that she should have just sat at the back of the bus and stop inconveniencing all the other passengers who wanted to get where they were going.
Whether or not the actions of a photographer at a TSA security area will catapult some similar legislation is pure speculation one way or another.
In the meantime, however, I am content to follow the law and the U.S. Supreme Court which says that any person in a public space - like an airport - has absolutely no expectation of privacy.
If TSOs are so unnerved by someone taking their photo as they stand in a public venue, they need to seek immediate reassignment to a windowless basement job.
Well maybe so Phoenix Rev but going off the current tack i.e. did the OP seek to provoke the encounter with his own agenda in mind. I understand that there is not a lot of sympathy for the TSA and like I say, I've seen them in action and not been impressed but does that justify setting out to develop a confrontation with them?
Perhaps a more knowlegeable poster than me could illuminate as to whether there is legislation in place at US airports that prohibits photography of sensitive sites such as security ops. It would seem reasonable to me that there would be. I'm not convinced that it's a simple as being a ' Public place'
Originally Posted by
jkhuggins
Why should a perfectly legal activity be a case of "red rag to a bull"? Unless, of course, the TSA personnel involved have been given instructions (explicit or implicit) to harass adults engaged in perfectly legal activities?
Again: this is what civil disobedience is about. If you engage in a morally or legally permissible activity and are harassed for it, history usually says that the harassers are the guilty parties, not the person who allegedly "provokes" the confrontation by exerting their rights.
Is my Rosa Parks analogy over-the-top? Perhaps. But the principle is valid. Complaining that folks who assert their legal rights are somehow provoking problems is just plain stupid, IMHO.
If somebody is standing outside my front window taking a series of stills of my house for no apparent reason, then maybe it's just me but I will step outside and politely ask them what they are up to. If they tell me to take a hike (no matter how politely) then there is the prospect of 'further enquiries'. I admit not up to the Rosa Parks analagy standard but should suffice to illustrate the point.