I won't over-dramatize this and let you know that the City of New York is "going back to the drawing board" as a result of a 1st amendment rally this past Friday. But this is very disheartening. Thanks God the artists of NY had the courage to stand up for their livelihood. A LOT of us could learn from this. There was a concern; the people exercised their Constitutional right to peaceful protest; the government had no choice than to stop from going forward. Because of this, this issue will gain national exposure and support. Beautiful display of how are government works.
What was not so beautiful was what the Mayor's Office of Film, Theater, and Broadcasting attempted here. There's a few things that I'd like to share.
1) The original debate of this "rule" was to make it a law. It was met with obviously strong resistance, so Mayor Bloomberg decided to backdoor it in as a rule/ordinance through MOFTB. Think about it. Is THAT how we want our government run? Many of you may recall in 2004 NY tried to ban photography in the subways as a counter-terrorism measure. Three years later it has made it out of the underground. This is blatant manipulation of the legal system.
2) This type of harassment is nothing new to the artists of NY (or probably any other big city). They're constantly being harassed because of their expression. And that's where it should strike a chord with us all. They're being CENSORED. Artists represent society through their craft and have historically been silenced. Everything from music to photography. There are no politics when it comes to pure art. They express what they feel. In turn, a good artist brings out those same emotions in the observer. Not a good thing for NY right now.
3) This opens up the floodgates for the police to approach ANY ONE. Can you imagine visiting NY, the most photographed city in the world, and not be able to take pictures out of FEAR of being harassed by the police? It just doesn't make any sense. There has to be an ulterior motive. This doesn't enhance the "NY experience;" this doesn't encourage tourism. There must be something THEY don't want to be accidentally photographed.
And what's the deal with the MILLION DOLLAR insurance requirement? For 10 minutes of filming? And that includes setup and breakdown, so you get 3-5 minutes of actual footage. Basic intuition should tell you there's something bigger driving this. It reminds me of the Marijuana Tax Act of 1937. For those unfamiliar, it basically stated marijuana was legal with a government stamp. The stamp was pretty much unaffordable. Moreover, there was quite an interesting Catch 22 where it was only legal if you had the stamp, but in order to get the stamp you had to prove you had the Marijuana. It's legal, but it's not???!!!!
Anyway, this camera situation is DEFINITELY an assault on the first amendment. It can only be compared to the assault our own media is engaged in with said amendment. Both attacks are trying to keep us from expressing ourselves. And that is inalienable. Humans that cannot express themselves will implode.
Just thought you should know what's going on...
P.L.U.R.,
zAy
Good words.
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