Camera Permits! Getcher Red Hot Camera Permits Here!

[rolanni]

Despite the fact that there are those who do not believe these things happen, or that they only happen to "assholes," "genuinely suspicious people," and/or "those who match a profile," I feel compelled to report a True Incident of My Own Life, which occurred on Tuesday, July 27, 2004 at Boston South Station. To wit:

kinzel and I were traveling home from Trinoc*CoN (con report forthcoming). We arrived at Boston South Station between 8 and 8:30 a.m. Because Boston North Station (from whence the Downeaster departs for Maine) is closed for the duration of the Democratic National Convention, we were scheduled to escape Boston via bus at 2:15 p.m. (as it turns out, this information, received from Amtrak, was ...not as correct as it could have been, but that's in the future -- bear with me).

So, Boston South Station, in the middle of a commuter rush hour. We arrive, dump our carry-ons at an empty table. These carry-ons include: One (1) Toshiba laptop; One (1) Alphasmart Dana; One (1) Olympus digital-with-optical-zoom camera; Two (2) tote bags filled with Stuff like books, magazines, necessary meds, extra bottles of water, and the like. We have yet to retrieve the checked-through bag.

Table claimed, I depart to make use of the justly famous BSS sanitary facilities, and return, after fording the flood-tide of commuters, to find kinzel putting his camera away. A female security guard stands nearby, but not close enough to be considered part of our group or our conversation.

"No cameras," kinzel says, which I process as a half-joke, considering his experience at the Manchester airport last November, nod, and mount guard over the table and our stuff while he goes off to collect the checked bag.

Standing (bliss, bliss, bliss!), I survey the area and notice a plush monkey on display at Sernade Chocolatier. It's an interesting monkey, in an interesting pose and place, and kinzel's camera has a loverly zoom; I can get the picture from where I'm standing.

So I take out the camera, power up, remove the lens cap and focus. I get two snaps of the monkey, then lower the camera to squint and consider composition.

"Excuse me, ma'am," says the guy in the tattered blue shirt with a Security patch over the pocket. "You are not allowed to take pictures in this building."

I blink at him, and pick up the lens cap.

"I'm not allowed to take pictures in the building?"

"Yes, ma'am. For security reasons."

"I see. Is there a sign, or a list of things I'm not allowed to do in this building, so I don't make any more mistakes?"

"No, ma'am," the security guy says politely; "that's why we're here." 'We' is actually the right pronoun, as he has been joined by the female security guard I'd noticed earlier.

"Unless," the guy continues, "you have a permit. If you have a permit for your camera, all you have to do is show it to us."

At this point, kinzel arrives with the checked bag, throws it to the floor at my feet and commences an entirely false fuss about the handles being unsnapped and what he was going to do to whom if anything had been stolen. I bend to help him unzip the bag, camera cradled against my stomach, and add my bit to the Fuss Factor. The two guards wander off.

"I told you," kinzel hisses. "No cameras."

"He said if I had a permit for the camera, all I had to do was show it."

Blink. Beat.

"Oh. Did he?"

...

So, I've written to my congresscritters, outlining this incident and asking how I get a camera permit. No answer yet, and I really don't expect one.

It's getting scary out there, folks...

Comments

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Likely the camera restriction at BSS will relax once the DNC is over.

Are you going to post the Evil Terrorist Plushie of Doom pictures?

[adrian-turtle.livejournal.com]

I doubt it. The MBTA was making noises about forbidding photography on all their property around the beginning of the summer. (I mean that literally. They have a loud recorded message that plays every few minutes on some subway lines.) Also, pseudo-security "precautions" that start for a reason lie the DNC are unlikely to go away afterwards...what bureaucrat wants to get caught changing a procedure to reduce safety? Or admit that the procedure they pushed so hard for, that cost so much time and trouble and expense, didn't really increase safety at all?

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

Likely the camera restriction at BSS will relax once the DNC is over.

If only. What really kinda croggled me was the fact that there are like, thousands of cellphones in use before, during, and after the confrontation described. Some cellphones, so I'm told, come complete with picture taking and sending capability. Heck, if we're talking "Security" cellphones ought to be suspect of themselves. What stops Abdul Terrorist from wandering around the station with his phone to his ear, muttering, "No. No, I tell you, the Secret Plans are not here! The Americans are more devious than we know -- wait! I see a plush monkey..."

Are you going to post the Evil Terrorist Plushie of Doom pictures?

Gotta get 'em out of kinzel's camera. First gotta figure out whether it's "against the law" to have them.

[rolanni.livejournal.com]

The bus terminal, which we had occasion to visit soon after the events described above, does indeed have a loop broadcast enumerating Those Things Which are Forbidden. Included in the list (right up there with not bringing wheeled luggage on the escalators) is the ban on picture-taking. I think this is Dumb, but they at least make the rules immediately accessible, unlike the good folks at BSS, and they make no representation that taking pictures is illegal.

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I've found that congresscritters prefer email -- that way their beloved constituents can't inflict anthrax on them.

(Oops, probably triggered some internet snoop program by using that nasty biowar word.)

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

Don't know whether I should mention this or not (hell, I'm already on the List, so why not) but cell phones hold a starring role in a lot of remote control bombs....

And yeah, a lot of recent cell units include cameras.

But they don't really read it....

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

I write my congressman and senators probably at least once a month about something--and my experience is, they send me the latest "See how efficient/ruthless/smart I'm being for you? See how I'm guarding your morals?" letter--and it rarely has a thing to do with what I wrote about.

I consider it a small miracle I haven't triggered the interest of anyone, being a person who still walks around like I live in a free country. They broke my cosmetics bag on the trip here--I'm sure they're going to LOVE the duct tape it will be held together with on the return trip.

I was a little nervous about reading DEAD WITCH WALKING on the plane, but there were people reading weirder things, so...

Re: But they don't really read it....

[jhetley.livejournal.com]

I'm sure that my comments never reach Da Boss except in statistical form, but the reply letters from His/Her staff (both our senators are female) at least are personalized to the point that _somebody_ must have read my bitch. Excuse me, "constituent concerns."

Re: But they don't really read it....

[alfreda89.livejournal.com]

When Doggett was my congressman, I got personalized replies. Now, I get personalized replies on a topic unrelated to my letter--only concerning recent headlines. I just hope I end up in the stats properly. My senators (male and female) are **very** right of center--they're too frightened of the fundies (most of the time--Hutchinson actually stood up to them recently on something) to actually express a real opinion.