Banning cameras from events and businesses: the double standard!

I want to hit this right on the head here. There's a trend where people get kicked out events or businesses for having a camera in their possession. In reality trying to ban photography is about as productive as prohibition these days.

I've seen video of infamous events like the 1992 Riverport riot touched off by Axl Rose and recently Queen's of the Stone age's Josh Homme kicking a female photographer in the head. I myself have had some bad interactions very few thank god. But those few make you realize how a camera can make you a target.

But the big problem now days is Cellphones. One would think that if they ban the use of DSLR and bridge cameras that they would also ban cellphones to. This is the double standard I am speaking of. Cellphones cause many problems for this rule.

First of all they are easy to conceal, and anybody really wanting to do something real malice like up-skirt would likely use one. Second of all, you never really can tell the intentions, I've had some instances where I was being videoed and didn't find out until months later. That event was not malice or upset me but the same thing can happen.

Now provided some establishments do actually ban cellphone photography to, but not every establishment that wants to ban photography has caught on to modern times yet and realized the issue.

So, I've had a few of these events.

I attended a Goo Goo Dolls concert in 2010 at First Tee in Augusta. Nothing bad really happened and I had a good time, the problem is this, they tell you straight up my camera is not allowed on grounds they don't want recordings of the event. I respected their wishes and most my friends were disappointed when I came in without my camera. I look in the crowd and see cellphones raised, check on Youtube and Facebook and what do I see? The exact thing That the staff of the event said they were trying to prevent. So while I was not allowed to use my camera for the reason they didn't want any recordings, seemed like everybody else did the exact thing and got away with it.

Another story I want to tell you comes from the Augusta Mall and the Rent-a-cops. So I'm sitting in the food court with my Nikon D3000 and eating my sub, when I see a bird flying around the complex. I wanted a photo of the critter and I got one. I'm immediately confronted by a mall cop he approached me like Barney Fife, I could swear I could hear the dramatic music used in the Andy Griffith Show episode "citizen's arrest" playing. He tells me this is private property and I need to cease and desist. The people seated near my table saw it and thought he was being a jerk just like I did. I bet he won't tell this to all the cellphone selfie people to. I reckon he was just bored because there was not fight or shoplifter. I'm glad he is not a real cop, with his attitude he just might have been one of the minority of cops you hear about in horror stories. If that really is a rule there, they are only hurting themselves.

I even once had the muscles of authority flexed on me at my own high school Alma-matta in 2013, where ironically in 2009 I won awards for my work as yearbook photographer. It was a new assistant principal who told me photography was not allowed unless you have a media pass. Seemed she was the one who made this rule, as nobody else had a problem, and still a good bit of the staff there knew me from my days as a student and knew about my work behind the camera. After getting the embarrassing sendoff I log onto Facebook and see hundreds of Cellphone photos from the same game. Still do see them til this day as well. Did all those people with cellphones have media passes to? Where is their embarrassing send off? I probably should have filed a formal complaint, but on a somber note my mom's cancer battle that she would eventually lose was determined to be terminal and at the time pushing back and winning a personal battle was not as important as my mom's health.

I also often try to avoid all hangouts that enforce this double-standard rule. It's probably best to boycott any business or event that enforces the double standard, because even if you do not have your gear strapped to you if you're known as a photographer just your title can cause you problems in extreme cases. Bottom line is, if my camera is not allowed cellphones better also not be allowed.