Lamar Howell's Weblog

I recently witnessed people at a rally aiming cameras at protesters, as if to say: “Watch your step. Your every move is being recorded!”

Is that really good for freedom of speech, when it is monitored and held over your head as a threat? Even the police were recording the protesters. It is disconcerting to think that one’s constitutionally-protected actions on a public street may end up on Youtube or in police video files.

When every move someone makes in public is subject to review, and that review fodder for prosecution, doesn’t that sound eerie to you? It does to me.

I marvel at how cameras are being used and how their use has evolved. A camera was once an instrument for creating or finding art in nature, making permanent the memories of families or friends, or capturing sacred events like weddings and baptisms. Now we hear about a new phenomenon called sexting, a form of harassment in itself. To a much lesser degree, but nonetheless troubling, cameras are now used for public embarrassment. One example was the online posting of a lady falling into a mall fountain while texting.

What if we used cars the same way. My car is bigger than your car, so you’d better not get in front of me! Or do we? Trucks often run up on my tail if I am slow and in the left lane, but a Smart car or Fiat has never ridden my bumper. Hmmm. . .

What does it really mean when someone walks up to you from the side and videotapes you in an argument or in an altercation with someone else? Isn’t it abuse – of either the camera, or of our fellow Americans?

When you cannot stand on a public street and disagree with someone’s actions without being held up by someone wielding a thin rectangular weapon of plastic and circuitry, my friend, I am afraid that we are no longer free, and even if we are, freedom has become a risky business.