jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

All it takes is one phone call from an idiot.

http://petapixel.com/2015/10/17/man-pens-open-letter-to-woman-who-reported-him-for-taking-pictures-of-children/

Bobbee

Six Sense quote:

I see assholes. They don't even know their assholes."

Singing Swan

I can only say a prayer for someone like this woman and I am not even religious, but she obviously needs help. She is the one with the problem, she was the one making photos of strangers, she caused the ruckus...not someone with a camera. There are still those of us who look at a child and see cute and precious, not pedophile material :( :( :(

Conspiracy theory -- we should all stop eating the food and turn off our televisions to avoid mass media and put on our foil hats before the crazies take over!!!!!

GeorgeH Loc: Jonesboro, GA

A few years ago I was enjoying a crab fest in a coastal South Carolina town. Great fun, wonderful food. I was using my Pentax K 10 with the battery grip and I had a bag with a couple of lenses. Suddenly I was accosted by a woman who demanded to know if I were from the newspaper. She didn't want any pictures of her in the newspaper. I tried to assure her that I was an amateur, shooting with my family just for my own amusement. I guess she finally believed me, because she left with a sour expression. Sort of soured my pleasure in the day, at least for a while. God must love a**holes, She made so many of them!

SmittyOne Loc: California

No, actually, as he told me, He made them so the rest of us would have horrible examples not to follow.

joehel2 Loc: Cherry Hill, NJ

Too true.

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

Six cops? The woman over-reacted in her ignorance and the cops....well they must have been on a sugar high.

EdM Loc: FN30JS

Yeh, life can be interesting.. Shudda told the cops that the women had propositioned him... I had similar at girls BB game, " he flashed me" sigh...

Tom G Loc: Atlanta, GA

Well and accurately state...

sb Loc: Florida's East Coast

Years ago I lived near the spectacular Arnold Arboretum near Boston (any photographer who hasn't been there should plan a spring trip!). I sometimes took my camera and photographed the trees, the flowers, and the people - often children playing. I took some beautiful (I think) photos of children. I think these days of correctness and thought police I would not do that again (photos of children, anyway).. Being a parent now I understand the concern that a photographer might be a pedophile, and would have been more than a little nervous if someone were taking photos of my children when they were young.

But we have maybe become a little too paranoid. Obviously we have to be vigilant, and any act of abuse needs to be vigorously prosecuted, but I think we have gone too far.. Example: A couple in Florida was arrested for having sex on the beach. I guess she was a few days shy of 18. It was HER idea (well, she was on top) but he will be serving five years in prison and will be required to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life (which means he probably will not be able to get a job and will possibly be forced into a life of crime). Imagine: someone with a drawn illustration depicting children in a sexual situation can be arrested, sentenced to prison, and labeled a "sex offender" for what is in reality only a thought crime. Isn't that a little too far?

jerryc41 Loc: Catskill Mts of NY

"Protecting Children" has gotten to be a battle cry, but it's usually misused. It's more about prosecuting adults than protecting children. If they're not running around naked, what's the harm in taking pictures of kids?

If we really wanted to take care of children, they would have food, medical care, and access to a good education. This is all about prosecution, not about protection.

catfish252

Very well said Jerry

exakta56 Loc: Orford,New Hampshire

The restroom at the underground parking lot in the city of Ghent, Belgium is one room. You enter the room and to your left are three lavatories [sinks] and before you are three or four toilets in their own compartments with accompanying doors for privacy. To your right on a wall opposite the enclosed toilets are a number of urinals with a small partition between each one.
This facility is for the convenience of women, men and children. No cameras, no cops, no pedophiles, no hysteria, no sex fiends, no outraged mothers.... just people calmly using the plumbing for their plumbing.
Are there Belgians reckless? Foolish? Wanton? You decide.

nikon_jon Loc: Northeast Arkansas

Do the actions of this woman, and the police, remind you of Hitler's Germany or Stalin's Russia? In Germany neighbors couldn't even be neighbors and if you didn't like pork, you were immediately accused of being Jewish and there was a 'work' camp in your future.

MtnMan Loc: ID

Like the nitwits who charged the kid with a clock of having a bomb. I have a theory: the effective IQ of such groups is the IQ of the lowest group member divided by the number of the group. This works for Congress too.