True... or maybe they were "bridge-spotters" filming bridges for bridgelevel005.com or NYCBridges.com... :lol:Originally Posted by Mellyrose
Just 22 landings! ;)
True... or maybe they were "bridge-spotters" filming bridges for bridgelevel005.com or NYCBridges.com... :lol:Just 22 landings! ;)
Funniest post of the week!!!
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I wasn't speaking about that, I was referring to his remark about rent a cops who chase people away from surrounding parks who are shooting bridges. Which is what I quoted in my post.
What a concept.
'My idea of a good picture is one that's in focus and of a famous person doing something unfamous.' Andy Warhol
But think of the traffic chaos if you couldn't get over that bridge. Sure you've got the Throgs Neck bridge, but that would just be a parking lot, as would the GCP.
I go with Phil's concerns, and would probably not have waited to pull over to call 911, I would have just done it while driving.
hmm interesting thread, I know I dont post here often, but this thread caught my eye. I look middle eastern, since I'm indian decent. I dont go spotting much these days purely since I dont want to be pulled over, harassed, etc. etc. because I know I'm guaranteed to get stopped by police, if they see me with my camera and lens pointed towards landing aircraft. Last year at Costco, I got pulled over and the cop said "yea no offense but your name does cause suspicion" (my names Omar) With that said, taking videos of bridges is quite awkward though...
So much for "responsible racial profiling" It's a shame you let this ignorance stop you from spotting.
'My idea of a good picture is one that's in focus and of a famous person doing something unfamous.' Andy Warhol
"So is driving and talking on your cell phone yet millions of people do it all the time, I would not be concerned, I will not live in fear, the second this gets out of control the terrorists win."
DITTO!
"my finger on the shutter button, while my eye is over my shoulder"
Ditto again!So much for "responsible racial profiling" It's a shame you let this ignorance stop you from spotting.
If you look at this from another angle you have an advantage!
"Go ahead and make my day!"
"my finger on the shutter button, while my eye is over my shoulder"
"Now, aside form the fact that signs specifically state no video or photography"
This reminds me of my early driving days.
With fresh permit in hand I sit in the family station wagon and start to read the owners manual.
In the automatic transmission section a warning catches my eye.
(Never under any circumstances rev the engine in Park or Neutral and engage Drive!)
Such fun, I can still smell the rubber burning!
"my finger on the shutter button, while my eye is over my shoulder"
wonder if anyone gave the fuzz a buzz when i was taking pics whilst you were driving me about Mike? :lol:
define middle eastern for me? i really get sick of this ****, if it's a person with a Hijab or a beard they are middle eastern and warrant suspicion, how do you know they weren't born in the good ol USA? I take it the only thing you know for sure is the fact that they were of the Islamic faith...i take it that the clothing is what you used to "profile" them? :shock: This isn't a swipe at you Phil, it's good you take an interest in your community but you need to be a little less general when you post something like this.but they were Middle Eastern as well.
everytime i've been to the USA (5 times in the past 2 years) i've come across spotters who really should have the camera shoved up there ass, i've heard the "fuken towelheads ruined our hobby" "nuke the fuken arabs" and other degrading comments, not from anyone on this board though! but i think it's bloody disgraceful the way some liberally dish out insults like this, it's tainting an entire people due to the actions of a few. I'd consider myself fairly well travelled and i've not come across this kind of blatant discrimination anywhere else but the USA...very disappointing!
This is because the USA has been the only country attacked by Middle Eastern men flying airliners, and, as a direct result, we've seen the biggest change in the government's attitude toward spotting. I'm not defending discrimination, but this is why it is more pronounced here.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is your captain speaking. We have a small problem.
All four engines have stopped. We are doing our damnedest to get them under control.
I trust you are not in too much distress. —Captain Eric Moody, British Airways Flight 9
yes it's the only country to has been attacked by middle eastern men flying planes but it's not the only country that's been the victim of terrorism. I'm well aware of the situation, we have similar issues down here with police but i've never heard the blatant abuse, discrimination and racial taunts anywhere else and these are coming from fellow spotters.This is because the USA has been the only country attacked by Middle Eastern men flying airliners, and, as a direct result, we've seen the biggest change in the government's attitude toward spotting. I'm not defending discrimination, but this is why it is more pronounced here.
USA doesn't have a monopoly on suffering at the hands of terror, and it certainly doesn't give people the right to carry on in such an offensive manner, especially in front of people who are visitors to the country. that's probably the worst memory i have of my trips to the USA, a country i enjoy visiting apart from that constant sour note that seems to follow me.
The original concern was because Phil saw 2 people, in the same car videotaping the bridge while driving over it. Anyone from NY knows that is against the law...in fact, most people even NOT from NY know this isn't allowed. While I am not going to say that Phil said that they people were of Middle Eastern descent ONLY to include all details, that IS a good part of the reason that he mentioned it. He didn't say "oh my god they were Arab, they must be terrorists!"
But really....anyone seen driving over a NY bridge while simultaneously filming it while someone else in the same car is doing the same is 100% shady...if we as Americans see something that already looks threatening and add an element of fear because of a past experience with something related to what we are seeing, that is only natural, no matter how NON racist you are.
This thread has gotten to the point of throwing around words that I don't think are fair to be using in this situation, where people are just merely sharing their opinions and voicing their concerns.
Monty,
I see your point, but I don't feel that what I said was offensive in any way. Seeing two Arab people in that car, both filming a bridge, did look more suspicious to me than if I saw to preppy white kids. It has nothing to do with where they were born. It was what I feel to be a "healthy amount" of stereotyping.
Everyone in this world stereotypes people every day, whether it be for positive or negative reasons.
I see MANY Arab people everywhere I go o a constant basis. I see them when I go through Grand Central, I see them on the subways and so forth, and I never get concerned ONLY because of their nationality. That is not why I became concerned on the bridge. I didn't say 'Hey, look, Arabs! They must be terrorists!". All I was saying was that the entire scene of what I saw that day, including their descent (one of the last observations in my list of them) and their angry faces.....added more to that concern at that moment.
I also want to point out that it doesn't matter if they were born here in the US or not. Being born in the US doesn't make anyone less of where the nation they came from (according to them). People who are actually 3rd generation US, will still say that they are Italian. Although I think it's stupid, it's just how most Americans are. People are also becoming less assimilated to American culture these days as well, regardless of where they are born.
Email me anytime at [email protected].
Let us remember one important fact. The only people that can claim they are "American" is an American Indian. We all immigrated here after this new world was discovered. With that said we can argue racial profiling all day, Phil is right that we all do it to a certain extent but it's more stereotyping than profiling. A law enforcement officer has a touch job when he is sizing up someone he approaches. Some of them are guilty of profiling and it's unfortunate. Monty and Mike both have good points but I still say we can't live in fear. Two people that appear middle eastern filming from a bridge is shady, but so are a million other things. I think Phil overreacted a little but he erred on the side of caution which is always the safe bet. I just hope if the people in the car were harmless tourists that they were treated with the same respect we are trying to get when we enjoy our hobby.
'My idea of a good picture is one that's in focus and of a famous person doing something unfamous.' Andy Warhol
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