I took my video camera to the Lynden Middle School to document the Town Hall meeting. I posted the video on Latte Republic. Link here.
If you have watched any of the public affairs video I've posted here, you may notice that the sound in those videos tends to be very good. Or more to the point, you likely didn't notice it. I'm quite proud of the quality control I'm able to achieve when documenting these events. That the sound doesn't draw attention to itself is a hallmark of high quality audio.
The sound for the footage of the Town Hall Meeting, however, is marginal. It draws attention to itself. And not in a good way.
This is because Senator Ericksen insisted that I not be able to connect my camera's audio input directly to the P.A. system at the Lynden Middle School auditorium.
It went down like this...
Since I was prevented from connecting directly to the P.A. system, I was prevented from getting the best possible audio of the event by making reasonable use of the existing equipment. Instead, I gathered the worst possible audio.
Senator Ericksen repeatedly mentioned that he was renting the venue. His demeanor and conduct suggested that he believed that he owned the entire venue by that virtue.
I disagreed.
That equipment is owned by the school district and paid for with tax dollars, mind you.
However, the school district employee on duty at the time sided with the Senator and so I opted to roll with the situation and document the event as best I could under the circumstances.
Apparently, Senator Ericksen is not accustomed to having his bluff called. He dropped the threat of calling the police like a hot rock after I pushed back on the threat.
And just so the readers know, as a State Senator, Mr Ericksen enjoys what is known as "privilege from arrest". This privilege appears in the State Constitution and is understood to apply between legislative sessions. It means he can't be arrested for anything except for "treason, felony and breach of the peace". The Senator is unlikely in the extreme to be unaware of this privilege and this takes his actions from normal levels of background douchebaggery to full blown Douche-Con 1. That section of the State Constitution is suppose to serve elected officials as a shield, not a sword.
I'm in correspondence with School District #504 as well as the Chief Clerk of the Washington State Legislature and the Secretary of the Washington State Senate to clarify this matter so I can determine what I can and can't do when I'm trying to document public events in public forums in the future.
If you support the notion that I, or anyone else, should be able to get good quality documentation of events like the Town Hall meeting, particularly when that event occurs on publicly funded property such as a public school facility, consider contacting the following places and saying something.
Contact Info for Lynden School District
freyj@lynden.wednet.edu (superintendent, school district 504)
leischnerj@lynden.wednet.edu (technology coordinator) suns@lynden.wednet.edu (business manager)
Contact Info for Chief Clerk of Washington State Legislature
baker_ba@leg.wa.gov
Contact Info for Secretary of the Senate, Washington State
hoemann.tom@leg.wa.gov
If you think that Senator Ericksen's reaction was way cool, I suppose you could contact these places and say something too.
As frustrating as this encounter was, and as displeased as I was that I didn't get better sound, I have no regrets about not pressing the conflict any further than it went. I wanted to record an event, not become an event. I felt the best way to resolve the matter was after the fact and through official channels in an effort to achieve a more long term solution.
These events are important, and not every local citizen can attend them. I attend and record as many events as circumstances allow. There has been exceptionally positive responses to these efforts from many many members of the local community. That includes people with strong disagreements with my political views and opinions.
I aim to continue documenting what I can, when I can.
Wish me luck, if you are so inclined.
If you have watched any of the public affairs video I've posted here, you may notice that the sound in those videos tends to be very good. Or more to the point, you likely didn't notice it. I'm quite proud of the quality control I'm able to achieve when documenting these events. That the sound doesn't draw attention to itself is a hallmark of high quality audio.
The sound for the footage of the Town Hall Meeting, however, is marginal. It draws attention to itself. And not in a good way.
This is because Senator Ericksen insisted that I not be able to connect my camera's audio input directly to the P.A. system at the Lynden Middle School auditorium.
It went down like this...
During the preparation for the Town Hall meeting at the Lynden Middle School, I came into conflict with Senator Ericksen on the matter of recording audio of the event.
Senator Ericksen was adamant about me not connecting to the school's P.A. system.
I was adamant about getting the best possible audio of the event, which involved connecting to the P.A. system. So, I connected my equipment to the P.A. system against Senator Ericksen's wishes.
When the Senator requested that I disconnect from the P.A. system, I refused.
Then the Senator threatened to call the police. I invited him to call the police and still refused.
Then, an employee of the school said that if I didn't disconnect from the P.A. system, then he would disconnect it for me. Which he did.
Rather than provoke further conflict on the matter, I gathered audio by way of a microphone mounted on my camera.
Since I was prevented from connecting directly to the P.A. system, I was prevented from getting the best possible audio of the event by making reasonable use of the existing equipment. Instead, I gathered the worst possible audio.
Senator Ericksen repeatedly mentioned that he was renting the venue. His demeanor and conduct suggested that he believed that he owned the entire venue by that virtue.
I disagreed.
That equipment is owned by the school district and paid for with tax dollars, mind you.
However, the school district employee on duty at the time sided with the Senator and so I opted to roll with the situation and document the event as best I could under the circumstances.
Apparently, Senator Ericksen is not accustomed to having his bluff called. He dropped the threat of calling the police like a hot rock after I pushed back on the threat.
And just so the readers know, as a State Senator, Mr Ericksen enjoys what is known as "privilege from arrest". This privilege appears in the State Constitution and is understood to apply between legislative sessions. It means he can't be arrested for anything except for "treason, felony and breach of the peace". The Senator is unlikely in the extreme to be unaware of this privilege and this takes his actions from normal levels of background douchebaggery to full blown Douche-Con 1. That section of the State Constitution is suppose to serve elected officials as a shield, not a sword.
I'm in correspondence with School District #504 as well as the Chief Clerk of the Washington State Legislature and the Secretary of the Washington State Senate to clarify this matter so I can determine what I can and can't do when I'm trying to document public events in public forums in the future.
If you support the notion that I, or anyone else, should be able to get good quality documentation of events like the Town Hall meeting, particularly when that event occurs on publicly funded property such as a public school facility, consider contacting the following places and saying something.
Contact Info for Lynden School District
freyj@lynden.wednet.edu (superintendent, school district 504)
leischnerj@lynden.wednet.edu (technology coordinator) suns@lynden.wednet.edu (business manager)
Contact Info for Chief Clerk of Washington State Legislature
baker_ba@leg.wa.gov
Contact Info for Secretary of the Senate, Washington State
hoemann.tom@leg.wa.gov
If you think that Senator Ericksen's reaction was way cool, I suppose you could contact these places and say something too.
As frustrating as this encounter was, and as displeased as I was that I didn't get better sound, I have no regrets about not pressing the conflict any further than it went. I wanted to record an event, not become an event. I felt the best way to resolve the matter was after the fact and through official channels in an effort to achieve a more long term solution.
These events are important, and not every local citizen can attend them. I attend and record as many events as circumstances allow. There has been exceptionally positive responses to these efforts from many many members of the local community. That includes people with strong disagreements with my political views and opinions.
I aim to continue documenting what I can, when I can.
Wish me luck, if you are so inclined.
ApexNerd you were way cool. Senator Erikson not so much.
ReplyDeleteIt's a shame that Senator Erikson is so opposed to public participation and knowledge. I'd make a wider comment about how that relates to his party affiliation, but I'm being polite. (And there are plenty of Republicans who don't object to being heard and seen.)
ReplyDeleteShame on him!
A similar thing happened to me! When Rossi was speaking at Ericksen headquarters, he demanded that I put my camera down, even though over 40 other people were taking photos. He kept repeating, "this is MY candidate headquarters" and even said I should put my camera down "out of respect." (This all because I'm an identified Dem and activist.)
ReplyDeleteAfter Rossi was done speaking, I grabbed Ericksen's hands and said, "don't discriminate--that's not cool." Obviously, message not received.
More evidence of how terribly, fiercely, aggressively anti-democratic the Republican Party has become. Whether by trying to destroy collective bargaining,* or strangling voter participation, violently attempting to shut down meetings and bankrupt the govt,, transferring public assets into private assets, wiping out public media this party has become a shame and a blight on the American system.
ReplyDeleteWe know why they're becoming so fiercely anti-democratic. Their base is aging and dying, shrinking, and the only way they can hold power is by eliminating whole sectors of people who might vote against them. Understanding that, their efforts will only become more violent and destructive with time. Yet they've engineered it so most future contributions go to them rather than alternative parties (Citizens United).
I fear for the future of this country.
* the right to assemble and form associations is protected under the Constitution, BTW. Remarkable how much the GOP loves the Second Amendment in preference to the First.
I understand your not pressing the issue with the school employee, apexnerd, but to have had an opportunity to read a police report about this action would have been priceless.
ReplyDeleteKeep up the good work, and even more than good luck, I wish you justice.
I am grateful that you took the effort to document this event. These local politicians, assume they can dictate the terms of their public events, even if state law says otherwise. Hardly a democratic approach to local governance, but certainly business as usual if no one challenges the act. Congratulations for representing the belief that we all should be heard in a country that espouses equal representation even as it favors the wealthy and politically connected (which is really the same thing).
ReplyDelete