News of Alec Baldwin’s paparazzi issues gave me pause: No one who hasn’t experienced the joy of the paparazzi can appreciate what this is all about. Until you’ve actually been there, you can’t believe it.
Consider:
Photographers standing with their back to the courthouse door, making it impossible for you to reach the handle, open the door and enter, without pushing them out of the way. And they won’t move, but just keep snapping pictures. And they won’t be pushed gently, but will stand their ground.
Photographers screaming curses, calling a person vile names, calling a person’s wife and children vile names, all to get a reaction so that they can photograph their target with an unattractive look on their face.
Photographers putting their cameras within inches of a person’s face and standing their ground, such that any attempt by the person to move forward will result in their face striking the camera.
Photographers creating a phalanx into which a person walks to get to the place he needs to be, which then closes in around him and stops, making it impossible for the person to move, whether forward or even backward. They will not move, and leave the person no choice but to stand there or push his way through.
Photographers jumping on the hoods of cars and photographing through the windshield, such that any movement by the car could throw the photographer off the hood and to his death.
This is what it means to deal with the paparazzi. Forget politeness. Forget civility. This is utter insanity by design. It’s a manufactured untenable situation from which no one can escape unscathed.
One of the most striking examples is the video of Bernie Madoff trying to enter his building.
Notice the photographer push Madoff back? Remarkably, Bernie kept his cool and didn’t react as most of us would, shove for shove. What allows a photographer to behave this way? The media’s thirst for images, and the uglier the better. No doubt the photographer who pushed Madoff hoped he would react poorly, whether by making an angry face, saying something or, in the best of all possible worlds, physically responding. He didn’t, but this bit of video was replayed in almost every report on Madoff.
And every time I watched it, I was disgusted by the photographers’ conduct. No matter what Madoff did, or what you think of him, this was wrong.
Meet the paparazzi. And the photographer who says he was “attacked” by Baldwin is considering filing charges? Poor baby. It would be a terrible shame if a member of the paparazzi got a boo boo because their target didn’t play dead.
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So, is anyone who has been shoved around by the photographers going to swear out a complaint for simple assault and/or battery?
With ubiquitous cameras, it ought to be easy enough to find evidence.
The downside–as in messing with the mob–is that they can hurt you back.
I can’t recall anyone ever filing a complaint about the photogs. For what, rudeness? Feh.
Jackie O had a restraining order against Ron Galella back in the day, but he was functionally stalking her and her kids.
No, I meant the pushing and shoving. Particularly if it’s done to provoke a response, I’d think a charge of assault and battery would stick.
Being a rude jerk, though, no, that’s not actionable, thank goodness.
I know what you meant. A bit of pushing isn’t a crime, just being a rude jerk. You need harm to make it a crime.
I suppose that only one courthouse door can be used because of security reasons. It seems to me that the court should be responsible for providing free entry into the courthouse. Have the press so intimidated the court that they can block entry to the courthouse?
Whether there is one or more, you can only use one at a time. They have spotters to see you coming and swarm as soon as they find you. It doesn’t matter what door you use.
As for the court officers providing some security for entry, sometimes they do (usually for celebrities), but more often they couldn’t care less. Getting into the building is your problem.
Why do celebrities get special treatment?
Because the COs choose to give them special treatment.
I think I get it… I have to fall down as a result of the push. And injure my neck. Do chiropractors know they’re missing a niche here? They should have a stall set up on the street outside of courtrooms, next to the guy handing out nullification fact sheets.
I think is is odd they will help them get into the courthouse but when it comes to plea bargaining the make an offer they can’t accept.