Vigilance at Wal-Mart

Was the guy unAmerican or a Patriot? I ask you to consider a brief encounter I had the other day. Then judge the circumstances and tell me what you think by considering the six questions at the end of this blog.

Background: In my sometimes capacity as a real estate broker, lenders and creditors ask me to do property valuations of commercial properties. Besides gathering financial data, I usually have to take photos to accompany my report. One such work order involved a large property adjacent to our local shopping center, which is anchored by Wal-Mart.

The incident: While I was busy taking shots of the Wal-Mart parking lot, a local man in a pickup truck was unusually interested in my photographic activity. When I advanced on the adjacent target property (our FedEx facility), the pickup truck guy followed. I finished walking around and photographing various angles of the target and went two blocks farther away to photograph another commercial complex (which a local defense contractor leases) from a distance.

As I was getting my camera oriented for the best wide-angle shot, the curious citizen jumped out of his pickup truck and ordered, "Hey you, hold it right there! Put your camera down!" I was mildly startled as he strode toward me in an authoritative manner. I wasn't surprised that my photographic activities had drawn his curiosity, because after all, Homeland Security has been advising all of us the past couple years to be alert. But his manner and tone instantly lodged a chip on my shoulder, so I responded in kind, "Hey, pardner, have you got a problem?"

Just then a police cruiser pulled up behind us (fortunately for us both, the pickup truck guy had reported the incident). A young policeman approached and asked politely, "Can I help?" The pickup guy blustered that he suspected me of being a subversive-- ". . . otherwise, why would this guy be taking pictures of a defense facility?" I reminded the officer that photographing public buildings was not against the law, and that the pickup guy had no authority to make a "citizen's arrest" (as he was evidently intent on doing, had the officer not arrived when he did).

End of story: The officer had the good sense to call in and ask for guidance; he returned to announce that, indeed, there was no law prohibiting photography. I was pleased that I had made my point, but later, looking back on the incident, I said a little prayer of thanks that the pickup guy wasn't packing heat that morning--a lot of us are authorized to do so in Arizona--and that he hadn't been drinking before our encounter.

Here are six questions: (1) Would the pickup guy have reacted in the same way before 9/11? (2) Assuming you'll say "no," was it appropriate that he reacted the way he did? (3) Do you believe that his attitude (of being so concerned) is desirable in light of the "war on terror?" (4) Was my "chip-on-the-shoulder" reaction to the pickup guy's behavior appropriate? (5) If you say "no," how should I have reacted when he ordered me to stop? (6) Do you think this "security incident" will become a permanent lifestyle in the U.S.A.? Before you conclusively answer question #6, perhaps you ought to read an excellent treatise on fear in societies:
http://www.lewrockwell.com/shaffer/shaffer121.html