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by Jeremy Lassen
Someone once said “If
you poke a bear with a stick, expect it to growl”. On April 20th, 2005, I
poked a bear with a stick. On Tuesday, June 7th, it growled.
A little background:
At the beginning of April, I came across several news stories describing a
secret service visit to an art gallery. The gallery was exhibiting a show
that had a piece of art featuring a picture of Bush, and a gun. There was
some online discussions as to weather investigations like this have a
chilling effect on artistic and/or political speech. I felt very strongly
that this investigation was silly, as the piece was by a well known and
well respected artists. A simple background check ought to have been
sufficient. Showing up at the gallery sends a message that this type of
art is not acceptable.
In response to this
incident, I created a series of collages, entitled “Bush and Guns”. I
“remixed” pictures of Bush (from the AP Photo wire) and guns (randomly
found on Flckr)… I posted these new images to Flikr, as a set entitled
“Bush and Guns”. With each picture, I posted a link back to the original
story, with an explanation that the collage series was a commentary on
this incident in Chicago. I posted this set to several “anti bush”
political groups on Flikr, and received some positive feedback on them. I
also urged others to create “Bush and guns” artwork, and post it online,
as a sort of protest against actions and policies, that, to my mind, have
a chilling effect on people’s first amendment rights.
On June 7th, Two
Secret Service agents showed up at my place of employment and asked to
speak with me. One agent said they wanted to talk about something I posted
online. I asked what, he one responded “You post a lot of stuff online,
don’t you?” and then showed me some color printouts of my “Bush and Guns”
pictures. I was as helpful as possible, and explained to them the about
the incident in Chicago, and the context of those pictures.
The agents started out
with “easy” questions, like my name, address, what I did at my job, etc.
Then they started asking if I’ve ever been under psychiatric or
psychological care or counseling. They asked me to sign a medical release
form so they could contact local hospitals and health care providers and
confirm my answers. They asked if I belonged to any organizations. When I
said no, they specifically asked if I belonged to the NRA. They then began
to ask me to explain each picture, and what I meant by them. I did so.
During the course of
the interview, the Agent indicated that the pictures came to their
attention because someone reported them to the secret service, and that
they have to investigate everything. They assured me that there was
nothing political about this… that their personal feelings about Bush had
nothing to do with it… they may or may not like Bush anymore then I do,
but it wasn’t personal… they were just gathering information.
After about 45
minutes, one of the agents said (paraphrased from memory, not an exact
quote) “Let me be frank… I’m having difficulty seeing these pictures as
‘art’. You’re a publisher, and a systems administrator. How do you
suddenly become an ‘artist’.” I pointed out that not all art is created
formally by trained elites, and that there are plenty forms of artistic
expression like this, such as stencil and graffiti art.
He then went on to
suggest that the process of digitally manipulating photos of the
president, and putting his image in context with guns was akin to seeking
his home address, and personal information about him (instead of going to
his supervisor), if I had a professional complaint about him. (!?!?!). I
was a little flabbergasted at this, and said, no… it’s a creative process…
Juxtaposing elements that wouldn’t normally be together is a common
artistic technique.
I asked the agent
“what can I do to give you insight into where I am coming from. I don’t
think my pictures represented a threat, and never intended them that way…
they were social and political commentary on the incident in Chicago, and
on the police state in the mentality that has pervaded our culture.” The
agent then said something that REALLY confused me. He said “You could
‘retract’ them”. I asked what he meant -- “Remove them from online?
replace them with a statement saying I don’t advocate violence against the
president? what?” Both agents resounded to this specific question, with a
generalized yes… that would be a good step.
These agents had
previously told me that they were just gathering facts, and had no power
to bring charges against me… that they would impartially gather
information and present it to their boss, who would then decide if federal
criminal charges should be filed against me.
After speaking to me,
they asked to interview my boss. They also asked me to help put them in
touch with my wife, who was out of town – They would need to interview her
also. They also mentioned the possibility of interviewing members of my
family… my mother in particular.
I’ll admit it. I was
very freaked out. The first thing I did when I got back to my desk was
delete the pictures from Flikr. Then I deleted my LiveJournal account,
because in it, I talk a lot about politics, and how unhappy I am with the
Bush regime.
I’ve INTELLECTUALLY
known what the phrase “Chilling Effect” means, from a legal standpoint.
But I now know, deep down, in a very personal way, I know what it means.
I’m cold as Ice. When confronted with 2 guys with a badge and some formal
questioning, and some vague hints, my first action was to self-censor.
Maybe I’m just a sissy with no backbone, but that’s what my reaction was.
Hopefully the process
of talking publicly about this incident will help me thaw out.
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