PC gone mad when you cannot even take pictures of your own kids!!

blue_monkey_2

On Saturday my daughter sang, on stage, with her choir group and a fairly famous group.

I took 2 photographs of her and about 20 seconds of video - by that time someone who worked there came and told me that I was not allowed to photograph the children. I said it was my own child (and only had my own child on the camera) but she said no pictures. So - annoyed - I put it away.

At the interval I was approached yet again by another woman who then yelled at me in front of the entire theatre - she made sure everyone had taken their seats before doing that - for taking pictures. I told her I had put the camera away as I was asked but I asked why I could not as it was my own child up there, she told me that as there were other children there as well and we could not take photos of the children. She then shouted that if I did it again she was confiscating the camera. I asked if they were going to be providing us with any recordings if we were not allowed to do our own - no, of course not.

What a load of crap that was.

Now not only had the choir group told us we could take the pictures, had disclaimers from all of us about the pictures but, but I found out when I got home that by the interval the pictures were already being put on Facebook by the leaders anyway!!

What the hell is the country coming to when we cannot even take pictures of our kids doing things like this, things that might well be once in a lifetime opportunities. They even told the choir leaders that 'someone' had been caught 'taking pictures of the children' as if I was some raving child molester !!!!!!. They knew I was the childs mother because I told them, they could have said that but no, they tried to make out there was some pa edo taking pictures of the children. Other parents got pictures of them but did not get caught. Same pictures will probably be in the local paper - I guess the local pa edos will not be cutting those out but paying for tickets and using those. !!!!!!.

Pretty annoyed, tbh, I did as I was asked but she intentionally set out to humiliate me over it and made me out to be taking the pictures for other reasons. Ridiculous PC correctness, when we go to the US we can even take pictures of our kids in the swimming pool in public, what is wrong with people that they make every parent out to be a bloody pa edophile for taking pictures of our children?

daska

I can understand why there are instances when it isn't appropriate to allow photos to be taken, e.g. if there are children who need to remain unidentifiable due to abuse etc, but it seems strange that having sorted it all out in advance there should be such a hoo-haa. Was the woman someone who worked there or a parent? Or just a.n.other member of the audience? Personally I'd be taking it up with the choir leaders, it may be that while they didn't have a problem themselves they failed to talk with the venue owners or there was some other misunderstanding.

melancholly

the thing is, it isn't anything to do with the law, just a couple of idiots making it up as they go along. i'd be inclined to complain to them and make it clear that they are completely making up their interpretation of what it appropriate.

muppets.

Derivative

daska wrote: »

if there are children who need to remain unidentifiable due to abuse etc

What?

How does taking a picture of them make them any more identifiable than before?

ska_lover

I would have totally lost the plot when she started threatening to confiscate my camera - that would be theft - and I would have told her so. How dare she? I would be complaining up to the hilt about this scenario. I doubt I could have walked away calmly at all. People cannot take away your stuff just because it suits them!!

heretolearn_2

While I accept that there are sometimes reasons for specific children to be protected for legal/personal child protection reasons, other than those important situation this is just one way our country has gone bonkers recently.

Why is it done? Because of paed o fear. Do !!!!!s have the slightest interest in these sorts of pics when they can get hundreds of thousands of explicit child abuse photos with a click of the button online? I suspect not. Has there been one single case of a paed o having a school or choir or event photo of children in their possession along with the pervy pics? Why would they even bother when if they desperately wanted normal pictures of clothed children they could pick up a Mothercare catalogue?

Peater

ello ello ello, i'm PC gone mad. *rasberry*

Derivative

PaulRichmond wrote: »

and after the child was tagged in a dance groups photo

Yes, so someone else identified the child.
Taking the photo and using it in say a photo album wouldn't have that effect.

daska

Derivative wrote: »

What?

How does taking a picture of them make them any more identifiable than before?

What?!

Imagine a family has been relocated as a result of violence, maybe into a WomensAid Hostel, but the offender is looking for them. Publishing photographs of children on-line can identify where they are going to school, what groups they attend, narrow down the area they are living in.

Apply a little common sense and you can see that in those circumstances it's not unreasonable to restrict photos being taken. It doesn't stop the organisers taking photos and publishing those that don't include the faces/names of the relevant children.

With the rapid improvements in facial recognition in things like FaceBook it's increasingly important to bear in mind.

Alikay

The methods used to prevent you taking the photo's were OTT and embarrassing, but I do understand the need to get everyone to follow a "no photo's" procedure.

I foster children during the initial months before court proceedings are completed, and often the children need to be kept apart from certain people in their lives. Photo's uploaded onto Facebook etc are a sure-fire way of advertising the wherabouts of a child and allowing individuals unsupervised access to them at school gates, over the playground fence etc. Local newspaper photo's also risk this happening,but generally the head teacher will a say in which ones are published, and can veto any shots featuring a child who may be vulnerable.

It's not always about pa edo's and ridiculous degrees of PC-ness, some children I've cared for have been very much at risk of being tracked down and no parents of their classmates would have been aware of the risks.

*Louise*

Usually in that sort of situation, parents are asked to sign a disclaimer to allow photos to be taken. If there are people who object, then it is announced at the start of a performance that photos should not be taken, then everyone is aware.

What would annoy me MORE than not being able to take pictures, is the person doing the shouting and screaming in front of everyone and belittling the OP. THAT is out of order, and I would be sending a written complaint to the organisation (and would expect an apology from this woman) I would also ask for the removal of the pictures from facebook