Hurrah For The Second Amendment

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

This is from the archives; I shot it back in 2004 and just added it to my website today.

Local activist Tom Ostrognai posted this sign on one of his properties on Lafayette Street in Fort Wayne's inner city to celebrate the expiration of the federal assault weapons ban. The law prohibited the manufacture or import of semiautomatic assault rifles, though the millions of guns already in private hands in the United States remained legal to buy, sell, and use.

"HURRAH FOR THE 2ND Amendment 9-14-04 and to hell with the newspaper's editorial board and the bureaucrats who lost their jobs over their self-serving vote 10 years ago. Tom Ostrognai"

Ostrognai is a local landlord who became famous in the 1990s for his cable access TV show, where he videotaped drug dealers plying their trade in the inner-city neighborhoods where he owned properties. He played the videos on his show, and mocked the Fort Wayne Police Department for their inability or unwillingness to do anything about the gangs and drug dealing that were beginning to become a problem in the early 1990s in the city. When then-mayor Paul Helmke denied there was a problem with crack cocaine in the city, Ostrognai took him out one night and the two men bought crack from one of the local dealers!

 

[Jamie123]

Nice story. The guy seems like an idiot to me. Just sayin'.

 

[astrorob50]

Chris... like your journalistic photo endevors of Ft.Wayne, the old buildings, etc. I'm in
S.Central IN, Columbus and we dumped the whole town board as they were spending
all our money... hopefully sanity will endure... also like your artisitic self?-portrait...
somewhat Munch-avellian...

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Nice story. The guy seems like an idiot to me. Just sayin'.

Yeah, but he's a brave idiot! He was threatened with death several times by drug dealers, but kept televising their 'businesses'. lol

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Chris... like your journalistic photo endevors of Ft.Wayne, the old buildings, etc. I'm in
S.Central IN, Columbus and we dumped the whole town board as they were spending
all our money... hopefully sanity will endure... also like your artisitic self?-portrait...
somewhat Munch-avellian...

Thanks, I did that self-portrait when I was in art school. Haven't painted anything since I graduated 13 yrs ago! I had to work very hard to make a decent painting, I found the whole processes stressful and not fun. Photography was always my true calling.

I've never been to Columbus. Would like to spend some time in southern Indiana, but its a long drive that I can't afford for awhile.

 

[Al Patterson]

Yeah, but he's a brave idiot! He was threatened with death several times by drug dealers, but kept televising their 'businesses'. lol

Were I threatened by drug dealers, i would be packing some serious heat. Sounds like a man who wants to live a while longer.

Better to be judged by 12 than carried by 6...

 

[paulfish4570]

we need more brave idiots. i reckon this tom fellow packed plenty o' heat ...

 

[Pablito]

hmmm this thread is heading down a slippery slope.

 

[victoriapio]

I applaud anyone trying to shut down drugs and drug trafficking. Nothing crazy about that as long as you can protect yourself and your family.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I applaud anyone trying to shut down drugs and drug trafficking. Nothing crazy about that as long as you can protect yourself and your family.

I agree, and I liked Tom Ostrognai for having the balls to stand up to the gangs and drug pushers as well as local government and embarrassing the mayor and police into doing something.

 

[robklurfield]

Back on topic: Chris, as usual, a nice image and good back story.

 

[kshapero]

Funny how we castigate vigilantes as dangerous, courageous, foolish and even evil. But we sure love to go to Hollywood movies that glorify them. Honestly I think movies today are more violent than real life. What's going on with all those liberals out there anyway?

 

[Rayt]

Funny how we castigate vigilantes as dangerous, courageous, foolish and even evil. But we sure love to go to Hollywood movies that glorify them. Honestly I think movies today are more violent than real life. What's going on with all those liberals out there anyway?

I agree 100% if you are referring to Batman or Spiderman, maybe even Thor, but not some wanna be cop with a gun.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

I agree 100% if you are referring to Batman or Spiderman, maybe even Thor, but not some wanna be cop with a gun.

We're not talking about a 'wannabe cop'. The guy who put up this sign wanted the police to do their job, which they were not doing because they were in denial that Fort Wayne had a problem with drugs and gangs.

 

[FrankS]

Just in terms of photographic technique or merit, how is this photo more than a common snapshot of a socio-politically interesting lawn sign?

Just raising a photographic (rather than a socio-political) discussion point.

 

[Chriscrawfordphoto]

Just in terms of photographic technique or merit, how is this photo more than a common snapshot of a socio-politically interesting lawn sign?

Just raising a photographic (rather than a socio-political) discussion point.

All of my photographs are meant to be seen as mere parts of a larger documentary of the subject, in this case the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Some of them stand on their own, some don't but those are important connecting tissue in a larger narrative. Fort Wayne is a very rightwing/conservative city. This shows that well; the sentiment expressed by Tom Ostrognai on his sign is very commonly held here...as for why this sign instead of something else...Ostrognai is known for his signs like this, and he is a local celebrity. He has one up now complaining about a local news show firing their longtime weather forecaster, which I have also photographed (but haven't got edited yet).

 

[robklurfield]

The photograph would mean less to me had I not been following Chris's work for a while now. Taken in the context of that body of work, it makes sense, following a documentary/narrative thread about place.

 

[FrankS]

Yes, I get how this fits into your documentation of Fort Wayne as part of this project, but does not stand on its own in terms of photographic merit.

It's a different way of thinking: a series of photographs being the desired result, instead of a single photograph that stands on its own.

 

[Jamie123]

Funny how we castigate vigilantes as dangerous, courageous, foolish and even evil. But we sure love to go to Hollywood movies that glorify them. Honestly I think movies today are more violent than real life. What's going on with all those liberals out there anyway?

So? That's the difference between movies and real life. One is real the other isn't. A vigilante in a Hollywood movie is always right because, well, that's the way it's scripted. In real life we know that this is not so simple and that people can make mistakes which is why there's the law and due process.

 

[Sparrow]

All of my photographs are meant to be seen as mere parts of a larger documentary of the subject, in this case the city of Fort Wayne, Indiana. Some of them stand on their own, some don't but those are important connecting tissue in a larger narrative. Fort Wayne is a very rightwing/conservative city. This shows that well; the sentiment expressed by Tom Ostrognai on his sign is very commonly held here...as for why this sign instead of something else...Ostrognai is known for his signs like this, and he is a local celebrity. He has one up now complaining about a local news show firing their longtime weather forecaster, which I have also photographed (but haven't got edited yet).

If they are "meant to be seen as mere parts of a larger documentary" then why do post individually here?