Roman said:
I'm sorry Tony, but this is not the first time this has happened here, and the censorship here is ALWAYS biased into one direction - there are quite a few pics in the gallery that I (and many fellow non-Americans) find just as disgusting (like all the 'stars'n'stripes' in peoples' frontyards) that have not been removed, whereas any hint of criticism against 'W' is immediately censored, that's too much for me.
I already deleted a few albums in my gallery, I still have some up because I don't have any copies of those scans on my current computer, and want to transfer them over to my Flickr site, which I will do this evening (I'm already late for work, I will have to run in a minute).
You may catch me over at photo.net in the Classic Camera, Leica and Darkroom forums, and I'll have to check out what Flickr has to offer forum-wise, but I#M outta here once I've transferred my pics.
Roman
Goodby and God bless you Rolman. I always look forward to your posts. They are always interesting to me due to the experience you have and your articulation of your answers. Sure sorry to see you go though, especially in light of the fact that Jorge is asking for opinions, which implies he is willing to make a change in the way the forum is run, at least as far as "censorship" is concerned. I would have thought perhaps you would wait to see if he changed to a mode more acceptable to you. He is obviously open to it.
I am surprised I missed what started this even though I popped into the forum several times over the Friday and the weekend. I am not sure I want to give an opinion, but I will. Politics in the RFF? Well, on the one hand it is going to happen in some photos, intended or not. (And by the way, I haven't see an explanation by the photographer on that, which he isn't particularly obligated to do.) Photos of political statements are in one sense political statements. They can be for or against the photographed statement.
Are political statements appropriate for the RFF? That that is indeed a difficult question! Even if a photographer tries to be honestly journalistic, it will raise the hackles of many, who disagree with the statement that is photographed. There is an old saw about not discussing politics or religion. There is a reason for that old saw. Politics and religion often bring emotional responses more than logic. There is little of logic or science to either topic for most people.
Well, I guess my take is that politics is of marginal value in the RFF. Still, photographs are, and if they depict political events some times, that may be something we can tolerate, especially if the photographs are offered more as photographs than as statements. If someone posted photographs with blatant political commentary and asked for critique of their abilites as a photographer, even as to the photographs political impact, I might feel adult enough to answer on that basis. If I told that person that I felt he went to far, I would hope I could say it was because he accomplished his goal, and that part of my response was admittedly personally emotional or political. If not, shame on me, but understand it is a sensitive issue. If the photographer cannot accept my commentary, shame on him, but as I said, it is a sensitive issue. As I said, politics are of marginal value in the RFF imho.
Now, if I may be permitted, I think that raises another issue for people to contemplate, but perhaps not comment on here. I don't remember seeing too much of a political nature in photographs pertaining to politics of Europe, Africa, Latin America, or Asia. Of course, as I have mentioned before, I don't look that much at the galleries. My loss no doubt. If it is there, this point is invalid. What I am getting at is why feel so bad when we in the USA talk about ourselves, and comment on our politics, pro or con, and debate whether or not politics are appropriate in the RFF, or worse, make decisions about that, and leave the rest of the world untouched? Well, as I said, I think politics are of marginal value in the RFF at any rate. I don't intend this to bate anybody, nor to take this further, just thought I would throw it out for people to think about. Jorge or mods, feel free to delete my whole post or this paragraph if you feel it appropriate to do so.
Roman, again, sorry to see you go, especially over this. Well, politics just don't seem to be appropriate to the RFF. Now all that needs to be decided is what is politics. Good luck to the decision makers.
