Media, Control And The Coming Tyrant

January 23, 2017

President Trump... (I just threw up a little in my own mouth typing that) is using some rather blatant, textbook fascist style strategies that we all should be tremendously concerned about. Chief among them has been his handling of the media, or rather his efforts to control it, since the beginning of his campaign, and now into his Presidency.

#0463_34A - "The Emperor Has No Balls" The Castro District, San Francisco. August of 2016.

Step One: Demonize. Turn the public against the media, berate them, call them liars, say things such as...

“You know, it really doesn’t matter what the media write as long as you’ve got a young, and beautiful, piece of ass.”

"lies, deceit, viciousness, disgusting reporters, horrible people..."

"they're scum, absolute scum, remember that..."

"I am not running against Crooked Hillary Clinton, I'm running against the crooked media."

Trump seems to be a pathological liar in every sense, and when reputable media outlets call him out on those falsehoods he perpetuates, he calls them liars and dishonest. His press secretary and advisors offer "alternative facts" further entrenching his supports against the "disgusting reporters."

#1409 - "Make Racism Wrong Again" Inaugural Protest and March. San Francisco, Ca. January 20th, 2017.

Step Two: Restrict. Limit media access, do not hold press conferences, do not allow the press to travel with you, do not let the press know whom you are meeting with. Trump's phone call after the election with Vladimir Putin was first reported by the Kremlin, not a single US news outlet knew of it. Let that sink in a minute.

Threaten to pull the press from the West Wing, shut down questioning from news organizations you deem "fake news," push your narrative and attack those who don't play along. Control the headline.

Step Three: Threaten. During his campaign Trump threatened to sue the New York Times after an article ran about his alleged assault of multiple women, then threatened to sue a second time for an article that released parts of his tax returns. Trump has said he wants to "open up" libel laws so he can more easily sue news organizations.

"I'm going to open up our libel laws so when they write purposely negative and horrible and false articles, we can sue them and win lots of money. We're going to open up those libel laws. So when The New York Times writes a hit piece which is a total disgrace or when The Washington Post, which is there for other reasons, writes a hit piece, we can sue them and win money instead of having no chance of winning because they're totally protected," Trump said, both demonizing and threatening in one motion.

Step Four: Circumvent. Bypass the media entirely, communicate your propaganda to the public directly, post videos directly to social media, tweet constantly, hold large rallies instead of press conferences, allowing you to continue to push your agenda to the public unimpeded by journalists. To my knowledge, no president elect in the history of this nation has ever made a victory lap around the country before, and that should frighten all of us.

#1701 - "Midterm Elections" - Night of the Women's March. The Castro District, San Francisco, Ca. January 21st, 2017.

Tyrants will always attempt to control the media, and while Trump has been in office for less than a week, he seems intent on doing just that. The only way to stop this demagogue is to inform yourself. Read the news, not the facebook headline. Demand answers not sound bytes. Seek the larger truth, not the 4am tweet.

For The Record

January 20, 2017

#0498_11A - Mission St., San Francisco. 2106

For the record, I do not support President Donald Trump.

I do not support his policies, or lack thereof. I believe he is ill equipped for the office. I believe he is uninformed and willfully ignorant. I believe his intentions are single in nature, to enrich himself and his family by way of the presidency.

I am disgusted with the Republican Party, not only because of their policies, but because they could have stopped this. They could have stood up for something. They could still shutdown this circus and attempt to make things right, but they value power, not progress. I'm looking at you Paul Ryan and Mitch McConnell. Shame on you both. You have harmed this great nation with your inaction.

More importantly, I do not support a hateful president.

I do not support a man who degrades, demeans and assaults women. This is not locker room talk. This is not acceptable. This is not normal behavior. If you believe it is, you are part of the problem.

I do not support a man who demonizes immigrants, Muslims, African-Americans, Latinos or anyone else that does not look or speak like him. This is not ok. This is not acceptable behavior for anyone, let alone a president. This is racism. This is xenophobia. It is not an "opinion." It is disgusting.

I believe education is a right, and not a mechanism to build "God's Kingdom" as the nominee for Secretary of Education has said.

I believe healthcare is a right, and the size of your bank account should never determine wether or not you live a healthy life, or live at all.

I believe all people, women, men, gay, lesbian, trans, black, brown, white, red, green, purple, yellow, whatever you may be and however you identify, deserve equals rights, equal pay, equal treatment under the law, equal access to healthcare and housing.

I believe the roles are reversed. Those of us in big cities who value diversity aren't living in a bubble. Those that believe the only "real" Americans are the ones that look, speak and act as they do, this is the bubble. The bubble of ignorance, of intolerance, of racism and homophobia and misogyny.

I'll be on the street tonight, in the pouring rain, cameras in tow, to show the world that we do not support this president. We support equality, we support diversity, we support human rights. We are not in a bubble. We are the majority. And we will drag all of you with us, one day, kicking and screaming if need be, out of your bubble. Because you deserve better, all of us do. For the record.

Word On The Street

January 18, 2017

The City feels quiet these days... there's a silence in the air, people are worried...

#0494_33A - Muni Riders, San Francisco, 2016.

#0495_17A - Howard St. San Francisco, 2016

Inauguration day looms large and everyone seems to be realizing all at once that this is not in fact a horrible nightmare, but our reality, at least for the foreseeable future.

I've never felt more fortunate to live in the Bay Area. We've got our problems, but we're also one of the most diverse, open minded, inclusive and progressive places on earth.

I read an interesting thing the other day that really resonated with me...

"What if the people who live in diverse cities filled with multitudes of points of view aren't the ones living in a bubble?"

I'm sticking with that.

Flora, Take #2

January 13, 2017

Take #2 from a shoot with Flora (http://www.modelmayhem.com/3055887) in October of last year, we shot through intermittent rain and a stiff wind, which is a hell of a lot easier for me to work in than for her, as it turns out...

Amber, Take #2

January 09, 2017

Second take from a shoot back in October (when the world was a brighter, warmer place...) with Amber (http://www.modelmayhem.com/ANudeMuse) at Marshall's Beach in San Francisco. Sifting through these images... I'm really looking forward to printing some of them soon, watch for a print release from this shooting coming up...