Your March "Items We Carry" entries

Yay for you Teresa!

I hadn't realized such nastiness was going on on the NES forum. Hijacking an amateur photography contest to promote a pro-gun agenda is devious and pathetic. And seriously what are they trying to achieve? As if I will look at these gun photos and go "wow, I'm so pro-gun now". I am sure there are appropriate discussion groups where they can argue for their point, but this one is not. RAW is about photography, not guns.
Thanks for letting us know what was going on; based on these grounds, I am glad you decided to disqualify the gun photos.

You have my support.

Teresa, I've felt badly for you all month, having to preside over that obscene hijacking of the contest -- and was amazed by the restraint you showed. I doubt the NES crowd can recognize how ugly their attitude was, or the damage they did to their own cause.

But March is over (whew), it's time to speak your piece -- and it's perfect. You tell 'em!

It's unfortunate that a public forum/contest is no longer public. But, to each his own.

Just so you know, not every single photograph of a gun came from one internet forum. Massachusetts is a concealed carry state, and some of us carry a legal firearm, due to choice or necessity. It is your contest, but I'd suggest that the mere presence of a firearm in an entry doesn't indicate bad faith.

Uneasy rests the head that wears the crown! Cheers!

Oh, poor you, having to censor content that you don't agree with. I bet life must be so hard for you, having to justify this and all.

To add on to my previous comment, looking through some other of the gun photos, some of these are actually good photography! From your text, I had assumed most of the gun photos had been garbage, but, well, after looking, that's just not the case. Some of them are good!

I'm not sure I can convince you otherwise, but I'd urge you to reconsider the blanket disqualification. It might be more work to go through the entries more closely, but perhaps you could just disqualify obvious trolls, and leave the ones with artistic flair?

I am just mad that mother nature didn't cooperate. I had a great (at least in mind, who knows how it would have come out) shot planned for this theme but just couldn't get it accomplished with the weather we had.

Oh well, bring on April!

And tough call to make Teresa, but well presented and I think you can feel good standing behind that decision.

Perhaps next time, these contests should be held privately if they are not intended to be interpreted by the public. Art and politics have historically always been closely tied to one another. Many of the submissions that are remaining in the contest have heavy political significance and it is a desperate, grasping act to attempt to separate art from politics specifically for one group and not others.

OK, I'll freely admit that I'm a member of NortheastShooters. I didn't bother to read that particular thread, though, simply because I wasn't interested.

However... I'm curious. Had I submitted a SERIOUS photo, which will include a Smith & Wesson Model 637 (along with a Surefire flashlight, a Swiss Army knife, a nailclipper and an antique pocket watch (all of which I carry on a daily basis, which, from your article WAS the purpose of this exercise)), you would have booted it because you don't like the language of other entrants?

Hmm. Censorship is alive and well in the Boston Globe. I guess I see why your readership is going down.

I used to be a member of NES but left a couple years ago. They were nasty to each other and nasty to everyone else. Apparently nothing has changed there. While I support the 2nd amendment and believe that people around here are way too unnerved over something that is part of our American culture, the NES forum is its own worst enemy. Bullies aren't just found in schools. Many members have left and found other online communities where positive action and respectful debate take place.

The Globe taking an anti-gun stance? Shocking.

BRAVO Teresa! THANK YOU! Thank you so very much for telling it as it was.

I was stabbed once with a set of keys. I would like all of the pics with key submissions removed immediately.

Teresa, you did what you had to do, and no one should be blaming you. I am neither pro or against guns, it is something that I choose not to affect my life, that said. To all who think she was unfair because your photo of a gun was legit and you shouldn't be penalized for another's actions/comments: it's not an uncommon practice in general and you should know that. When a few drunken idiots spoil a World Series celebration outside Fenway, the police disperse the whole crowd; they don't pick and choose who can stay. What Teresa did was the exact same thing. A few bad apples started to cause commotion, others followed suit, photos were submitted just to incite a problem, and she dealt with it for what she believed was the good of the RAW community.

As a Second Amendment upholder and supporter, I have to agree that is pretty pathetic that the March photo contest was pretty much ruined. I do think that it stinks that the Gun pictures are the only ones scrapped because so many of us do carry guns and that does fit the description of the contest. I personally did not enter the contest because of all of the controversy. I think to be fair the March contest should be canceled. Maybe do a double contest in April. Just my opinion.

Where is the uproar about you not allowing pocketbooks? How dare you! HAHA.

Hmm. I looked at the entries on Flicker and saw ~11 "gun" entries, and while none are worth winning a prize, I do not see them as being any worse that some other "non-gun" photos. I can appreciate that you've been harrassed and wanted to "call them out" on it, but I do not think it is as bad as you're making it sound... unless there were a lot more than are in the Flicker account now.

Not anti-gun, I think it's more like anti-d-bag ... as we all have experienced in the past, it only takes one d-bag to ruin it for the rest. I gotta say that it's unfortunate but it's the right decision.

"Our participants were called sheeple, idiots, eurotrash, moonbats, scum, vile, repugnant, brainwashed, a waste of oxygen and food, scumsucking bastards, pussbags, pig dogs, bleaters, howling crazy fools, SOBs, and a few other obscene names I can't print here. And all this time I thought our folks were pretty nice."

Did you read some of their comments before you passed judgment?

How about you guys go to the Democratic Underground forum, and see how they talk. It's all the same insults, just directed at different people.

The NES forum was never linked to in the pictures the members posted, so I really don't see the relevance of what some posters say on another forum. What they say in their free time is their own business.

The fact is, there is always someone who doesn't like you. You can't blame everyone that person knows just because the original person is a ----.

(FWIW, I don't carry a gun, nor do I own one.)

I posted a picture of the contents of my purse, my pockets, and a gun. I took a lot of time with the photo, and I think it came out pretty well, especially for someone who is 1) an amateur and 2) the worst photographer in the world (I have a hard time with photography - I have never been able to make what I see with my eyes appear on the camera). I was immensely proud of how my photo turned out, until you turned it into something ugly.

I don't really appreciate being stereotyped into a group - I have a gun in my picture, so I must be an immature idiot. I'm a middle-class white female, so I don't get many chances in life to be stereotyped in a negative way, so I guess I should thank you for the not-so-subtle reminder that humans are quick to judge anything different than what they are used to.

You should be ashamed of yourself. You should have just let the pictures' quality stand on their own merit, instead of trying to get political. I agree that the posts on NES were a bit nasty, but that doesn't mean that every gun picture originated there or every gun photographer took part in any of the discussion. I saw a cool picture contest, it was a nice day with great natural light streaming in through my windows, and I decided to make art. Isn't that the point of the contest?

You took a few "mean" names out of context and used that as a feeble excuse for your blanket censorship. Well done.

I can't say that I'm shocked, this being the Globe and all, but you should at least post a link to the forum in question so that people can read what was written for themselves.

Just took a peek at the gallery. So basically guns are "bad" but pictures of Chairman Mao and piles of condoms and cash are OK? Seriously?

I'm an old fart so I guess I'm just way out of touch with youth, but back in my day guns were just fine but communism and prostitution were bad.... I'm genuinely sad to see what this country has become.

To think that art and politics don't coincide is to be naive. It's amazing what a single photograph can contain. It can contain a message of struggle, anger, happiness, sadness, disgust, elation, freedom, oppression, and so forth. As such, it would have been a strong testament to your contest and its integrity to let the photos stand on their own merit. If they were poor photos or aesthetically displeasing, surely they wouldn't stand a chance.

Rather, you've decided to alienate people using a broad brush. One doesn't speak for all. Every day, the cancer known as political correctness grows more insidious to the detriment of our nation which once stood for free speech, open exchange of ideas, and rigorous and honest debate.

It's your contest and the Globe is privately held so its a choice I respect but disagree with. Much like your news coverage, which I rarely tune into due to the outright bias (as art and politics mix, so do news and politics), I'll just tune this out as well.

Because the trend seems to be censoring anything that could possibly be interpreted as political, should I even bother submitting my photograph, which happens to have 2 knives in it? I don't carry a gun, but as both a handyman and a First Responder, I see the need to have these tools with me.
Tell me, should I even bother? After all, I could be trying to make a political statement, or promoting violence, or supporting violent rebellion, or encouraging racism, or promoting some other ridiculous political agenda.
I carry a knife because I feel I need it. You may not like it, but I bet you would be glad I had it if I had to cut your seatbelt to pull you from a car wreck.
The same goes for guns. Some people feel they need to carry one.

Personally, I think my picture is rather good, but I will not waste it on your site if you are going to deem it inappropriate.

NoCaGrrl, re: your comment @ April 1, 10 09:37 AM -- Although I agree partly with Teresa, your comment about guns being excluded was off base. I don't know about the full content of the NES posters' comments that cause a contest to be closed. But I don't recall the contest stating that firearms were to be excluded.

The title was "Things We Carry". I don't carry a gun, but obviously many Americans do. I can see if the contest said, "Fish we have as pets" and someone posted a gun pic or a pencil pic. But the contest was NOT SPECIFIC.

I must admit, I'm disappointed. Yes, I was directed here through the NES site. Yes, many of the comments there were inflammatory. However, if you do a RAW contest search, you'll find other sites suggesting people post in a past contest or two. Apparently it's not uncommon, and I'm thankful I was turned on to a resource I otherwise wouldn't have found.

That being said, scrapping all entries because of what people said somewhere else is rather childish. Tit for Tat? It makes no sense. If the pictures weren't good, they wouldn't have won anyway. What's the point of excluding them beyond "Ha, I'll show them"?

It's also interesting to note that many people were anxious to chime in about the guns, even before the site was linked, yet only one person was interested in camera talk when I asked for help with a camera. They enjoyed arguing about the evil of firearms, but had no interest in talking about the subject: photography. For that one person, I thank you and I took your advice.

Regardless, I must say I'm disappointed that Ms. Hanafin got so upset about what some people said on another message board and wiped a whole category of entries even though she didn't know if they were the offending party. It was a childish act of revenge against many innocent parties to avenge sore feelings.

I look forward to submitting more pictures with my new camera, and hope I don't get my entries disqualified again should a group upset Ms. Hanafin.

So I submitted a photo, unedited. At the last minute I fixed it a bit using Picnic. The editing process apparently deleted the photo's properties. I had two mostly similar pix on my Flickr page, until I deleted the first version. Any way to retrieve the properties?

Thank you.

Reply for johnny02110:

Since when are condoms something wrong? What about money? I took that picture and I don't see anything wrong with it.

Still no response to my previous comment? Hmmm, considering how strongly you seem to feel about the issue, you could at least clarify where/if you're going to draw the line between art and politics.

The comment that states that thinking "that art and politics don't coincide is to be naive" is quite right. A sign of good art is one that conveys a message, whether that message is the artist's emotions, concerns, fears, regrets, or POLITICAL VIEWS. You cannot censor art without restricting creativity.

And that is certainly what you are doing. Censoring art because you do not agree with the message contained within the art.

Go to any art museum, and tell me that you do not see any political influence in the works featured there.

Teresa, you are not an artist, nor an art critic. You lack the mindset, the understanding, the patience, and the tolerance of an artist.

Judging by the comments here, people took way more offense to censorship issues (which, btw, is not a first amendment issue where the gov't is not involved) than they did towards the guns in the first place.

The internet is chock full of forum trolls who feel the need to vent under cover of anonymity in ways that they cannot do so in real life, because real life has consequences which the Internet does not. This kind of behavior exists on just about every Internet forum I've ever frequented, including automotive sites and photography sites. The worst thing you can do with these people is acknowledge them. The best way to handle them is to ignore them and they will go away. What might have worked here would be to let all of the gun pics into the contest and then do what you normally do, which is select the top 10 or so for final adjudication. And whether or not gun photos make the top 10 should be based on merit alone, not content.

Unfortunately, the invading forum has a highly political theme attached to it, and by cutting out pics related to that forum, you stepped in a big pile of political poo. At this point, your best bet for recovery is to reinstate all photos submitted, and then prepare a top 10 that includes the highest quality gun photo(s) if they merit such nomination.

Matt, please look through the photos in the two galleries we have published.

http://www.boston.com/community/photos/raw/2010/03/monthly_contest/itemswecarry_gallery1/

http://www.boston.com/community/photos/raw/2010/03/monthly_contest/itemswecarry_gallery2/

But I'm afraid you missed the deadline. It was March 31.

Wow. This is an amateur photography contest, correct? The most that's on the line here is $100, right? Cry me a river!!
The comments were written on the NES forum in black and white - clear as day - for anyone to read. I am not on either side of this issue - I don't carry a gun, but I don't have a problem with people who do or pictures that contain them. I do however think the disrespect people show towards one another nowadays is reprehensible.
The bashing continues on - and the direct insults towards Teresa are totally uncalled for. Take your political motives, explanations, speeches, etc elsewhere. Most of us enter these contests for fun - not to get into or listen to an argument about who has the right to carry this and say that. There are plenty of other photo contests on the web. Feel free to join those.

Have I missed something? When will the March entries be judged? Can you please post the answer here? Thanks!

I want to say that your site is fantastic. I don't agree with every word, but it's constantly a great read. Don't stop writing.