Photograph of a Seattle Neo-Nazi after Charleston Shooting Should Send Us All Soul Searching
Jun 22, 2015
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Photographer Jay Trinidad was on his way home when he came across a man wearing a red armband, proudly displaying the Nazi swastika at Seattle’s downtown ferry dock.
His initial reaction was to walk away from the situation, but he decided to return and capture the image that has people wondering what’s wrong with our society.
As if walking around parading Nazi symbols isn’t bad enough, this person was out and about sharing his hatred just one day after the Charleston massacre, “basically sticking his middle finger up to everyone who could see him”.
Perhaps this photograph will open peoples’ eyes to how messed up things are.
“I was walking around the terminal and then I saw him,” Trinidad told The Stranger. “I’m like, ‘He’s really doing that? Today?’ There were people sitting next to him. There were a lot of people around. It just struck me as bizarre… Here’s a guy with Nazi armband and no one is pointing and saying, ‘What is going on there?’”
Jay’s photo might not be composed by the rules and the horizon is skew (due to the circumstances, I’m sure), but it carries a serious punch. The powerful subject and the story behind it turn the image into one of the most important photos I have seen lately, and hopefully it will get the attention it deserves. Not for Jay’s publicity or ego, but for the same reason he took the photo – peoples’ indifference to the entire situation.
“What struck me about this was the complete brazenness on the day the whole country was learning about Charleston. It struck me as him basically sticking his middle finger up to everyone who could see him,” Jay said.
But as the saying goes, “all that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing”, and in this case plenty of nothing was going on.
The neo-Nazi just went along his business, as if he was wearing his Boy Scouts uniform, and according to Jay nobody said or did a thing. I’m not saying the elderly couple sitting beside the man should have made a Citizen’s Arrest, but I’d at least expect them to move away in disgust of what he represents.
Jay commented on the couple as well stating that “either he sat down next to these people and they didn’t move, or they sat down next to him. Either way, you cannot miss the gigantic swastika on the guy’s arm… It’s like he’s trying to flex his little Nazi bicep.”
The focus here isn’t this specific couple, so I’m even willing to give them the benefit of the doubt that they did not see the Swastika, but there were many others how didn’t care either.
Jay was asked by The Stranger about the racial makeup of the crowd, to which he replied “they were white people and they were on their phones”.
Wondering “how many people in that waiting area had no problem with that guy?”, Jay (and I assume this is in part due to him being a dark-skinned Filipino American) said he was really bothered – by the whole experience.
I wonder how the same people would react if instead of the neo-Nazi it was a black supremacist sitting beside them, perhaps calling for the death of white people.
Also interesting is how the general public will respond to Jay’s photo, and how they would have responded in comparison had the story been about black people ignoring a black supremacist.
Something is seriously wrong with our society and it is easy to blame it on the government or claim that law enforcement agencies are the ones out of control.
We have covered many stories where police or other law-enforcers over-stepped their boundaries, and others where politicians had attempted to make it easier for the police’s bad apples to get away with their wrong-doings.
I can go on for hours writing about the U.S. Marshal who smashed a citizen’s phone, the park ranger who tased a drone operator, the NYC journalist who was forced to stop record on public property or the ridiculous bills proposed in Texas and Wyoming. There’s no doubt that the authorities sometimes get out of hand or serve themselves instead of the public, and when racism is added into the mix things get ten times worse as we’ve seen in recent tragic events, but that’s no excuse.
At the end of the day, the first words of the U.S. Constitution are “We the People” not “They the Government”. We can’t, and shouldn’t, sit on our hands and wait for our government, no matter where we live, to fix every problem out there, especially when government agencies often suffer from the same issues and racism found throughout the rest of our society.
It is up to every one of us to fight to make this world a better place, and remember that the little things do make a difference. Showing your disapproval of a neo-Nazi by moving away from him is one way. Taking a photo of him, and the indifference of the people around him, and sharing it online for the world to see is an even better way.
People can’t pretend that racism isn’t alive and kicking in America when one day nine innocent people are murdered for the color of their skin and the next day a white supremacist walks around unnoticed, uninterrupted and un-puked by society.
The composition isn’t perfect, the horizon is skew and the location isn’t exotic, but it’s this photo, taken by a photographer on his way home, that might rattle at least some people enough to get them off their asses and realize things can’t go on the way they are.
It’s this photo that reminds us, among all the selfies, the Instagram duck-faces and the 5,000 photos of your neighbor’s dog, just how powerful of a tool photography can be, how much impact one single photo can carry and how meaningful one person’s action can be, in face of the indifference of the rest.
Normally I’d apologize for rambling so off topic; racism doesn’t have much to do with photography, but in this case it has everything to do with it and it’s why I love photography. Not for the perfect exposures, the advanced technology available in today’s cameras or the extra attention from people; it’s the story a photo can tell, the feelings it can bring up and the actions it can set in motion that I love so much about photography – and in a day where every second person calls himself a photographer, I think Jay Trinidad is one in the truest form of the word.
Show Jay your support via his website, Twitter or Facebook.
Liron Samuels
Liron Samuels is a wildlife and commercial photographer based in Israel. When he isn’t waking up at 4am to take photos of nature, he stays awake until 4am taking photos of the night skies or time lapses. You can see more of his work on his website or follow him on Facebook.
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29 responses to “Photograph of a Seattle Neo-Nazi after Charleston Shooting Should Send Us All Soul Searching”
He should arrested and placed in jail.
So you believe in incarcerating people who have committed no crime? It seems you have something in common with him.
No kidding. It would make more sense to MAKE him wear it, like the Nazis did to identify a Jew.
I was just being a progressive for a moment.
And charge him with what?
Mick J, Sid V, Siouxi S, Brian J, Prince H
The capitol crime of offending someone, apparently. Yeah, the guy is probably an asshole, but to wish to simply lock up people that you don’t like without any reason makes them both assholes.
“Jay (and I assume this is in part due to him being a dark-skinned Filipino American) said he was really bothered – by the whole experience.”
I’m guessing “Jay” did as much about the situation as anyone else. So, why does he get to claim disgust at the situation while everyone else was a participant? Are you just assuming everyone else condoned this guy simply based on their race? Come on, man… Americans as a society are extremely conflict-averse (unless they’re behind a computer or the wheel of a car). If you ask a white person what they think instead of assuming they’re racists, you might find a bunch of timid people who silently resent this kind of speech.
But what is the alternative? Should people have threatened this guy? Made him feel like he would be injured? Should he have been arrested for having “bad thoughts?” Sure, it starts with intimidating and persecuting Nazis… But that’s not where it ends. It ends with a government and a society which feels justified in corralling and killing anyone who doesn’t fit into a set of ideal characteristics. By creating a society of people who confront others for unpopular ideas, we would push ourselves closer to becoming exactly like the Nazis.
I too would have been offended, but I wouldn’t have said or done anything. It’s his right to be stupid, and I’ll fight his ideas to the death and I would love to change his mind, but strangers on the street telling someone they’re wrong won’t change his ideas. That’s something only friends, family, teachers and others close to someone can do. Telling him off will only strengthen his resolve, and risk escalating the moment to something more than words.
Pretty much, but “It’s his right to be stupid, and I’ll fight his ideas to the death” is a funny spin on what makes this country great:
“I do not agree with what you have to say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.” – Voltaire
I like the angle of the photo. No idea if it was intentional, but it’s better than if it’d had be straight.
He’s looking straight at the camera, and doesn’t seem to be bothered by his photo being taken. The horizon is off, but I thought it may have been because Jay was shooting from the hip, but I don’t think that was the case. No matter what anybody could have said to him, he was
Exile714 strikes the nail on the head. I do not see what could have been done in this situation.
Maybe they should have called the ThinkPol, or straight out, pulled their pitchforks and lit their torches? Maybe the old couple and the rest of them, realize that in a country that has KKK charters still legaly operating and flying their colors and government that benefits from segregating people in every possible way, that a skinny old man displaying his bigotry through an antiquated symbol is really not the issue here. Furthermore such situations clearly display the myopia that is present among people today. Also I “like” how its pointed out that the photographer is a “dark skinned philipino”, as if the color of one’s skin puts more weight on their oppinions. As long as the person is not acting out on his absent-minded ideas, his right to wear a certain item of clothing or another are protected, by the same constitutional laws, that makes democracy different than the political movement, that the armband in question once stood for. In my oppinion Jay, approached the situation with as much prejudice and hatred as the people in question and this is far from good example of how such matters are to be handled.
This guy should be booted out of Seattle!!
Out of this world!
You know, there was another group of people in the 1940’s that was ok with murdering people that they did not like.
Agreed!
Cosplay?
Matter of perspective. Ignoring and letting the guy just die alone a slow insignificant existence may just be what he needs. Walking away in disgust is just further affirmation that he got the attention he so much wanted to, as taking a photo of him.
It’s a powerful way to show that his swastika means nothing to anyone anymore, and no one will be bothered by it because it has no effect in current society. Hitler is dead, and so are his ideas and ideals.
Anything further than that simply because he’s wearing something like that might just be exactly what folks like him wants to.
And no, we cannot tell by people’s reaction that they are not digusted by it. Of course if he seeks further action then proper reaction might apply, but otherwise, if he keeps his hatred to himself, whatever.
This is what it’s all about.
Can I still wear my Mossad shirt? Would that be OK with you? Plenty of Palestinians and others are offended when I do.
I imagine it’s a different story in Israel(writers country), but here in America, it is perfectly legal to wear a Swastika. It is distasteful and offensive to most, but it is, in fact, protected speech.
How about the rising Sun of Japan, or the sickle and hammer? Or Black Supremacy symbols?
Jay-Z Wears Controversial Symbol of the Five-Per Cent Nation Black Supremacy Group:
Those don’t count.
Redskull cosplay
Silence is the biggest crime ever
Most people can coexist with others. This man cannot. It’s not my job to educate him or do any soul seaching because this fool decided to wear a costume in public for attention. He wants a reaction, why should i give it to him?
I think most people don’t want to get into a confrontation – who’s to say this guy wouldn’t punch you in the face, or heaven forbid – pull a weapon? (As a Canadian, I wouldn’t get into a potential altercation when visiting the US – too many guns). And to be argumentative – this guy only took a photo? Why did he not say something if he was so offended instead of seeing what others would or would not do? Perhaps someone already took this guy to task earlier…and he just kept hanging around to provoke reaction…(but yeah – the neo-Nazi dude is totally being an a$$hole.)
The worst thing that could happen to someone wearing an armband like that would be being ignored. Any kind of reaction…. *any* reaction (disgust, agreement, anger, a fight, discomfort)… is a win in their eyes. The photographer gave him exactly what he wanted.
He looks rather unhappy and lonely. I don’t think he has many friends by the forlorn look. Too bad he is putting his energy into hate because that’s obviously working out so well for his life.
While it’s a horribly bad example of it, you still carry the right to say and express whatever you want in the USA. Free speech and expression don’t end at popular opinion.
Should people really be expected to “say something” to this guy? He’s already drawing as much attention to himself as he can by wearing the thing. Or what if he’s off his rocker like the Charleston shooter, and he pulls a gun and starts shooting?
You clearly live a privilege life where you can chose who to live with and don’t live with. There’s nothing those people could’ve done. What? Attack him? Verbally abuse him? Move away, why? They’re not doing anything wrong so why should they move? These people are forced to live with him, unlike you. So they must be tolerant of their surroundings and the people they encounter.