Zur Schau gestellt (1)
Datum: 27.12.2020,
Kategorien:
Schamsituation
Autor: Anonym
Nancy Johnson was no stranger to travel; as a free-lance writer and
photographer, she had spent much of her life abroad, visiting and writing about
innumerable locations about the world. At 54, she often went with her husband,
who followed his own pursuits while she engaged in authoring and illustrating
articles she would then plan to offer to those newspapers and magazines who
regularly utilized her literary style. With their children grown, Nancy and
Ralph had accustomed themselves to a life they enjoyed immensely, largely on
the road and often in little-known places.
Her life of travel had conditioned her to be rugged and adaptable, and both of
them had been blessed with good health. Ralph, more relaxed than Nancy,
devoted himself to archaeology and historical interests, occasionally teaching
and writing for professional journals. He was a moderately tall man, graying,
a bit older than Nancy at 57. She, physically strong and active, was a larger
woman, only slightly concerned at her weight of 160, with her short auburn hair
turning grey, something she declined to hide or camouflage. She bore her years
with grace, always as well groomed as the situation allowed.
Nor was she any stranger to trouble. In her travels, she had on occasion run
afoul of the law, and had learned patience and tolerance in dealing with the
world's bureaucracies. So far she had never run into any really serious legal
problems, and while she had ...
... in her younger years spent a night or two locked up
for minor offenses, her legal problems had always been solvable.
But now she faced a different situation. Ralph and Nancy had come to this
Caribbean Island nation, as much as tourists as journalists. In her zeal to
portray life as it was, Nancy had engaged in photographing some of the poorer
areas, including, she found out later, some religious rites and quasi-legal
drug trafficking activities which the government found embarrassing. In fact,
local law prohibited photography in some of these areas, and the government was
sensitive to being portrayed as tolerating what some would consider immoral,
backward, or indecent. She had been caught by the local police, who had
followed her while Ralph was elsewhere, and she soon found herself apprehended.
At this point it was determined that she lacked the proper visa for
journalistic work, and her she had neglected to obtain a required permit for
her camera and register with the government's office of foreign affairs as a
foreign writer.
Realizing she was in a bit of difficulty, she summoned her husband to the
police station. After the situation was explained to them, the police officer
in charge, Sgt. Melona, told them, very politely, of their options.
"You must understand that I do not make the laws, but these are our laws and we
are charged to administer them. Mrs. Johnson, you are charged with at least
five violations of ...