http://boztopia.com/?p=71Chip Py, Ellsworth Avenue, Petersen Company, Silver Springhttp://boztopia.com/?p=71#comments

in parts of downtown Silver Spring now?

According to Flickr user Chip Py (aka “chippy314″), he was harassed by security guards when shooting photos on Ellsworth Avenue. When he looked into the issue, he was told that Ellsworth Avenue is private property and owned by the Peterson Company, and that the stores on Ellsworth Ave. are nervous about protecting their “trade secrets.”

More about this from Marc Fisher.

This is what happens when excessive privatization gets out of hand. Obviously, the smart thing would be for Petersen to put up signs indicating that it’s private property, but then people would be scared away from the thoroughfare–which would cut into the stores’ business. So it’s easier to harass and bully random photographers using vague, non-sensible interpretations of law that exist in the grey area of public and private.

Put more simply, this is bullshit. If the public’s tax dollars go even remotely near a development project like Ellsworth Ave., the public should be able to use it as they see fit. And for those of you who will say “ZOMG it’s a business and they can do what they want,” imagine being someone who’s being threatened by security guards when you’ve done nothing wrong–only to find out that the rights you thought you had don’t exist anymore.