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In an anti-war picket in Houston one day, I noticed a stranger taking our pictures. So I took his picture. He ran. So I chased him. The cops stopped me and made me quit taking his picture. Another time, police were roughing up a guy in a downtown Dallas street. When I started taking photos, a policeman ran over and held his hand in front of my camera, but he didn't try to arrest me, because I had already taken his picture.
Graphic arts are powerful in politics. In a dangerous street situation, I'd much rather have a camera than a gun. I learned a good lesson from a salty old schoolteacher once. He said, "The cockroaches don't like the light." I often tell younger people to bring their cameras to street actions, even if they have no film or the cameras don't work. A camera is the best protection you can get.
I started using graphics when I was working on the Mockingbird "underground" anti-war newspaper in Houston. It wasn't because I was interested in photo art. I'm a text guy. I just didn't want somebody else's graphics detracting from my text. Later on, I learned cartooning and newspaper layout for the same reason, so I could present my text in the best possible light.
I worked on a bunch of newspapers beginning in high school when I started a mimeographed student newspaper. Elaine and I did all the work on Hard Times News and Dallas Advocate in the early 1980s. I did all the work on UAW 848 Organizer and then went on staff for the local union newspaper, The Aerospacer, in 1985. I've been the editor since 1993 and still bring it out. I guess I've written articles and provided graphics for various publishers all my life.
Nowadays, in the internet world, graphics rule and text takes a backseat. But there are still good graphics and bad graphics, and it's worthwhile to learn the difference.
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