I got sucked into watching one of those First Amendment Auditor videos this morning. I’m starting to notice a change in these videos and which ones I’m willing to watch.
My first realization is which types of these videos I’m willing to watch. These auditors are legally standing somewhere with a camera pointed at a business or similar. They vary in how the auditors respond when someone confronts them about why they are videoing them. It is this confrontation that makes the video interesting (and marketable, I assume). Some of the auditors are obnoxious. They taunt and tease whoever confronts them, hoping they’ll react and do something to make themselves look bad (or set themselves up for a lawsuit). I’m finding I don’t care for these kinds of videos.
A couple of these auditors are, for the most part, polite and cordial with anyone who confronts them (at least until the confronter steps over the line and is obnoxious to them), but insist on everyone respecting their rights. These are the kind of videos I’m more likely to get sucked into watching.
The video I saw this morning was centered on a cannabis dispensary in Massachusetts. The auditor was standing on the sidewalk and a nice-looking young man walked out of the building and across the parking lot to confront him. Let’s refer to him as Nate.
Nate tried to tell the auditor that although he could be on a public sidewalk, he couldn’t video people going in and out of the business because it would be a HIPAA violation. The auditor tried to explain that HIPAA didn’t apply to him, and it was the responsibility of the business to protect the patient’s confidentiality of records. As the discussion ensued, it became apparent that Nate didn’t know what the acronym HIPAA stood for, much less who it applied to and when and where.
Nate retreated and, apparently, called the police. Nate came back out and tried to ask why the auditor was recording, but the auditor refused to answer, suggesting he should have started with that question instead of demanding the recording stop by using an incorrect understanding of HIPAA.
Nate then tried to question the auditor's motive and the value of what he was doing. More or less, he was trying to shame or bully him into stopping. As you might imagine, Nate didn’t get very far.
“Bondservants, obey your earthly masters with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as you would Christ, not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart, rendering service with a good will as to the Lord and not to man, knowing that whatever good anyone does, this he will receive back from the Lord, whether he is a bondservant or is free. Masters, do the same to them, and stop your threatening, knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and that there is no partiality with him.” - Ephesians 6:5-9 ESV
During all this time (the police weren’t in a hurry to come since it wasn’t urgent), Nate was standing a few feet in front of the auditor, trying to find the argument to get him to stop recording. He obviously had enough self-control not to try to physically stop him from recording, but he was determined to get him to stop.
This is what struck me about the interaction. Nate wasn’t willing to relent in his desire to get the auditor to stop recording. Initially, he tried to say it was a legal reason, then, when that failed, he went for a more browbeating approach to get him to stop. The auditor was calm and respectful, but insistent on his rights. That is when I realized winning was more important to Nate than whether the auditor continued to film.
“Then Jesus told his disciples, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what shall a man give in return for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done. Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death until they see the Son of Man coming in his kingdom.”” - Matthew 16:24-28
The police eventually came and went into the dispensary with Nate. The assumption was they would educate Nate that, even though he didn’t like it, the auditor was within his rights to video whatever he could see from a public sidewalk. The police left and didn’t even talk to the auditor. I’ve seen more videos where the police have a much better grasp of the First Amendment and the legality of videoing from a public spot. They typically do not make the mistake of trying to strong-arm them away or demand their ID, which is their stated goal.
I love to win, don’t get me wrong, but sometimes when you want to win so badly, you lose. That was the lesson from this video to me.
“And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” - John 3:26-30
