Camera jealousy... almost became life and death

[FurryJackman]

I have major issues ATM. First, I hear Howl 2010 was shot using Pro equipment. Next, someone buys a pro camera... (strictly not naming names)

This built up some potent jealousy inside me.

It was so potent, that when I booked a pro camera for an assignment, I couldn't resist but to compete.

Filled up with overconfidence, the plan was to head out of the house with this camera alone onto the Skytrain to Revs and compete with someone. This is where it almost became life and death.

Parental intervention came in when I dropped a word I was going out. (the little bit of common sense I still had wanted me to do this) This was to be suicide for my pact to not reveal to my family that I was a furry if I was to go out with the pro camera and have my father piggybacking the whole time.

So, unfortunately, this means no pro HD camera at Howl 2011.

I can't get over myself. I feel I may never be able to fit in. :(

[Dinsu]

I'm having a hard time understanding exactly what happened.. Couldn't you just tell your dad that you're filming something other than furries?
And why does this meddle with next years Howlo?

Either way *pat pat*
Sorry about this. I'm sure the fandom wouldn't care if you filmed with pro or just regular HD. My best guess is that we'd just appreciate any kind of coverage! (: You don't need to have pro video equipment to fit in.

[Peli]

Had to lol a little at "life and death" being applied to taking the skytrain in Burnaby in the early evening

[Dinsu]

OH. I thought it was 'life or death' as in it would be really really bad if his parents found out...

The skytrain is pretty safe during the day.. You could always put your equipment in a bag that doesn't read 'expensive shiz'.
Or get a ride from someone? o-o

[FurryJackman]

The camera bag is a Porta-Brace... It's WAY too obvious. And it also says "BCIT TV - ENG #*" on the bag.

It's not one of the smaller cameras, it's a full blown camera like this:


(Those are classmates, BTW. And that's the exact camera in my possession right now.)

I was talking to my parents I was going to bowling, but they could not rest assured that with me going out with a camera that the people I'm hanging with aren't dangerous in anyway.

That meant, if the camera went, dad had to piggyback the whole time... this would ruin my parents not knowing I was with furries.

Limited friends really limit the option for a ride... I'm still friendship building ATM...

[Selkit]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you really well and truly believe riding the Skytrain is "life and death", you really ought to get out more often. I do weird nonsense like weave mail on transit, and I'm not exactly a bulky or durable looking geek. Never once in half a decade of residing here have I even witnessed a serious incident, never-mind been involved in one. Only one minor scuffle (Pushy slapfight) between two school age idiots that a transit cop broke up within about one minute. To me, it sounds like you're proscribing a little too deeply into the modern fear-culture. Stoppit.

[FurryJackman]

It wasn't my choice... It was parental over-supervision. And my parents threatened to call 911 if I went out of the house with the camera... They literally mocked a gun robbery trying to convince me not to go out.

If you were to ask me, I personally had no problems going on Skytrain with the big ENG camera, but my parents did...

Then again, I had jealousy on the mind when I made the decision to go out with the camera.

[Renwaldo]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but if you really well and truly believe riding the Skytrain is "life and death", you really ought to get out more often. I do weird nonsense like weave mail on transit, and I'm not exactly a bulky or durable looking geek. Never once in half a decade of residing here have I even witnessed a serious incident, never-mind been involved in one. Only one minor scuffle (Pushy slapfight) between two school age idiots that a transit cop broke up within about one minute. To me, it sounds like you're proscribing a little too deeply into the modern fear-culture. Stoppit.

Same!
You hear about stuff happening on the sky train all the time, but I have yet to witness anything myself. I see drunks and druggies on there all the time but I've never seen them start anything.  :roll:

[Selkit]

It wasn't my choice... It was parental over-supervision. And my parents threatened to call 911 if I went out of the house with the camera... They literally mocked a gun robbery trying to convince me not to go out.

If you were to ask me, I personally had no problems going on Skytrain with the big ENG camera, but my parents did...

Then again, I had jealousy on the mind when I made the decision to go out with the camera.

...Threatened to call 911? Mocked a gun robbery?

I have three words for you. You probably don't want to hear them. But I am going to say it anyways.

Move out. NOW.

That's nine kinds of bat-shit crazy over-protectiveness (And one degree of fraudulently calling emergency services!)

[FurryJackman]

For those wondering, it wasn't too dramatic. It was just two fingers to the head and they said "Gimme your camera" for the mock robbery.

They're paying my tuition so I'm sorta stuck with them. If I moved out now, I can't support Rent + Tuition + Food and etc. on only $900 a month disability payments from the provincial government. Rent these days is at least $800 a month...

I'll explain to you over PMs their grounds for calling 911.

[Selkit]

No. Honestly? Calling 911 because you leave the house with a camera? No matter how that's sliced, it's fraudulently calling emergency services. And they held fingers to your head, as a mock gun, to roleplay out a robbery? Sorry, but there is no justification for this lunacy:

They pushed the idea of a gunpoint robbery on board one of the most populated transportation links, in full view of potentially dozens of witnesses, where a cop is available at the press of a silent alarm by ANYONE aboard, in Canada of all places. They roleplayed you, with a gun to your head. Seriously. That's NOT reasonable concern. That's severe paranoia and fear mongering. There's nothing reasonable at all about what your parents did. Violent crime of any kind is not a day to day thing, even in Surrey (Even in Whalley it's increasingly less common). Gun crime is an extremely rare thing; You have a far better chance of being killed by the train itself or in a motor vehicle accident than you ever have of being shot. Hell, you have a higher chance of being killed by salmonella, or an animal attack. And if you're liable to be robbed, it is not going to happen on board one of the busiest transit arteries in the lower mainland, with a cop available within minutes of any station, that anyone can summon anytime at the slightest sign of trouble with the twitch of a finger.

Your parents, desperately need a reality check. The robbery rate per 100,000 in BC is 110. You have a ~0.11 percent chance of being robbed. And that's not even the chance of an armed robbery, outlandishly happening in daylight, on a crowded train or in a crowded, CCTV and police monitored station, or a very crowded bowling alley, with a gun, to your temple. That's just the chance of a general robbery occurring. Meaning the camera statistically has the same chance of being stolen from you in a home invasion. The actual probability of it happening in a crowded public place is probably infinitesimal even compared to the overall chance of you being robbed in the first place. The probability of it (or anything else) being stolen from you at home is about 3%.

Fear's not healthy, neither is what your parents did.

[FurryJackman]

Well, actually to clarify, they were worried about the short 2 block walk from my house to the Skytrain stn. But still, it's only 2 blocks...

and Holdom to Revs is basically next to each other...

You're kind of right. My dad when verbally abusive threatens to call 911 A LOT. And he's under so much stress all the time that he's 66% of the time verbally abusive.

However, the simple act of going out with this camera was fueled by jealousy... I shouldn't have been jealous of those 2 people in the first place.

[Selkit]

Shit's not cool, man. Try and find some plan or way to move yourself out. That's a toxic environment, what he's doing is not normal concern, at best it's abusive and misguided, at worst, it's simply abusive. Threatening to call 911? Someday, let him; He will find out in a hurry just how much of a dim sense of humor the police have about false calls. At best he'd get off with a fine. At worst, he'd get off with misdemeanor charges. Authority should not be used as a cudgel, it should be used as a fine instrument of guidance. Something rooted in respect and trust, not terror. Your own parent terrorizing you is not acceptable. Talk to the community, see if anyone can lend you a hand. All I can personally offer you is advice, as unfortunately I am not in a position to offer more.

[FurryJackman]

Problem there is, I have no clue how and when to start with moving out. Supposedly that's where my recently regained support is there to help with, but that's a newly formed program and things are moving very slow with it.

Another thing I will add is that after I told my mom I was going to Revs, she panicked when she saw the camera. She tugged on me not to go and broke down into tears. That always elicits a verbally abusive response from my dad, hence, the mock robbery.

[Selkit]

Please don't take this the wrong way, but the more I hear, the more I believe *YOUR PARENTS* need psychiatric help. If you need advice, poke the forums and the community in general. Some of them may even be able to provide material or social support.