When I first began expoloring photography in 2011, social issues quite naturally became one of my biggest focal points.
In the case of Germany, many here will claim "homelessness does not exist in Germany" or go even further to claim "homelessness is only an American problem". However, it certainly does exist, not only in Germany, but worldwide, and certainly throughout Europe- west, east, north, south. In the case of the United States, there have been attempts, such as in Utah, to help reduce or eliminate homelessness, though there have been some criticisms of the program and if it was actually even effective. However, the fact remains that attempts were and are being made to solve the situations in some way. In Germany, homelessness, by contrast, is a dissonant topic that people would rather not discuss because it shatters the image of Europe's wealthiest country that has heavy influence over the rest of the continent. However, beyond not discussing it, people go much further to try and unrealistically claim it "does not exist" at all.
Due to this, documenting homelessness became a strong focal point in my travels throughout Europe and the United States, often with startling similarities.
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Shot in the summer of 2015, Chinatown, NYC.
Related: NYC Midtown here Chinatown, NYC here Chinatown, Amsterdam here Prinzipalmarkt, Münster here Goldrain (Coldrano), South Tirol here Welcome (France) here Skyline (NYC) here NYC 42nd Street here
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The legendary Bay-Area thrash metal band Exodus, performing with the legendary Steve "Zetro" Souza on vocals once again.
Exodus has been, for over thirty years, one of the mainstays of the Bay-Area thrash scene, along with Slayer, Megadeth, Metallica, Testament, and others. So intertwined is Exodus' history that it has been argued that they should have been on the "Big-Four" tour (with Slayer, Megadeth, and Metallica) instead of Anthrax. The familial relationships between the bands are also readily apparent; Chuck Billy of Testament was originally in Exodus, while Kirk Hammett was also in the band before being chosen as Dave Mustaine's replacement in Metallica. Currently, Gary Holt records and plays live in Slayer, leaving room for Heathen guitarist Kragen Lum to fill his spot on stage, alongside fellow Heathen guitarist Lee Altus.
The shows are aggressive and high-energy, but friendly and camaraderie is in no short supply. Due to this, it was appropriate to also include shots of the crowd due to how much of the experience comes from them.
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Pegida rally, March 21, 2016
Neo-nazis from the militant terrorist group III. Weg arrived with a banner on the counter-demonstration side, intent on walking it towards the demonstrators and creating an escalation. It appears the terror group was monitoring the scene and specifically chose this route due to lack of a police presence and police checkpoints along the way. Two convicted neo-nazi terrorists were among the group.
In order to prevent a clash, one citizen stopped them and said "you shall not pass" (in German). III. Weg continued to push through the citizen and nearly met with another line of citizens.
The police arrived late after III. Weg already began attacking the citizen, and their response was against him, not against III. Weg, despite the fact that had he not been there, III. Weg would potentially have started a violent clash. Also evidenced in the photos was a riot cop who pointed (but did not discharge) a large can of pepper spray at the citizens of Munich who were peaceful and doing the job of the police in preventing an outbreak of violence. This is also despite the fact that the III. Weg terrorists grabbed and attacked him first.
Not only was civil courage (ger: Zivilcourage) on display in citizens doing the duty of the police to prevent yet another attack on the public by this militant neo-nazi terrorist group, but also displayed is the ongoing asymmetrical behavior by the Munich police against the citizens of their own city.
'Civil courage' may be a term that seems over-dramatic for those who don't live in Germany, but a large criticism I have, as do many citizens, is that people here are too passive and there exists, on the other side, massive societal and social pressures exerted to make people not get involved in order to uphold the status quo, even if the long-term consequences of such behavior are disasterous and documented in European history.
Crop of photo above; officer has a large can of pepper spray pointed at citizens. Also displays that the bulk of the response was directed at their fellow community.
PK of the Hooligan group Brigade Giesing points and laughs at the citizens because the police response was 100% directed at them- further incentivizing such actions by the radical right. Why attack people yourself when you can troll the cops into doing it for you?
Convicted neo-nazi terrorist Karl-Heinz Statzberger looking directly at the camera. Also in the group was convicted terrorist Thomas Schatt.
III. Weg was received by Pegida with a round of applause. Yet they claim to not be neo-nazis. In the video below by 089 Reporter, chants of "Frei, Sozial, National" are heard, which is associated with neo-nazi groups.
Peter Meidl of Rosenheim, was convicted on this very morning in one of numerous active processes involving such crimes as incitement of the masses and Holocaust Denial. In the series below, Meidl was chastized by others who are associated with the neo-nazi spectrum (die Rechte, NPD, III. Weg) for being too flamboyant and drawing too much attention to himself. He was subsequently ejected from the rally.
Meidl then removed his Black Sun necklace after indicating to the journalists that he will expose it in order to be photographed with it. The Black Sun is from Norse mythology and used by neo-nazis to indicate their affiliation with the scene.
Footage by colleague "089 Reporter". One may see how asymmetrical the police response was- 100% directed at citizens trying to prevent a violent escalation by putting themselves in between a violent, militant, neo-nazi terror group and fellow citizens of the city.
Pegida marching through Tal, a portion of the city center between Marienplatz and Isar Tor. Just beyond, at Isar Tor, was a blockade by citizens of the city to prevent Pegida from passing. Due to this, Pegida had to turn around.
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Links to other concerts below.
New Jersey's Symphony X- one of the premier prog metal bands in the world. Symphony X performs a neo-classical form of prog metal built around the incredible ability of guitarist/songwriter Michael Romeo. In contrast to numerous other bands in the prog metal subgenre, Symphony X plays much heavier and more aggressively (particularly since The Odyssey) while maintaining the "epicness" that fans are accustomed to.
The shows are dark, smoky affairs, with incredible interaction between vocalist Russell Allen and the audience.
