When we rely on cameras to document state violence, how much are we actually relying on other people to do something when they see those images? How do we preserve the potency of these images and direct their interpretation without manipulating or fabricating them, as the state has already demonstrated its willingness to do, and without dishonoring the people being assaulted, kidnapped, or killed?

I was supposed to fly to Vancouver the day of Trump’s military parade in Washington, but after he warned that any protesters in D.C. would “be met with very big force,” leaving for Canada suddenly felt like a dodge. It was only my vacation, after all, but it was his birthday. I have become so used to Trump imposing on my leisure time that what was one more Saturday? And I was eager to see what “No Kings Day” had in store for the nation’s capital. If the demonstrators really were to be “met with very big force,” I thought I should meet it with them—for love of country, I’m tempted to say, though it wasn’t quite that.

I was supposed to fly to Vancouver the day of Trump’s military parade in Washington, but after he warned that any protesters in D.C. would “be met with very big force,” leaving for Canada suddenly felt like a dodge. It was only my vacation, after all, but it was his birthday. I have become so used to Trump imposing on my leisure time that what was one more Saturday? And I was eager to see what “No Kings Day” had in store for the nation’s capital. If the demonstrators really were to be “met with very big force,” I thought I should meet it with them—for love of country, I’m tempted to say, though it wasn’t quite that.