Abuse of Power
©2014 Craig Ashby
Digital Photograph

Abuse of Power is a shot I got on the way to work last year. The guy was very Afropunk. A trend I noticed years ago in a beauty shop in my neighborhood. Seeing a young, beautiful black woman styled like early Siouxsie got my attention.

The idea written on the jacket compounded my attraction because I was heading into work. I would say that all job environments encourage abuse of power. But that isn’t fair. Power encourages abuse.

If you gave someone power over a grain of salt they would find a way to abuse it. Micromanage it. Create rules about its use or dispensation. Some passive aggressive way of making these decisions finalizes the recipe.

I would say power of any kind is absolute. Therefore making absolute power a redundant cliché. You know where the rest of that cliché goes.

As I hurried behind him I pondered his intent. Thinking about the recent incidents of police violence at the time.   The racism that seems to escalate more and more.

His stylish swagger made me run faster to catch the photo. My last thought was wondering if he actually wrote it on the jacket himself.