Public photography and the loss of the sense of community

Over the past several years I have grown more interested in photography.  Over the last five years I have gone out frequently taking pictures of various places whether I'm on vacation or just taking pictures of a local event.  I recently upgraded to a professional Digital SLR and have played with it on a few occasions.  Of course with all things SLR it is costly at the beginning as you collect lenses, flashes and tripods, cleaning and storage gear etc... so I haven't done as much photography these last few months as I will over the coming years.  But in the little experience I have gained over the last few years I have had done a bit of Street Photography.  Now there is two parts to street photography that I have both read about and experienced to some degree.  They are: 1) Building up nerve  2) Being cautious.

It takes a little nerve to go out to a random location and just start shooting pictures of random strangers.  While taking pictures at a public event changes the context a bit compared to going to the beach on a sunny day and shooting, it always takes a little getting use.  One thing always on my mind when doing a shoot is trying not to stand out.  I don't really want people to know that I am there.  When people are aware that their picture is being taken by a stranger or not it often changes the tone of the picture, some people become stiff, some people watch you wondering what you're doing.  The other thing on my mind is "Am I going to get punched out"  While very few people get overly confrontational especially after you speak with them explaining what you're doing nevertheless it is always on my mind.  Ironically in the age of addiction to social media where there are approximately 10 billion pictures alone on Facebook, half of those pertaining to an individual user who probably hasn't even seen half of them there is still a prevailing fear from a lot of people of having their picture taken.  Photography has changed not only in terms of technology but in that many ways 'everyone's a photographer'  but also in how semi- and professional photographers are looked upon especially here in Canada and the US.
 
I have read a number of stories, which I don't have the links to, in particular over the last year of photographers having their camera's broken, being attacked by someone in the public, having their photos deleted by cops, or even being suspected of taking pictures of children at a public place when its a grandparent or parent photographing their own kid.  While the last one is obviously a more serious concern considering all the child abuse occurring I have wondered why people have such a phobia of a person with a SLR camera taking random shots out in public areas.  Most people can also recognize by the type of camera that the person is a photographer because professional cameras are rather big and bulky.  It isn't all that likely there is anything more sinister going on with those pictures than all the photos of you that you didn't even know were all over a site like Facebook, a site from what I've heard from many programmers is hardly even secure. 

Steve Meltzer over at pixiq has chipped in on this subject and has explained what I often feel too in regards to the loss of the sense of being in this together and being part of a community where as now we no longer trust one another and suspect people being of ill intent.  He touches on how this has changed photography and in many ways made the rights of photographers disappear.  Read his article Good Cops Don't Bust Cameras