No, I don't mean the military. I mean the press. As in the New York Times.
Show Me The Bodies
FOR war photography, Vietnam remains the bloody yardstick. During the Tet offensive, on Feb. 9, 1968, Time magazine ran a story that was accompanied by photos showing dozens of dead American soldiers stacked like cordwood. The images remind that the dead are both the most patient and affecting of all subjects.
The Iraq war is a very different war, especially as rendered at home. While pictures of Iraqi dead are ubiquitous on television and in print, there are very few images of dead American soldiers.
I seem to recall two MSM journalists being injured not that long ago and two recently killed. I don't believe ABC had any interest in putting their planned to be anchor on view without him looking cleaned up and relatively unscathed. I'm not saying this to mean to those individuals injured or killed covering the war. But why the need to put the bodies of others on display?
Is there something to be proud of in showing those pictures? And these are the same people who won't show a decapitation because supposedly it's too gruesome. That leaves one to you wonder if they don't show those gruesome images because it doesn't fit their anti-war agenda.
They didn't even want to show the carnage of 9/11 ... but they'd be glad to show you the Iraq War dead. Pretty pathetic.
Dan, I agree with you. I have no idea why images of American dead are filtered from us. I was talking with some vets (some from this conflict, even) at the homeless shelter where I volunteer and they have asked the same question. They think that our attitudes toward the war would be different if we were able to see images of disfigured and dead Americans.
Posted by: John Wilson | Monday, June 05, 2006 at 06:56 PM
John,
So you think it's OK for the press to attempt to manipulate the public's attitude, instead of just reporting on the news?
Posted by: Rick C | Monday, June 05, 2006 at 09:50 PM
What do you mean by "just reporting the news?" Many would consider displaying the images I've described to be just that.
Posted by: John Wilson | Monday, June 05, 2006 at 10:06 PM
Well, John, perhaps you should ask the NYTimes why it didn't show any pictures of the holocaust it all but denied was going on until the end of the war. If we had listened to the Times then, we'd still be living with the Third Reich.
Posted by: Dan | Monday, June 05, 2006 at 10:32 PM
"...we'd still be living with the Third Reich."
We ARE living with the Third Reich. Republicans are the "good Germans".
Yowza
Posted by: Yowza | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 10:26 AM
"...we'd still be living with the Third Reich."
We ARE living with the Third Reich. Republicans are the "good Germans".
Yowza
Hummmm....Which republican burned 86 children alive in Waco? Shot a mom in the face at Ruby Ridge? Of course the latter WAS holding that assault baby.
Posted by: Rick | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 12:20 PM
"We ARE living with the Third Reich"
Godwin's Law: As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of a comparison involving Nazis or Hitler approaches one.
Reductio ad Hitlerum: the debate is lost by the one who compares the other party to Hitler.
Practical reality: intellectual discussion cannot occur when hitleric hyperbole is as common as table salt.
This discussion is closed.
Posted by: rwilymz | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 03:29 PM
rwilymz: Do you try to spoil everything, or does it just happen? I wanted an answer from yowza but as you know the folks whom whip hitler out like a Colt Peacemaker rarely find fault in their own party.
Posted by: Rick | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 03:46 PM
Hitler would envy Reagan and love GWB.
Yowza- Boy King
Posted by: Yowza | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 05:25 PM
Always curious yowza. Just EXACTLY what kind of world DO people like yourself want?
Posted by: Rick | Tuesday, June 06, 2006 at 05:32 PM
Just as I suspected, yowza/mrs levy has no idea what sort of utopia it wants. Maybe a world where the middle class works it's ass off to pay taxes so yowza can sit on it's ass and get a check the first of the month......wait, we have that now.
Posted by: Rick | Wednesday, June 07, 2006 at 07:20 AM
"Hitler would envy Reagan and love GWB"
How would you know, ...? unless... you were Hitler?
Posted by: rwilymz | Wednesday, June 07, 2006 at 08:16 AM
"Maybe a world where the middle class works it's ass off to pay taxes so yowza can sit on it's ass and get a check the first of the month"
thats not utopia, utopia is
1) check at first of the month (for beer and cigs)
2) free heating assistance
3) renters/homeowners property tax rebate
4) biweekly foodshelf pick up
5) WIC
6) free or funded child care
7) and for some: healthcare
and I'm sure I've left off a few things.
Posted by: tester | Wednesday, June 07, 2006 at 10:19 AM