Other thing from radio discussions about the gun thing.
Other thing from radio discussions about the gun thing. Debating whether or not the public should be shown some of the photos that the President says are so horrible from Newtown (or any mass shootings, really). Arguments against include privacy (of victims and families), also exploitation.
I wonder, though. I remember what we were taught in school about the effect of photos during the Civil War, and the Vietnam War. People were horrified. Arguably, it influenced our eventual withdrawal from Vietnam. Was it prejudicial? Yes. Exploitative? Yes. One of the discussants was a war correspondent who tried to articulate some of how horrible what you can see a weapon do to a body was, and how that had affected his view of guns. Maybe people need to see some of those photos (of the shootings). I'm sure it wouldn't change some people's views, at all, but right now, a lot of people are operating without what might be critical information.
I wonder, though. I remember what we were taught in school about the effect of photos during the Civil War, and the Vietnam War. People were horrified. Arguably, it influenced our eventual withdrawal from Vietnam. Was it prejudicial? Yes. Exploitative? Yes. One of the discussants was a war correspondent who tried to articulate some of how horrible what you can see a weapon do to a body was, and how that had affected his view of guns. Maybe people need to see some of those photos (of the shootings). I'm sure it wouldn't change some people's views, at all, but right now, a lot of people are operating without what might be critical information.
That, and to also see the bodies coming home from George's Great Middle-Eastern Adventure.
ReplyDeleteIf the public can't stomach the images of the coffins and the body bags, then we have no business sending them into combat.