"TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut" (twincharged)
11/17/2014 at 09:38 • Filed to: None
2
7|
"TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut" (twincharged)
11/17/2014 at 09:38 • Filed to: None | 2
| 7 |
Warning: graphic content. It's not often I'm struck speechless. This is one of those moments.
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Denver Is Stuck In The 90s
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 09:40 |
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wow, gorgeous photos of such a sad subject.
Jcarr
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 09:50 |
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Might want to stick a buffer image in there.
BaseTrim
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 09:53 |
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Wow.
ly2v8-Brian
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 10:03 |
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War always has casualties.
Chteelers
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 10:08 |
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/bloodhound gang "We don't need no water..."
ttyymmnn
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 11:01 |
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It's a gruesome photograph, to be sure, but I have seen worse. As an amateur war historian, I have come across countless images of dead and horribly disfigured bodies. I was immediately reminded of this photo of the head of a Japanese soldier who was incinerated in his tank during the battle of Guadalcanal. There is always a certain disconnect, though, when looking at something that happened "so long ago" and was filmed in black and white.
Back in WWII, the American public were never shown any pictures of dead Americans. The government thought it would be bad for morale. This picture of three dead US soldiers on the beach at Buna New Guinea, taken in 1943, was the first time any US publication ran a photo of dead Americans. And we had been at war for two years. Had the photo shown their faces, it would never have run.
Original caption: "Three dead Americans on the beach at Buna." ( Time )
The photo didn't cause a desire to end the war, though, it stirred a desire to finish the war. But that was a much different situation than Gulf War I.
It's sad to say, but I think Jarecke's hope that the image would change the nation's opinion of the war is a fruitless wish. I believe that our modern society is so saturated with horrific images, either real or in graphic video games and horror movies, that a photograph like this would barely give one pause to consider it. It's no wonder that the editors were loth to print it. Journalistic integrity, while maybe not completely dead, is on life support. Editors know that if they upset the military brass they won't get their embeds, they won't get their pictures and video, and they won't get the ratings and revenue that go along with it. The military would never want the public to see this image, even though it's of our enemy. God forbid that the public should come to oppose the war.
Sinanigans
> TwinCharged - Is Now UK Opponaut
11/17/2014 at 15:09 |
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War is hell. I'm Iraqi, and survived the First Gulf War. By the time I was six years old - I had survived two wars (Iran-Iraq War, then the Gulf War). Over 20 years later, and I still get nightmares. Seeing dead bodies, hearing the aerial sirens (which sound a lot like municipal fire alarms), remembering the color of the sky at night. and wondering if the next bomb or rocket will wipe you out or not will fuck you up. It's not just the sights and sounds - there's a realization of your own mortality that gets you. It's all the close calls. There is nothing to romanticize about war. War is hell
There are the explicit costs of war - weapons, troops, casualties, fuel, etc. and then there are the implicit costs of war - depression, anger, sadness. These are the costs that no one really takes into consideration. I find it difficult sometimes trying to relate with my countrymen. I think they're nuts. But I forget that I left Iraq shortly after the Gulf - and they stayed behind. And experienced years of bombing campaigns, followed the end-all-be-all clusterfuck that was the invasion of 2003. This time was different. The fighting was so much closer to home - the shock and awe campaign was exactly that. Then there was all the urban warfare, the rise of various factions, the stake that other nations had in Iraq, the utter lawlessness, and the suicide bombing. There was a completely different war that raged on after, "Mission Accomplished". Al Qaeda, the West, ISIS, Iran, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Syria, gangs, mercenaries, the Iraqi government - they continue to wage war today in Iraq in some form or another. Caught in the cross hairs are the generations of Iraqis trying to make it each day. Iraq can't be fixed - because generations have been traumatized. Every generation since 1980 has been traumatized - and I mean deeply fucked up. Society will take generations to cope assuming there are no conflicts for the upcoming generations.
Pictures like this are important, though they may be irreverent to the dead (my faith, culture, and personal code dictate that a body should be covered, gently buried, and respected). I hope that people try to realize that there was a breathing, walking person - who undoubtedly wanted the same thing as you and I - they wanted food, a roof over their heads, security, an opportunity to make a living, and opportunities for their children. I keep wanting humanity to wake up and see the brutality of their actions, I keep hoping that we've advanced as a global society. But I feel we're getting worse each and every year. We've just gotten better at killing one another.
