The Ethical Double Standard
Hello and welcome back from break my fellow Rams! I hope the new year is going well for you all so far.
I’m Brandon Iwamoto, the new/returning Visual Editor (I had a stint as editor a year and a half ago and stepped down until now) and I plan on, assuming I have some readers, to keep this photo blog updated and filled with relevant and interesting photo-related… stuff.
To start out, you’ve all heard of the disastrous situation going on in Haiti following their series of devastating earthquakes. The photos coming out of the destroyed capital of Port-au-prince are stunning and graphic, as I’m sure most of you have noticed.
On Friday, the New York Times ran this photo on their front page:
A body on the sidewalk in central Port-Au-Prince covered with dust from a collapsed building, Thursday, Jan. 14, 2010. Rescue organizations from around the world were trying to get to earthquake-ravaged Haiti by air, land and sea on Thursday, but many were confronted with daunting obstacles that slowed the transport of rescuers, food and medical supplies into the desperate country. (Damon Winter/The New York Times)
The photograph, a graphic depiction of the death and destruction in the little island nation, is both a haunting and beautiful picture made by a talented photographer. However, there is a major double standard in the running of this photo and I think it raises an important ethical decision concerning the ethics of running a picture of a dead body in the newspaper, especially in the main position on the front page of the nation’s most respected newspaper.
I’ve got no problems whatsoever with running pictures of dead bodies, even on the front page of the New York Times… But there is a glaring double standard in the major newspapers’ decisions and the general public’s reception to these kinds of images.
On August 14 of last year, Associated Press Photojournalist Julie Jacobson, whom I had the pleasure to meet and hear speak at last fall’s Eddie Adams Workshop in New York, shot a picture of Marine Lance Corporal Joshua Bernard as he is mortally wounded during combat in Afghanistan. The picture, slightly blurry, poorly cropped and chaotic to the point of incoherency, drew an uproar from the American public all the way up to the White House.
In this photo taken Friday, Aug. 14, Lance Cpl. Joshua Bernard is tended to by fellow U.S. Marines after being hit by a rocket propelled grenade during a firefight against the Taliban in the village of Dahaneh in the Helmand province of Afghanistan. Bernard was transported by helicopter to Camp Leatherneck where he later died of his wounds.
There is this double standard in America, where showing dead bodies after earthquakes in China and Haiti or a tsunami in south Asia is okay, but when Americans are involved we have a tendency to flinch away from the photos we need to see.
In Vietnam, there were photos coming out of soldiers on all sides in various states of life and death… which swayed public opinion against the Vietnam War. The power of photography is unparalleled and I’m sure many of the photos from Haiti are helping spur the outburst of support and aid for the ruined country… So why, if we’re supporting our troops and wanting to bring them home alive, are we shying away from one of the most powerful tools to help us do so?
That man in the New York Time’s Haiti photo did not die in vain. His death has served as a point to launch massive relief efforts from around the world to help the country in need, to help rescue and preserve what is left of the Haitian people. It’s not only hypocritical but also irresponsible to allow Lance Cpl. Bernard to die in vain, to not be seen and recognized by the people he is serving to protect and bring home his comrades from the lengthy and costly war.
Leave comments, let me know what you think, I look forward to hear from you all.
For the record, I would have run the Haiti photo in a heartbeat.
-B.I.
| Posted in » Photos for Monday and Tuesday
I think I might start adding photos every other day….maybe. I’m still on the fence
Weekend of Sept. 27
So I’ve managed to skip uploading all of this weeks photos, mainly because of the copious amounts of school work I’ve been swallowed by, but also maybe because I’ve been battling a head cold (it seems to be that I’m winning- Woohoo!). So first off, my apologies. Second, here’s the photos from this weekend. I took a trip to Provo, Utah with 3 of the sports writers for the game against BYU. My Rammies lost :[ but played a decent game. It's one heck of a stadium to play in, BYU likes to get really really loud, which makes it tough. But enough with my ranting, enjoy the photos from the weekend and make sure to tell your friends about this blog....there will be formal advertising in the near future, but as for now, it'll remain word of mouth.
Weekend of Sept. 20
Another weekend down, only a lot more to go until Turkey Day, or winter recess. I think I can speak for my whole staff, we’re ready for a break, but we’re chuggin’ along. Here’s some photos from the weekend……
Collegian Friday
So I managed to miss the past couple of days on post, my apologies. But here’s some decent art coming from the visual side of the paper. Enjoy! And it’s Collegian Friday! Woohoo!
Sept. 14
Sad news, Patrick Swayze died today at age 57. :[ See *CNN* for a full story.
But here's some photos for they day. Enjoy.
Rammies Win!
So this weekend was oodles of fun, with the Rams selling out their student section for the first time in two years. It was an eventful game, but a sloppy one. But I’m not a sports analyst, I’ll leave that to Matt, our sports editor. None-the-less, some good art came out of it, and there’s a slide show to prove it. Enjoy that art along with some of the other art that’s running tomorrow!
Diversifying Campus?
Here’s a few photos for the day. A diversity story is our package that we’re running main, so you should pick up a paper or check out Collegian.com to read about CSUs diversity–or lack there of.
Enjoy! Because it’s the weekendddddddd! Woohoo!
Sept. 9
A simple day….. with some file art, which I choose not to post.
Sept. 8
So as I’ve began to keep the blog constantly updated, it makes me realize that we don’t have a ton of photos. So for all of our fans, or lack there of, we’re accepting feature photo tips, (E-mail them to Photo@collegian.com) because who wants less art in this world? I know I would love MORE. But besides my rant, here’s the breakdown of photos for the day.
