Archived posting to the Leica Users Group, 2008/07/26
[Author Prev] [Author Next] [Thread Prev] [Thread Next] [Author Index] [Topic Index] [Home] [Search]On Jul 26, 2008, at 3:23 PM, Ric Carter wrote: > Phillip-- > > You are absolutely right on all counts. > > The thing that worries many of us is that the concerns you have are > not at the center of the problem here. We see an administration > that is attempting to slant coverage for domestic political purposes > so that America does not see the cost of this war. > > Hell, we even had a Secretary of Defense who so little valued the > lives of our military, he didn't even bother to sign letters to > survivors -- he used a machine to do it. > > Our country should be reminded of the sacrifice that is being made > here. I would argue that purely out of the deepest respect for our soldiers, the price they/we are paying there should be respectfully covered... rather than being systematically hidden from view. Steve > > > Ric > > > > > On Jul 26, 2008, at 5:50 PM, Philip Forrest wrote: > >> I could have taken photos of lots of dead Marines. That could have >> been >> considered part of my job. I didn't want to though. I didn't want to >> photograph a lot of what I did, but it was my job. I lost enough >> friends out in Iraq that I didn't need to capture that memory >> forever. >> I'll have it forever. I respect the men and women who've died. Their >> war is over and there is nothing but peace for them now. Us who >> survived have the hard battle to deal with. Memory. >> There are a few things I agree with on the DoD side, and a few >> things I >> agree with on the journalist side. If he did indeed break some >> protocol, then he deserved to get kicked out. Were he military, he'd >> have been tried at a courts martial possibly. On the security side, I >> completely understand the DoD point of view. The enemy is extremely >> smart and if they can use any intelligence gathered from the internet >> to find a weak spot in our tactics, then again, the journalist is in >> the wrong. I DO believe that there should be more imagery coming >> out of >> Iraq and Afghanistan, but not if it endangers my comrades. >> >> Further, this war CANNOT be compared to Vietnam in regard to imagery >> and journalism. There was no way for the enemy to use photos such as >> these in a timely fashion since most film was sent back to the >> publication it was shot for, then developed, then edited, and then >> possibly used for publication. We all have access to the means of >> production now. Remember Nick Berg and the many beheadings which were >> seen on the internet during 2004 alone. The internet is free >> information, pure and simple and it's quite easy to do a little >> snooping to find out who got bombed, where, when, how and possibly >> what >> tactics were used. Blogs are a product of our egos. Now that we can >> take a digital photo of a dead Marine then post it on the internet >> soon >> afterwards, we do so in order to get attention. A kind of "look at >> me! >> look at me! Look what I made! I risked MY life to take this photo of >> this guy who GAVE his life for it, all for you! Pay attention to me!" >> This is what I think of exploitative bloggers. There is a time and a >> place for showing our dead. It's after the family has done their >> grieving. After we have paid our respects to our fallen friends. >> After >> the security environment surrounding the death has changed enough >> that >> it can't be exploited to hurt us. Until then, take the photos and >> just >> keep them for the future. War hasn't changed at all in all of >> history. We all are wounded and all die the same way. The photos >> can wait for a while, they'll still have plenty of impact later on. >> Maybe put the camera down once in a while and hold the hand of that >> Marine who is bleeding out. >> >> Phil Forrest >> >> _______________________________________________ >> Leica Users Group. >> See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information > > > _______________________________________________ > Leica Users Group. > See http://leica-users.org/mailman/listinfo/lug for more information