If I may offer my 2¢…
The question of whether or not photos of corpses should be released publicly seems to be the motivation behind their release. My take on the whole thing is that any publication, whether it’s a photo, a painting, or any other form of expression, there are as many motivations for taking these photos as there are photographers, and anybody looking at the photos, whether they were actively seeking them or not, is going to have their own personal reaction.
Are there people who want to have as much photographic documentation as possible of a historic event, so people 100 years from now can see how devastating hurricanes can be? Yes.
Are there wannabe journalists who want to take pictures because they think images reminiscent of the holocaust will make the front page news and further their own careers? Probably.
Are there people who are outraged at the response of the government and want to shock people? Yes.
Are there random amateur photographers taking pictures with disposable cameras because they just want to capture what they’re seeing because it’s interesting? Yes.
But what about the people on the recieving end, who get to see whatever pictures might be released to the public?
Are there immature teenage boys with mobid curiosities who want to see gory images because it’s “cool?” Yes.
Are there people who lost loved ones in the gulf region who would break down in tears if they saw graphic images in the newspaper? Yes.
Are there people who genuinely can’t grasp the severity of the situation with just a numerical figure and need to see gruesome images before they can understand what’s really going on? Yes.
Are there people who wouldn’t hold anybody accountable without tangible evidence of the horror that unfolded? Probably.
In short, while this may seem like a total cop-out answer, you can’t say something like “All of the photographers are just trying to stir up controversy” or vice versa because it’s a huge and complex situation, with many different people involved.
On one hand, any such photographs would necessarily be of a person who was once alive, who may not have wanted their pictures to be taken, and may have family members who don’t want the images to be seen. On the other hand, unless the photographers are breaking into peoples’ houses to take pictures, the images are essentially something that could be seen by the general public anyway because many of the bodies are in the middle of a public space. How do you censor something that anybody can just look out the window and see?
My humble opinion is that these pictures should be taken, but it’s not the responsibility of the news media to put them in the papers or on TV. Nor is it their responsibility not to. If I were working for the press, I probably wouldn’t release any photos of the dead out of basic decency, but if FEMA or anybody else is actively censoring photographers that is a Bad Thing in my opinion.
I think the best solution would be if people wanted to see the pictures could, i.e. if they were available on the internet on sites with obvious disclaimer pages, rather than popping up on TV or in newspapers where people could see them unexpectedly. Of course, that’s an ideal situation, and the problem is that once something is made public, there’s nothing to stop anyone from printing out 1,000 close-up photos of a dead person’s face and pinning them to telephone poles in the middle of a crowded city. I don’t know if there’s a way to solve that age-old problem, but censorship (other than self-censorship) is not the right answer IMHO.
But seriously, thanks, that’s probably the best compliment I’ve gotten on this board.
