# NYT article: They Saw the Horrific Aftermath of a Mass Shooting. Should we? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 23, 2023, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089 "2023-04-23T23:50:59Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![bob\_2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bob_2/32/3341_2.png) [@bob\_2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bob_2)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 7:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089/21 "2023-04-25T19:36:43Z")
> [@Roderick\_Femm](#): > > I can imagine only one argument, a very poor one, in favor of exposing these photos to public view: that it would inflame the emotions of all the non-gun people and maybe some of the milder gun people so that gun control legislation would be passed by huge majorities. This argument is itself a fantasy, such a tactic would not move the needle 1%. It also occurs to me that it might actually encourage more similar acts. ---
**Author:** ![Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ba9def/32.png) [@Just\_Asking\_Questions](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Just_Asking_Questions)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089/22 "2023-04-25T20:38:06Z")
I don’t agree. There’s a huge excluded middle. If regular, non-radical republican types saw the actual photos of dead children, it might wake them up. If we’re going to let the radical 1%ers that think Sandy hook was fake and all the families are “crisis actors” set the debate tone, we’ve already lost. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089/23 "2023-04-25T20:59:04Z")
I’ve often argued that my biggest problem with violance as it’s portrayed by the media in fiction is that it’s often sanitized. When I was kid, GI Joe would go toe to toe with Cobra, and despite all the shooting, there was no refuting that at best they’d be disarmed and never harmed. Sorry, I was channeling Roadblock there. If I were to rely on childhood cartoons, there were never any serious consequences to violence. Even in most adult shows this is the case. Someone might get shot in the foot or the shoulder and be fine next week. We rarely saw someone get shot in the gut and cry for their mother as they spent the next 15 minutes dying in agony. Even Homer interposed graphic violence with the consequences of violence but it’s not something we do that often. I’m thinking we shouldn’t release images of a mass shooting simply out of respect for the families of those who died. I sure as hell wouldn’t want to see video or images of my kid’s bloody and broken body shared with the world. But then Mamie Till wanted the world to see exactly what they did to her son Emmit. There might be some value to sharing those images, but I think doing so would end up hurting most families so I’m not a fan. ---
**Author:** ![Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/b77776/32.png) [@Paul\_was\_in\_Saudi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Paul_was_in_Saudi)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2023, 9:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089/24 "2023-04-25T21:02:58Z")
I have no comment on the proposal to release the photographs. I simply have not given it any thought. I was moved by the care the detectives gave to handling the crime scene. (I was also surprised by the number of people who for some reason wanted to tour the massacre site.) I cannot imagine the burden their duty imposes upon them. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/nyt-article-they-saw-the-horrific-aftermath-of-a-mass-shooting-should-we/983089.md?page=1)