# That "coronavirus zombie" photo really is incredible **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [April 19, 2020, 5:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110 "2020-04-19T05:07:04Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 16\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![KarlGauss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/karlgauss/32/3713_2.png) [@KarlGauss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KarlGauss)\ **Post date:** [April 19, 2020, 11:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/21 "2020-04-19T23:33:26Z")
> [@guizot](#): > > It’s fabricated, self-aggrievement. It makes stupid people feel important. That’s okay. Stupid people make me feel important. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 12:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/22 "2020-04-20T00:47:13Z")
> [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](#): > > In a Station of the Metro. > The apparition of these faces in the crowd: > Petals on a wet, black bough. > > -Ezra Pound I thought of this, too. Does Columbus, Ohio, have a subway? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Jocko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/uncle_jocko/32/2932_2.png) [@Uncle\_Jocko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Jocko)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 3:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/23 "2020-04-20T03:06:44Z")
Probably not, but I bet someone can sell them a monorail. ---
**Author:** ![Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/try2b_comprehensive/32/65_2.png) [@Try2B\_Comprehensive](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Try2B_Comprehensive)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 2:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/24 "2020-04-20T14:09:34Z")
It sure _looks_ like a subway. The word “apparition” did it for me, kind of gave me the shivers. How did Ezra know? ---
**Author:** ![leahcim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/b4bc9f/32.png) [@leahcim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/leahcim)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/25 "2020-04-20T16:51:56Z")
> [@Uncle\_Jocko](#): > > Waaait a minute … aren’t those the same things they were accusing Obama the Illegitimate of doing? But he did it in a Tan Suit! A Taaaaaaaan Suuuuuuuit! ---
**Author:** ![TroutMan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/troutman/32/6721_2.png) [@TroutMan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TroutMan)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 5:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/26 "2020-04-20T17:49:58Z")
[Here’s an interview](https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/04/ohio-protester-zombie-photo-coronavirus-interview.html) with the photographer that provides more context for how he got the shot, and how he likes the zombie comparisons (he doesn’t, or he’s at least conflicted). ---
**Author:** ![asahi](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/asahi/32/8693_2.png) [@asahi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/asahi)\ **Post date:** [April 20, 2020, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/27 "2020-04-20T17:57:50Z")
> [@Ukulele\_Ike](#): > > I thought of this, too. Does Columbus, Ohio, have a subway? I used to work pretty regularly in Columbus and I don’t ever recall there being a subway, just bus service (mostly around the capitol and OSU). ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 21, 2020, 8:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/28 "2020-04-21T20:12:56Z")
> [@TroutMan](#): > > [Here’s an interview](https://slate.com/human-interest/2020/04/ohio-protester-zombie-photo-coronavirus-interview.html) with the photographer that provides more context for how he got the shot, and how he likes the zombie comparisons (he doesn’t, or he’s at least conflicted). His argument is stupid. We do in fact know what they are upset about, as they are protesters and they fucking tell us. We can even maybe identify the person involved–and she’s not financially hard off. We can see that they think the virus is a hoax, based on how close they are and the lack of protection. A legitimate protest because of people having trouble would have people in masks, standing as far apart as they can, while protesting. No one who avoids the masks and the social distancing is worth listening to: they’re conspiracy theorists. Automatic compassion is all well and good, but you still need to use your brain. We have protests that we have directly traced back to political groups rather than any grassroot suffering. And they don’t protest like people who actually care about reality. I have sympathy for those who are genuinely going through hardships, like I and my family are. But that’s not what’s going on here. The sympathy is for people who are duped for how they lack the critical thinking skills not to be duped. And not even that applies to this lady who appears to be a politician stirring up shit. ---
**Author:** ![SciFiSam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/47e85d/32.png) [@SciFiSam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SciFiSam)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 5:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/29 "2020-04-22T05:09:50Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > His argument is stupid. We do in fact know what they are upset about, as they are protesters and they fucking tell us. We can even maybe identify the person involved–and she’s not financially hard off. We can see that they think the virus is a hoax, based on how close they are and the lack of protection. > > A legitimate protest because of people having trouble would have people in masks, standing as far apart as they can, while protesting. No one who avoids the masks and the social distancing is worth listening to: they’re conspiracy theorists. > > Automatic compassion is all well and good, but you still need to use your brain. We have protests that we have directly traced back to political groups rather than any grassroot suffering. And they don’t protest like people who actually care about reality. > > I have sympathy for those who are genuinely going through hardships, like I and my family are. But that’s not what’s going on here. The sympathy is for people who are duped for how they lack the critical thinking skills not to be duped. > > And not even that applies to this lady who appears to be a politician stirring up shit. I thought his argument was just that these people are people, not zombies. He didn’t mention anything about people going through hardships, or go into any detail about the people involved. TBH I don’t have any sympathy for the protesters either, but it’s a good thing that photojournalists don’t lose sight of their subjects as real people. I can do that for a moment at a time - the Shaun of the Dead posters compared with this photo ([here’s one example](https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2020/04/Featured-Image-Template62.png?resize=865,452&quality=65)) are amusing, but also interesting, because some of the protesters’ actions are worrying. But I think it’s overall a good thing if a people on the ground taking these shots don’t treat their subjects as non-people. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 7:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/30 "2020-04-22T07:07:12Z")
Coupla questions I wouldn’t mind seeing posed to him: 1. _The way you’ve spoken about the photo (and the response to) it suggest that you may feel its true significance is being distorted by being stripped of its context. Is that a valid characterization, and if so, would you object to posting the entire sequence of seven photos you took during those ten seconds?_ 2. _Would you object to seeing this photo being considered for a photojournalism Pulitzer?_ ---
**Author:** ![kambuckta](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/53a042/32.png) [@kambuckta](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kambuckta)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 7:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/31 "2020-04-22T07:30:05Z")
> [@kaylasdad99](#): > > Coupla questions I wouldn’t mind seeing posed to him: > > 1. _The way you’ve spoken about the photo (and the response to) it suggest that you may feel its true significance is being distorted by being stripped of its context. Is that a valid characterization, and if so, would you object to posting the entire sequence of seven photos you took during those ten seconds?_ > > 2. _Would you object to seeing this photo being considered for a photojournalism Pulitzer?_ I reckon the answers would be No and No respectively. The photo journo is creaming his undies in anticipation. 😂 ---
**Author:** ![VinylTurnip](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/b2d939/32.png) [@VinylTurnip](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VinylTurnip)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/32 "2020-04-22T13:34:51Z")
Frankly, I don’t understand what is so remarkable about a collection of ordinary human fæces. ---
**Author:** ![Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mundane_super_hero/32/6304_2.png) [@Mundane\_Super\_Hero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mundane_Super_Hero)\ **Post date:** [April 22, 2020, 3:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/33 "2020-04-22T15:28:03Z")
> [@KarlGauss](#): > > That’s okay. Stupid people make me feel important. Every 3-4 generations, the egg that drops out of the vending machine has decent prize. Hell, even mutts can squeeze out a decent puppy on occasion. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/34 "2020-04-23T02:11:55Z")
> [@SciFiSam](#): > > I thought his argument was just that these people are people, not zombies. He didn’t mention anything about people going through hardships, or go into any detail about the people involved. > > TBH I don’t have any sympathy for the protesters either, but it’s a good thing that photojournalists don’t lose sight of their subjects as real people. > > I can do that for a moment at a time - the Shaun of the Dead posters compared with this photo ([here’s one example](https://www.snopes.com/tachyon/2020/04/Featured-Image-Template62.png?resize=865,452&quality=65)) are amusing, but also interesting, because some of the protesters’ actions are worrying. > > But I think it’s overall a good thing if a people on the ground taking these shots don’t treat their subjects as non-people. What he said was “these people are people.” and “We don’t know what they’re going through.” Hence my response. We do know a lot about what they are going through. The whole “not seeing them as people” thing doesn’t make sense otherwise. Zombies _are_ people–that’s why they are scary. The whole idea of calling them zombies is that these are people who seemingly have stopped thinking for themselves and are acting irrationally. They act like they’ve been infected. We are so scared of Zombies because we don’t want to become them. Nothing in my post says you shouldn’t think of them as people. The question was one of sympathy–of saying “we don’t know what they’ve been through.” That was perpetuating the myth that these protests are organic and not politically started and motivated. That’s what I’m against. I’m against treating these protests as legitimate protests. We know why they started, and it wasn’t because people were genuinely suffering. The people who are suffering are not the people who are at that protest, nor do they carry signs or otherwise claim they are speaking for said people. ---
**Author:** ![CurtC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/ce73a5/32.png) [@CurtC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CurtC)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 3:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/35 "2020-04-23T15:03:01Z")
> [@SlackerInc](#): > > [My caption:](https://twitter.com/SlackerInc/status/1251655576037265411) “They’re not sending their best people.” 😃 I don’t get it. I feel like you’re referring to something that should be funny and I feel left out. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [April 23, 2020, 3:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110/36 "2020-04-23T15:22:21Z")
> [@CurtC](#): > > I don’t get it. I feel like you’re referring to something that should be funny and I feel left out. Direct reference to Mexicans coming to the US. > [@](#): > > “When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending their best. They’re not sending you. They’re not sending you. They’re sending people that have lots of problems, and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists. And some, I assume, are good people.” [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/that-coronavirus-zombie-photo-really-is-incredible/852110.md?page=1)