Last words on the matter

Some of you will know that duckrabbit ( the Benjamin Chesterton half, nothing to do with David) has been getting ‘shrill’ about the continued publication and celebration of an Andrea Bruce photograph that shows a seven year old Kurdish girl being genitally mutilated.

The sad truth is that I think the publication of the photograph sets a precedent, that pretty much anything involving children is now fair cop in the American market. The reach of the internet means that this now applies to the rest of the world.  As a parent I’m horrified by this fact.

A few have criticized me for the analogy of sexual abuse that I used in my first post.  They raise valid points and unfortunately it has meant people could comment on this rather than the issue.

Trent makes the point that before passing judgment we should hear from Andrea. I disagree on the basis that an image should be judged in the context you find it and with the information available.  Neither Bruce nor the Washington Post feel the need to justify the image. Desiree Perry makes the point that the photo would never have been published if it had featured an American girl.  The internet is in danger of becoming a cage through whose bars we peer at the human animals inside. Some photographers are leading the way.

But what if you were the one in the cage?