Letting the Dead Lie
So I saw today that some free speech groups (yeah, we need those in the United States) are up in arms over FEMA’s decisionto not allow photojournalists to go out with body recovery operations.
They say that those pictures would be crucial to telling the story of
Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath.
In this instance, I have
to side with FEMA. No one I know wants to see pictures of twisted and
mangled bodies with alabaster skin barely hanging on to the bone. I’m
not so sure that many would want to see terrible visages frozen on the
unlucky men, women, and children, punctuated by milk white eyes and wet
hair.
That’s not quite the images that go with orange juice and
toast, you know. Not to mention, photos of the uncovered dead are
simply not dignified. The photo of the makeshift grave is heart wrenching yet serene. That’s proper. That’s showing some dignity.
File Under:
Hurricane Katrina
Censorship
Photography
