Every day it seems there’s another tragedy or disaster to report on, as is the nature of the news. But how many stories or images of death and destruction should a person engage with on a regular basis? Certainly these things have a lasting impact.
This article (NSFW I guess) investigates the journalistic choice to publish graphic images from areas of conflict in an effort to more accurately portray what’s happening. As Israeli airstrikes on Palestinians this week killed at least 46 and injured hundreds, most of the Western coverage featured images of white smoke and contrails over crowded neighborhoods and apartment complexes. The problem with selecting and broadcasting ‘safer’ images is that it portrays an inaccurate account of what’s happened. Scrolling social media was a different story altogether, as friends and family shared images, videos, and first-hand accounts of their horrifying experiences.
However, this isn’t to suggest we inundate ourselves in graphic images and videos of war and calamity either. It’s a balance I grapple with often, as so much of the news revolves around violence and we become desensitized to the outcomes. Every police shooting or tragedy documented with photo or video becomes a choice of how much to engage and when to prioritize our mental and emotional wellbeing. I don’t write this with any suggestion in mind, simply pointing out that there’s a difference between a close-up photo of a funeral procession and a zoomed-out image of a city with smoke on the horizon, these pictures tell us different stories.
Side Items
Firefighters in France continue to battle wildfires this week as the summer shows no sign of letting up, with temperatures over 100°F expected
In his 2011 song “Hii Power”, Kendrick Lamar states, “The sky is falling, the wind is calling, stand for something or die in the morning”. Now, as the sky falls and the wind calls, Joey Biden has decided to stand for nothing and instead go on vacation with his family