Monday, November 21, 2005
Poor Preppy Prisoners, Snatched From Chess Club?
I was trolling the Yahoo News Photos, looking for fresh blog meat, when I was suddenly struck by a seriously emotional lump in my throat. It seems Reuters photographers have a real knack for covering distraught Palestinian mothers protesting the brutal and unjustified abduction of their innocent young sons from chess club meetings. Just to look at these pictures is to understand the IDF's brutality and Israel's fundamental illegitimacy as an imprisoning nation.
First of all, to any mother whose son truly was taken and imprisoned, fresh out of an after school program, you have my sympathy, and I believe ideally such wrongs should be righted. However, more than a few of these kids aren't only the sweater clad sweeties their mom's would have the camera believe. But if these mom's came out with the other photo's in their family albums, the ones they save for happier days, days of Allahu Akhbar and candy in the street and hastily packed suitcases to avoid the IDF's retailiation, well the camera would paint a different picture:
Most of these guys weren't at chess club. The mothers focus on their sons' preppy nice-boy photos, pretending their sons wouldn't hurt a fly -- or maybe not even a Jew -- only because they happened to get caught. When these same fine young sons don't get caught, when they carry out their murderous missions, these same mothers and sisters and brothers are out there with 8x10 glossy stills from the martyrdom videos, handing out sweets and celebrating.
But somehow a group of angry mothers protesting that their terrorist sons were apprehended before they could launch an RPG or strap on an explosive vest, well, that's just not very photogenic. And Reuters has a knack for photogenic.
[Note: Photoshopped realizations of less photogenic protest possibilities are not showing pictures of the same 'boys' as the originals. I am obviously (over)generalizing, and not claiming knowledge that any individual pictured is not actually in chess club.]
If you really, really liked this -- or even really, really hated it -- there's lots more:
A Palestinian woman holds a picture of her jailed son during a protest in Gaza November 21, 2005. They were calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, taking the biggest gamble of his political career, quit the ruling Likud on Monday to lead a new centrist party into early elections. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
Families of jailed Palestinian prisoners in Israel hold pictures of their sons during a protest in Gaza November 21, 2005. They were calling for the release of Palestinian prisoners from Israeli jails. Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, taking the biggest gamble of his political career, quit the ruling Likud on Monday to lead a new centrist party into early elections. REUTERS/Mohammed Salem
First of all, to any mother whose son truly was taken and imprisoned, fresh out of an after school program, you have my sympathy, and I believe ideally such wrongs should be righted. However, more than a few of these kids aren't only the sweater clad sweeties their mom's would have the camera believe. But if these mom's came out with the other photo's in their family albums, the ones they save for happier days, days of Allahu Akhbar and candy in the street and hastily packed suitcases to avoid the IDF's retailiation, well the camera would paint a different picture:
Most of these guys weren't at chess club. The mothers focus on their sons' preppy nice-boy photos, pretending their sons wouldn't hurt a fly -- or maybe not even a Jew -- only because they happened to get caught. When these same fine young sons don't get caught, when they carry out their murderous missions, these same mothers and sisters and brothers are out there with 8x10 glossy stills from the martyrdom videos, handing out sweets and celebrating.
But somehow a group of angry mothers protesting that their terrorist sons were apprehended before they could launch an RPG or strap on an explosive vest, well, that's just not very photogenic. And Reuters has a knack for photogenic.
[Note: Photoshopped realizations of less photogenic protest possibilities are not showing pictures of the same 'boys' as the originals. I am obviously (over)generalizing, and not claiming knowledge that any individual pictured is not actually in chess club.]
