BlogHer - human rights - Comments

Perhaps we must agree to disagree

Kim Pearson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 20:20:17 -0500

Hi Jane,

Actually, I did not agree with the Pentagon's decision to ban photos of the caskets of returning war dead. In fact I blogged in support of the Memory Hole's gallery of casket photos in 2004. To say that there are times when it is appropriate for editors to exercise discretion is not to say that he government should have the right to engage in censorship that is unrelated to national security needs or individual privacy rights.

In this instance, I concluded that it was appropriate to link to the youtube video page rather than posting it directly, so that people can make their own judgment. At that time, youtube had a page up that required viewers to enter their age in order to see the video. I thought that struck an appropriate balance between the public right to know and the need to ensure that the video is not used in an exploitive way.

Peace,

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

I don't agree with you, Kim

ByJane — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 19:04:40 -0500

Journalists, reporters, the press are meant to be the eyes and ears of our informed society. We cannot make the decisions we must if members of the press, for good or ill, are deciding what is and is not right for us to know. As far as our becoming inured to horror--no, I think each incident brings it home anew. As it should. I don't fear people being paralyzed into numb resignation. We, the people, are pretty strong, you know, not to mention smart. We don't need to be protected from life as if we were children. I assume from your points here that you were in favor of the last administration's refusal to allow the caskets of returning soldiers to be photographed. I couldn't disagree more. Life is dirty and messy at times, but if we are not allowed to experience that, we are shortchanged on experiencing its polar opposite--the wonders of life.

By Jane

http://midlifebloggers.com

http://byjane.blogspot.com

Great Piece...

SatelliteSister5 — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:44:21 -0500

Kim, great summary about an awe-inspiring story. I believe the video is critical to the message.

I'll direct readers here to get a complete perspective. Thanks.

Lian Dolan

SatelliteSisterLian

www.satellitesisters.com

www.chaoschronicles.com

It is a personal struggle

artpax — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 10:13:18 -0500

For years I regularly wrote in my build peace blog about suppressed stories, news left unreported for political reasons, political sentiments and actions that many, at the time, viewed as "un-American." Only when I began to publicly dissent did I realize that dissent is not covered by any of the news media.

This is one of the reasons I am so torn by the graphic depiction of personal horror allowed by the new, truly mass media.

Numb resignation or becoming accustomed to injustice? On the surface these can look very similar, but like the emotions of love and hate, when you graph them as a circle they are right next to each other rather than on opposite ends of a straight line. The danger of course is becoming numb before you understand the personal nature of violence. It is a distinction with which most of us who are attracted to the political aspects of life have wrestled. I am both heartened and horrified by aspects of the coverage of Neda's tragic murder.

For far too long the vast majority of women stayed away from political conflict. culture tried to keep us from even speaking about such unseemly aspects of life, "it's not nice to talk about sex or politics." Screw that! Women must intimately live with the consequences of both sex and politics in a way that men do not. Women and children are vastly over-represented in the casualties and negative impacts of war. It only makes sense that of hat women become active earlier in the process rather than to mild manneredly wait for war to tear their lives apart.

Is it proper to show a little girl running down a road naked? Kim Phuc was the nine year old girl in the 1972 photograph of a burn victim running from her home village that had been bombed with napalm. Is it proper to show a video of Neda dying? No - of course not. Sometimes such intimate and horrific imagery is necessary, though.

Nancy

Build Peace

My Life As An Avatar

I struggled with the decision also

Kim Pearson — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 05:45:49 -0500

Hi Jane,

Thanks for your kind comments. To be honest, I think there are good arguments for restricting the video that have nothing to do with the bottom line.

Journalists struggle with these decisions every day. I struggled as well. Especially with the cable news stations replaying the video every 15 minutes, at what point are we exploiting tragedy? The news media censor images of death all of the time. We don't see the charred bodies in the local house fire. We get told about them and we hear the local fire chief's impassioned plea to householders to maintain their smoke detectors. There are many other gruesome examples that are kept out of our local news every day.

Every spring, I teach a media ethics course in which we struggle with these decisions. Was it ethical to show the pictures of people leaping to their deaths from the Twin Towers on 9/11? What about the Pulitzer-prize winning photo of a 19 year old woman and 2 year old child falling from a collapsed fire escape in Chicago? Does the enormity of 9/11 justify it? Does the fact that the fire escape photo led to a change in building codes and beefed-up enforcement efforts in that city?

Finally, at what point do we become inured to these images? Or perhaps worth, at what point does the horror overwhelm us, paralyzing us into a numb resignation? How can Neda's murder become a catalyst for change?

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

I saw the YouTube video early in the day...

ByJane — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 22:37:06 -0500

I don't know how long after her death the video made it to the 'net, but for me I felt as if I was seeing her death happen at the moment. I will never forget it. One moment she was lying there with her eyes open and the next blood was gushing out of every orifice. It made the situation in Iran very real to me--and very personal. When YouTube took the video down as "too disturbing," when CNN showed it with Neda's face pixilated so that you saw nothing, I was appalled. Who decides that we need these cleaned up images? Who decides that we are too weak to view death up close and in all its horror? Shame on the cowards that make those decisions; I imagine that all they are thinking of is their bottom line, the great "do not tell the truth lest we offend some and lose our advertising." This isn't journalism; it's censorship.

By Jane

http://midlifebloggers.com

http://byjane.blogspot.com

Yes, thank you Kim

artpax — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 21:20:47 -0500

Thank you Kim for bringing this story to BlogHer. The personal cost of writing about pain, suffering, injustice and horror in the all too real world is rarely acknowleged, but I would like to thank you for consistently bringing us perspective on issues that have emotional and energetic costs to you the reporter who must surround yourself in bloody and outrageous details to create clear-headed coverage of stories that are tough to cover.

Namaste,

Nancy

Build Peace

My Life As An Avatar

Thanks for a well-written

Grey — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 20:20:31 -0500

Thanks for a well-written piece. It is difficult when viewing this situation from half a world away. I wonder what I can do, as a single person, to make a difference.

http://2ndverse.blogspot.com/

Really good question

Tre - — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:49:45 -0500

And in moments like this having social media and making our own connections helps much...doesn't it? helps us connect and lean and hug and support one another bc no one can keep a dry eye imagining...i don't know what consequence will matter. but just thinking about it helps..listening, reaching out, seeing how others are thinking about it...so appreciative of your perspective truly...let's see where this discussion goes...i know the day i got the news of Neda i was outside walking my dog..a neighbor from east africa who is typically really hurried (he has 4 jobs) was holding his children's hands and all were eating icecream...they stopped and talked with me for a while. i've not met them yet. and in those moments..when i was really needing a connection to humanity..to world..to fellow man..to neighbors there it was. i'm grateful for the willingness to drop my own agenda in those moments and reach out. the kids played w/ my dog, he told me of his jobs...(he'd asked why i tearing up...and i'd told him i was watching the news of the protesters)....every day gives us ways to make connections...to grow a global family. perhaps in my now i'm simply hungering for it more....peace to you too friend,

Tre~

tw: @tresha

fb: http://facebook.com/treshathorsen

e: tre@thoughtbythought.net

blog: http://thoughtbythought.net

Thank you for understanding and for raising your voice

Kim Pearson — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 18:25:26 -0500

You are very kind. Like you, I think a great deal about what we can do in situations such as this. China suffered financially as a result of its government's actions at Tiananmen Square. What consequence will matter to the Iranian government?

In peace,

Kim

BlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Thank you for telling this story so compassionately

Tre - — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 17:18:31 -0500

Kim,

I came to BlogHer in hopes of a summary and OF COURSE YOU would have written one.

Your thoughtful care to include the details that so many of us are scurrying to make sense of .....of course you would write this.

Your journalism and writing continue to inspire me...and countless others no less.

This whole event is one that perhaps is getting necessary coverage from the standpoint of citizen journalism though the recurring themes of people not obtaining the freedoms so rightly theirs...well, it's surely a several millenium old reality.

As someone who strives to carve out a spiritual perspective in my day to day, I have great hope that through our use of social media, like mindeds around the globe will continue to unite and gather and commune and take action as we can.

Most will be moved when they see this video....it's propelled me deeply into how am I helping my sisters and our daughters around the globe...and our sons....

What more can each one of us do right in our back yards to help give VOICE to all the ones within our reach who are too scared, too shy, or feeling too inadequate to give breath to their very own.

I'm asking myself a lot in the past 72 hours, what am I doing ..how am I giving voice myself...or helping others to...to do whatever is the most basic to the most complex..whether that means helping someone feel his / her life is worthy and is significant to more practical and tangibles like helping senior neighbors get online and learn how to use email....

ALLLLL of us matter. The Iranian's revolution is our revolution...to advocate and stand for freedoms that are inherent and ought to be widespreadly honored and protected.

I'm hugging you deeply for taking the risk to write these ideas.

But none of us have to stand back and feel helpless, as shocking and disconcerting as the facts and images in Iran are.

My hope is that each one of us take moments and dig deep within...

How can we love ourselves more..and honor our own voices and share them.

How can we help a loved one, a relative, a neighbor more to overcome some intimidations and fears or feelings of insiginificance and lack of worth.

As we each in our own realms stand for our inherent liberties, even if it takes centuries, eventually, people and their defense of their freedoms will be what stands...

With heartfelt gratitude and deep respect for blogging this story, thanks so much Kim.

Tre~

tw: @tresha

fb: http://facebook.com/tresha.thorsen

e: tre@thoughtbythought.net

blog: http://thoughtbythought.net

thanks for blogging about this

landismom — Mon, 22 Jun 2009 14:36:50 -0500

it is a very powerful piece of video--and one that is deeply disturbing

Kim-Thanks for the update,

Norma156 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 13:49:34 -0500

Kim-Thanks for the update, which I assume was directed at my comment, but I'm not convinced by this Q&A. According to the text you posted, he says "I think it's important that, moving forward, whatever
investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in
bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing
their views." Whatever does he think is happening right now?

He mentions our national security interest in ensuring there is no nuclear arms race in the Middle East, however, in Egypt Obama defended the Iranian right to nuclear energy saying "any nation - including Iran - should have the
right to access peaceful nuclear power if it complies with its
responsibilities under the nuclear non-proliferation treaty." We've seen how well this path, taken under President Clinton, worked out in North Korea. I would ask whether this is a part of the "tough hardheaded" negotiations he references. If so, where is the "tough" part?

Most recent comments from Pres. Obama

Kim Pearson — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 12:40:56 -0500

First, thanks to everyone for the kind words and the additional updates. This is such a fast moving story that it really does need the watchful eyes and ears of the multitudes. Second, I wanted to pass long Pres. Obama's June 15 comments on the election results. The comments in my post were from the day of the election, when the outcome was not known. Yesterday's comments, in response to a reporter's question, are below.

Q Mr. President, on Iran, does the disputed election results affect -- there's been violence in the street -- in any way change your willingness to meet with Mr. Ahmadinejad without preconditions? And also, do you have anything to say, any message to send to people who are on the streets protesting, who believe their votes were stolen and who are being attacked violently?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: Obviously all of us have been watching the news from Iran. And I want to start off by being very clear that it is up to Iranians to make decisions about who Iran's leaders will be; that we respect Iranian sovereignty and want to avoid the United States being the issue inside of Iran, which sometimes the United States can be a handy political football -- or discussions with the United States.

Having said all that, I am deeply troubled by the violence that I've been seeing on television. I think that the democratic process -- free speech, the ability of people to peacefully dissent -- all those are universal values and need to be respected. And whenever I see violence perpetrated on people who are peacefully dissenting, and whenever the American people see that, I think they're, rightfully, troubled.

My understanding is, is that the Iranian government says that they are going to look into irregularities that have taken place. We weren't on the ground, we did not have observers there, we did not have international observers on hand, so I can't state definitively one way or another what happened with respect to the election. But what I can say is that there appears to be a sense on the part of people who were so hopeful and so engaged and so committed to democracy who now feel betrayed. And I think it's important that, moving forward, whatever investigations take place are done in a way that is not resulting in bloodshed and is not resulting in people being stifled in expressing their views.

Now, with respect to the United States and our interactions with Iran, I've always believed that as odious as I consider some of President Ahmadinejad's statements, as deep as the differences that exist between the United States and Iran on a range of core issues, that the use of tough, hard-headed diplomacy -- diplomacy with no illusions about Iran and the nature of the differences between our two countries -- is critical when it comes to pursuing a core set of our national security interests, specifically, making sure that we are not seeing a nuclear arms race in the Middle East triggered by Iran obtaining a nuclear weapon; making sure that Iran is not exporting terrorist activity. Those are core interests not just to the United States but I think to a peaceful world in general.

We will continue to pursue a tough, direct dialogue between our two countries, and we'll see where it takes us. But even as we do so, I think it would be wrong for me to be silent about what we've seen on the television over the last few days. And what I would say to those people who put so much hope and energy and optimism into the political process, I would say to them that the world is watching and inspired by their participation, regardless of what the ultimate outcome of the election was. And they should know that the world is watching.

And particularly to the youth of Iran, I want them to know that we in the United States do not want to make any decisions for the Iranians, but we do believe that the Iranian people and their voices should be heard and respected.

KimBlogHer Contributing Editor|Professor Kim|

Nice work, Kim. I find it

Norma156 — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 07:12:50 -0500

Nice work, Kim.

I find it extremely noteworthy (and admirable) that the blogosphere, including this forum, is showing more leadership on the issue of free and fair elections in Iran than our own president whose apparent position is that it doesn't matter who wins.

According to Kim's reporting, Obama says "[W]hoever ends up winning the election in Iran, the fact that there's
been a robust debate hopefully will help advance our ability to engage
them in new ways."

I understand that yesterday Mousavi was arrested. Also, Drudge reported this morning that gunmen are opening fire on protestors. It appears that there are fewer people for Obama to "engage," a number that will undoubtedly continue to trend downward.

It's an appalling lack of leadership.

However, the same cannot be said of this forum, particularly you, Kim. I am really in awe of the activities reported above.