Tuesday, September 27

Spot the difference.




To paraphrase Orwell, if you want a vision of the future, imagine a police state terrorizing a woman, forever.  

7 comments:

  1. I scrolled through the pics and got goosebumps.

    ReplyDelete
  2. The third picture involves no loss of life, limb, or eyesight. They got pepper sprayed, not Napalmed or shot. Was it still more than they deserved? Yeah, but at least they will recover fully to continue to protest. It's really a stretch to compare being burned alive with being pepper sprayed.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Have you read this?

    Check out what she's being charged with...*heavy sigh* Gotta "legitimize" the b.s. somehow, eh?

    ReplyDelete
  4. Actually, Mark, the napalmed girl did not lose life, limb, or eyesight. She's now a Canadian citizen with two kids. Mary Ann Vecchio, the woman in the Kent State photo, spoke at the Kent State May 4 commemoration in 2009. This is a post about women getting terrorized by police states. Yes, there is a dead guy in the Kent State photo. Hopefully no one will get shot by a cop in NYC.

    ReplyDelete
  5. Meanwhile, punch-a-hippie is alive and well!

    Oh and last year, Tea Party supporting board members at the College of DuPage removed Kent State memorial trees 3 days after the 40th anniversary.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Not sure what it means, BG, but I focused on the victimizers rather than the victims. Granted, the visual similarities among the females' faces is striking in this juxtaposition. (I've been familiar with the photos, but hadn't made the connection until you made it so clear. Great catch!)

    Yes, all three photos focus on females who are suffering emotional trauma. But in respect to physical suffering the situation is different. The victim focused on in Vietnam is female (she did have napalm adhering to her flesh and is still scarred). But others of the Vietnam children were males. The physical victim in Ohio is male. No more trauma for him because he's dead. And the physical victim in NY is female. Don't know that it matters, but it's worth acknowledging.

    In respect to the victimizers, I too looked for parallels. I'm still not sure I can articulate my thoughts and feelings there, but I am sure I won't be comfortable with "police state." Which is not to say I don't see the U.S. as becoming more and more a police state, at an accelerating pace.

    But the operative word there is "becoming." Kent State was 1970; Vietnam was 1971? 72?; NY was 2011. The Vietnam attack was by professional pilots of the U.S. military; the Ohio attack by inexperienced and frightened members of the National Guard; the NY attack by a seasoned professional, a high ranking police officer.

    Parallels? Of course. Differences? Yes. Development over 4 decades? Yes. I'm not ready to wrap all that in a single phrase. I need to think about it. I'll get back to you! :-)

    ReplyDelete

I really look forward to hearing what you have to say. I do moderate comments, but non-spam comments will take less than 24 hours to appear... Thanks!