Commentary By Ron Beasley
I remember watching the TV news sometime in the late 60's when a reporter in Vietnam was hit while reporting. The war came to the living rooms of America. I think it's healthy and necessary that Americans see that war is all about blood and death. There have been attempts to sanitize the news so that Americans can't see the blood and guts and death. They try to make war a video game where the blood isn't real. Now I hate to defend AP but I guess I'm going to have to.
Rare AP Photo Captures Deadly Attack on U.S. Marine in Afghanistan -- Pentagon Protests
Going back to 2002, I have been writing about
the shameful reluctance, even refusal, of U.S. media outlets to carry
graphic images of the true cost of our wars, to Americans, in Iraq and
Afghanistan -- dead or even, in many cases, gravely wounded U.S.
soldiers and Marines.Earlier today, the Associated Press -- bucking the wishes of the Pentagon and the victim's family -- decided to go ahead and transmit such a photo.
It was not a one-off bit of "sensationalism" but part of a tasteful
and remarkable tribute package profiling the dead Marine and the
experience of the photographer, Julie Jacobson, who was there to
capture his final moments before he was gravely injured. He later died,
three weeks ago.
You can view the picture here. War is hell, blood, guts and death and people have to take that into account when they decide if a war is worth it.
High Wingnuttery Update:
This comment from the E&P post with the picture;
I wonder if instead of dead soldiers, the media published photos of every aborted baby if the left would still celebrate it.
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