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May 16, 2005
Worth a Thousand Words.
Captain’s Quarters published a comment comparing Newsweek’s reckless running of the unsubstantiated Koran desecration story with the media’s seeming consensus to ignore the story of the 9-11 jumpers.
I did some research on it, and was amazed to find that the estimate for the number of people who jumped to their deaths from the World Trade Center on 9-11 runs from 50 to 200 people. I knew that there were some jumpers, but I didn’t realize that there were so many. I certainly didn’t know that the media under-reported that story. (Obviously they did a good job.)
I have a hard time understanding the objections of those who didn’t want the pictures to be published. From what I’ve found, none of them were ever positively identified, although (somewhat insensitive) attempts were made, so it’s not as though the death of any specific person is being capitalized on.
Apparently another reason given was that pictures would lead to violence against Muslims.
Some seem to think it was merely sick voyeurism for the papers to print them.
I would think, though, that the reason people really objected was that they are just too disturbing to deal with, especially with the wound so fresh. The image of the towers collapsing combined with the words that thousands of people died is nothing compared to the image of even one of those people falling to their deaths. The first is academic, the second forces me to wonder what it must have been like to have to choose between two deaths, one long and agonizing; one immediate but requiring a step over the edge.
Likewise, the pictures of starved and abused holocaust victims stacked like so much refuse bring home the realities of the horror in a way that the words “millions dead” never can.
I suddenly find myself thinking more about the people who died and were injured this week.
Posted by illuminaria at May 16, 2005 04:29 PM