"I support the war, but don't make my kids look at pics of dead people"

[Philosoraptor]

I've heard this sentiment expressed, here and in other places, about how we just don't want to look at photos of dead people, killed in a war.

All the t.v. news and the print outlets censor all photos of actual war carnage, and some people happen upon these images by accident, and are highly upset, even offended.

I say, let the Americans SEE what they are supporting, passively or knowingly, gaze upon the horror of war.

I remember how after 9-11 they quickly censored all images of people falling to their deaths from the towers, just too awful to behold. Even now, only approved images are shown of that day, not the really horrible ones.

Same with this war, we never see anything but tanks and clinical strikes and soldiers running across a street, but we never show the dead old ladies and children and mothers with their skulls blown off because its just too, too awful.

I think it would do much to sway our lust for revenge and domination if we'd FORCE our citizens to look into the faces of the dead, in all their gore, and understand what is war.

[Olney Blue]

1. This is why PTSD can be a consequence of combat- even trained soldiers

cannot often bear the horror of it.

:cry:

[prole100]

2. The Test - Chimperor Nausea - Photo Tombstoned

eom

[chimpymustgo]

3. If you support this shit, look it squarely in the eye!

If you can't look at it, then you need to rethink your beliefs.

[prole100]

4. The Latest Fundie Meme - "All We Are Saying Is Give War A Chance"

[Toots]

9. Oh that's right war is a very new idea

Never been tried before so let's all give it a chance to see results... :crazy:

[Phoebe Loosinhouse]

5. The first Iraq war made Americans believe that war is a video game

We all watched the scuds on TV. It was all very sanitized. I think that is when a lot of Americans came to enjoy the concept of war again. Unlike Viet Nam, where there was some excellent coverage on tv of actual combat - you always knew that war involved death, bodies and blood.

We are not allowed to see anything - pictures, coffins, etc. that might rehumanize us and remind us of the terrible toll that any and all wars take.

[Philosoraptor]

8. Clean, sterile, flag draped coffins, must be hidden from view.

As if we are ashamed of them.

[genie_weenie]

19. In order to maintain support.

It's been a masterful job. Many here on the DU think that BushCo has fumbled Iraq and that the War has been a miserable failure.

Just so everyone knows the DU is wrong. This has been Masterful. Cheny, Rummy et al clearly idnetified the American Center of Gravity, the US populace. And despite the best efforts of bloggers and the few remaining honest members of the MSM. They have neutralized the populace for over 4 years.

All it took was a cheesey powerpoint presenatation at the UN by the one respectable member of the Regime, a few speeches "We have no doubt Saddam has nuclear weapons", "we don't want the smoking gun to be a mushroom cloud" and viola! War.

Now to maintain war, you have a military which can not express dissent without fear of heavy reprisals bookended by the mantra "Hey they signed up for this". Add in purposely embedded reporters to show the war you want the public to see (in opposition to Vietnam) and heavily censor all bad images of wounded/killed Americans for 3 years and use all governmental officials and workers to shout down those advocating peace, withdrawl, redeployment rethinking of strategy as wimps, cut n' runners, cowards or traitors and the war continues.

Also don't forget that as a Evangelical Utilitarianist * can sacrifice as many Americans and Iraqis as is needed and since the need is open-ended (a brighter future, with Iraq arm-in-arm as a full fledged ally in the War on Terror) all sacrifice and loss is acceptable!

Hurray War.

[bdamomma]

17. the rest of the world can see what is exactly happening

it is only us American citizens who can not, Sanitized news alright, we are not getting the full picture of what is happening. This insane government of ours is just pure propaganda, no wonder so many people who live in other countries call us ignorant, and I am sorry to say that we are. (there are exceptions of that comment of (ignorant Americans) I made those of us who visit these progressive sites who do want the truth and the facts).

[mogster]

6. No, shield the kids

They haven't got the ability to put such images into context and may be harmed.

Let the grown ups watch dead people - they're the ones responsible for this ...

[zanne]

14. Do your kids watch the news?

I don't know many kids who do, unless they're older (teenagers). And aren't there still parental controls on television?

[mogster]

22. I don't have kids, zanne

Have a lot of experience with the kids in the family, though ;-)
I do think kids should get a picture of what's going on, but not without shielding them from terrible images.
Teenagers will mostly inform themselves and are expert in finding things on the net. We have experienced an influx of teenagers here since the DU'er Ava was on CNN, and we should receive them well. They have already dug up a lot of material.
Good on them! :-) I always trust young people, they live in this as well and it's their future being screwed up.

[Occulus]

21. When they use their kids as shields for themselves?

Fuck that.

"I have kids, and I don't want them to see it, so don't show it at all."

Fuck that.

[mogster]

23. Kids are always innocent, kgfnally

Wether they write on bombs or are killed by them.

[Occulus]

25. that's not the point

the point is, parents who say such things are really only using their own children as a shield for their own delicate sensibilities. The whole idea is that we can't possibly show the war dead "because our kids might see it."

They then use that as an excuse to make sure it isn't seen anywhere, period.

Disgusting.

edited to add: it's the whole parental responsibility thing again. Lazy parenting, to boot. Sort of like turning the channel; they don't want to do that, they want the channel to never HAVE to be turned.

[zanne]

27. Maybe if kids saw the reality of war

Maybe, just maybe, they would be revolted by the thought of war and grow up to be more level-headed
than their parents.

[prole100]

7. The PNAC Memo Laid This All Out Folks - It's a Modern Coliseum

For modern beer-swilling Christian Fundamentalists.

This time the Fundies are the lions.

An eye-for-eye you know - wink, wink

Minus the entrails of course!

[patrice]

11. Right On prole100!!

Jesus is still here and we are still killing him.

[Philosoraptor]

10. Unbelievably, there are some who get a kick out of such images.

Faces of death anyone? A very popular serious of videos. G.I.'s even swap such images and collect them as "warnography".

[Traveling_Home]

12. Made me feel guilty - I support abortion rights

But refuse to look at the pictures of aborted fetuses that a small local group parades around our local planned parenthood clinic. I also avoided them when my children were small - I was a male single parent.

What does that say about me too?? Was I wrong?

[blonndee]

13. No, just propagandized, probably.

Usually those rallies only include photos of surgical abortions, which make up a small percentage of abortion procedures. I used to have some figures on this, and the various laws about them, but I lost my bookmarks some time ago and haven't been able to find them again.

[Traveling_Home]

16. And...

"Usually those rallies only include photos of surgical abortions"...

The war pictures are blatantly made to show the most horrific scenes as are the pictures used by the anti-abortion wackos. I fail to see the difference -both situations are using horror as a political tactic for their own purposes - not as education for folks to learn from - and in my opinion do so only for their own personal political agenda.

A curse on both their houses.

Old Tom

[zanne]

15. Um...This begs the question....

Shouldn't we try to shield children from pictures like that, too, or is it just the war dead we don't want them to see?

[Traveling_Home]

18. Yes

"Shouldn't we try to shield children from pictures like that, too"

YES

Old Tom

[watercolors]

20. And let them see our dead coffin draped troops

coming home from Iraq, Wake up America!

[GoldenOldie]

24. Anyone old enough to remember the WWII newspaper pics

My siblings and I, 5-14, would view these pics of dead and injured children, concentration camp survivors along with mounds of naked dead. We wept for these children as we madeup our shoebox packages of soap, toothbrushs, candy, pencils, etc., etc. We fully understood that this why our father was away fighting for them and us.

It is foolish to hide true reality from children. Life is not a trip to the mall buying one more toy, dress, sports hat, etc., that will be used for the day and then quickly thown into the piles and piles of forgotten stuff.

This is history happening. A history that may never be learned in classroom much as WWII was and is not covered, much as Black history was and is not covered and much as US Government and the Consitution is not completely taught. Pics such as the Halocaust, the children, the total destruction of cities, towns, homes, the wounded and dying soldiers are vivid and lessons and history will never be forgotten.

[MODemocrat]

26. Indeed, supporters should be made to see the horror of war

However, it probably wouldn't change their minds. There are so many people who don't consider the people of other countries as being as important as they are.

Seeing that innocent little boy screaming for his Ma Ma, as she left the shore, and trying to get in the water so he could be with her; was too much. I've had nightmares about it. He has his Father and his brother, but he doesn't understand why his Ma Ma left without him. :cry: :cry: :cry:

Dam these wars, and the warmongers who keep them going. I was taught as a child, that if you do something evil, you will be paid back; well, it's not true, as I've found out in the last six years.

Everyone else does the suffering, not the evil instigtors!!!

:evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: :evilfrown: