Sunday, July 20, 2014

The Coliseum Revisted


Andrew Burton/Getty Images (via)

I wonder if this photo will someday end up in Mark Kologi's found photo garage? Some yungun will pick it up and wonder what outdoor show or fireworks display from decades past these relaxed vacationers were preparing to watch. They'll remember how much fun they had in their own youth celebrating with their families or neighborhood friends before the responsibilities of adulthood finally hit home. They'll bask in the temporary glow provided by warm childhood memories...

And then some grizzled old timer like myself will walk up and sadly inform him or her that those are not vacationers, those are not fireworks, and that those nice people came to view and cheer on the death and dismemberment of children and families, came to celebrate the hatred and carnage that one group of people can bestow upon another.

2 comments:

John Edwin Mason said...

It's a hell of a photo, Stan. What's the phrase? Terrible beauty.

As you know, I've been thinking about what photos from this war -- this brutal one-sided beat-down of a largely defenseless people -- are likely to become iconic.

I don't think it will be this one, not for most westerners, at least. It doesn't send a message that we want to hear.

Because it's not just about Israelis. Those people are us, as our governments either do nothing or actively aid in the destruction of Gaza.

Stan B. said...

Yeah, and how many of us here can actually make that most simple of connections...