Michael Shaw has long done tremendous and valuable work analyzing and commenting on photos in the news at the
Bag News site. A few days back he looked at the most commonly published photos of Sandy Hook killer Adam Lanza in the U.S. media, almost always the same couple of "distorted" geek/freak shots. But he found a couple of others mainly used abroad or not at all. In the one at left he seems to be an average American boy and Shaw suggests that maybe it is little circulated because of that. You almost have to try to relate to him.
The photo does not show his mom's gun and rifle case in the background, however.
Shaw: "If we’re going to learn from this tragedy, especially with all the
question marks that exist surrouning mental health, distorting Lanza’s
image beyond his already thoroughly internally-distorted self is a bad
idea. Rather, it is incumbent on us to try and see him as clearly as we
can."
2 comments:
No mention in this post of cute, Skittles-eating black schoolboys... and evil "white" hispanic shooters with unfilmable broken noses....
I think I have to agree with you. Even though his act was horrific, once upon a time he was just a child struggling with mental illness. Unfortunately for all her good intentions his mother may have made the situation worse by trying to protect him and others. Sad case all around. I am not making excuses for him, lord know the families of the decesased couldn't care less, but I'm sure his father hurts too....
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