For CNN’s Roland Martin, the national conversation on guns just won’t be complete until illustrated by photos of the child victims of Newtown, Conn. No, not the pictures the families have provided, but the ones taken at the scene of the massacre.
DON'T MISS @RolandSMartin's new column: America Should See The Newtown Carnage http://t.co/Jkhg91uQ http://t.co/76XSVda5
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) December 22, 2012
Martin makes the case in a blog post, arguing that “maybe it’s time for America to see the results of what our gun culture has wrought.”
That’s America. The land of make believe. Show us the fake stuff, but let’s retreat into a fetal position and scream, “No! No! No!” when forced to see the real thing.
When my producer sent me that text, I recoiled at even the mere mention of seeing with my own eyes the real life results of what a Bushmaster semi-automatic rifle could do to a 6-year-old body. But maybe I should see it. Maybe Wayne LaPierre of the National Rifle Association should have to answer to such a photo when he is interviewed.
Plenty of celebrities and media figures wasted no time politicizing the deaths of the children of Sandy Hook Elementary School, but as far as we know, he’s the first to suggest that photos of the crime scene are necessary to “ensure that this moment leads to a transformational movement.” That’s a bit vague, much like President Obama’s call for “meaningful action.” So, just what is required in order for gun control advocates to stop accusing others of “ignoring the violence”?
@pigwithwings @adamsbaldwin @rolandsmartin's need to fetishize violence is puzzling, since most already loathe it.
— KJ (@thekelliejane) December 23, 2012
https://twitter.com/jeffemanuel/status/282650781251936256
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/282651229434306562
https://twitter.com/LilMissRightie/status/282651387492433920
@rolandsmartin @CNN Look, I don’t mean any disrespect here. You’ve done great stuff. But pics of dead kids to further an agenda? Sick, man
— Alex P Keaton (@I_Hate_Hippies) December 23, 2012
https://twitter.com/ATLCatholic/status/282666617253552128
@francesmartel I question the psychological stability of anyone who'd need pictures to feel horror at the murder of a child. @rolandsmartin
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) December 23, 2012
@francesmartel I think it's a ghoulish suggestion. But I think watching news coverage of tragedies is ghoulish too. @rolandsmartin
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) December 23, 2012
@rolandsmartin I guess what I'm saying is that I feel sick to my stomach immediately upon hearing a child has been killed. @francesmartel
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) December 23, 2012
@rolandsmartin I really don't need any "enhancements" to deepen my sense of horror. @francesmartel
— SFK (@stephenkruiser) December 23, 2012
Is Martin being selective in his desire to use photos to ‘shake the conscience of America”?
https://twitter.com/pigwithwings/status/282654120379314176
https://twitter.com/Melvin_Udall_/status/282658429326196736
@rolandsmartin @CNN Let’s take your idea and further it. Let’s publish photos of all aborted children. Deal?
— Alex P Keaton (@I_Hate_Hippies) December 23, 2012
https://twitter.com/JasonColemann/status/282667773417635841
@JasonColemann if your issue is abortion, fine. That's not what I wrote about
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) December 23, 2012
Again we ask, just what is it that Martin hopes to achieve? Will anything less than an all-out gun ban suffice in demonstrating that Americans aren’t ignoring the issue of gun violence?
https://twitter.com/wizdom4you/status/282668034634694656
@wizdom4you my column wasn't about legislation. It was the raising of consciousness. I was very clear
— rolandsmartin (@rolandsmartin) December 23, 2012
Ah, it’s another “awareness” deal.
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