Theres a photograph doing the rounds on Facebook right now showing what is presumably a young Palestinian girl in Gaza with the back of her head missing. Shes being held by her screaming father in a hospital or clinic somewhere. Its a gruesome picture. To the degree I cant even bring myself to share it with you. In fact I cant even bring myself to accept it at face value. It looks Photoshopped to me. But heres the question: am I really questioning the authenticity of this horrific image because I cant bring myself to accept the reality it purports to reveal? Because its one thing to understand on an intellectual level that people including children are suffering horribly in this conflict but quite another to see a child with a hollow cavity where her brain rightfully should be. I know for a fact that both sides are working overtime to spin the ongoing horror to their best advantage and that I need to exercise judgment before accepting any partisan interpretation at face value. So Im walking a very fine line between rejecting overt manipulation and fearing my own tendency towards denial of what it without question a terrifying state of affairs on the ground. The sense that human suffering is being leveraged for political advantage which still doesnt make it any less genuine or heartbreaking. Above all I just feel helpless and diminished by the behavior of these compulsive brawlers with their relentless tit for tat cruelties. At this point do the protagonists even remember what theyre fighting over or for? Does it even matter to them? I completely understand why so many of us are despairing of making any sense of this at all and respond by turning away in disgust. And I wonder at my own willingness to split hairs and assign responsibility in a judicious manner. That little girl in the hospital is beyond the power of medicine to save her regardless of whether some enterprising editor decided to tinker with her image for maximum shock effect or not. Theres a saying that truth is the first casualty of war. Id suggest the same argument could be made for sanity. And I dont really care whos to blame for any particular atrocity any more. Were all about equally tainted by the worlds willingness to acquiesce to the continued bloodletting.
Posted on: Sat, 02 Aug 2014 03:40:55 +0000
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