Blogs > Frye on the News

Keeping his eye on the news and offering commentaries and insights on what is happening in Oakland County, around the world, on the tube and in the news.

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Photo of impending death causes stir

One man died in one of the most horrific ways I could imagine: pushed into the path of a subway and unable to climb out to safety in time. Image the terror.

Another man took pictures.

The freelance photographer for the New York Post says he took the pictures (one of which ended up on the front of the NY Post) as a way to alert the train's conductor to the plight of the victim, using the flash to signal the driver.

Yeah, I don't quite believe that.

HOWEVER, I'm not one to argue the man should have risked his own life to save the victim. Running or jumping into the path of danger is not easy to do and it's not my place to say what someone should have done. I likely would have hesitated. I also likely would have hesitated to take a picture.

Here is an update to the case from the NYT, looking at the various ethical implications and reflections that this case has on our society.

No one helped the victim. I don't know how far away people were but some reports say the victim had about 20 seconds. I would like to think someone close enough could have reached down to grab his arm and help him up. I wasn't there though, and my guess is that no one did because no one could.

While I don't believe the photographer's excuse, I don't begrudge the photographer. Too many people nowadays like to jump on someone from afar. I'm amazed at the calls to fire people, jail them, or shoot  them by people who simply see a post of Facebook or read an online story. Yes, we all have opinions, and I share mine here sometimes. But people are too quick to condemn.

Why isn't there more outrage for the man who pushed this poor guy? That guy, I could say, should burn in hell after finishing his life in a nasty New York prison. I don't know what led him to push the victim, but my first thought is he shouldn't be, to use the popular phrase, walking the streets, or in this case, taking the subway.

Leave the photographer alone. If people really cared, the newspaper would fold for its insensitivity, but hey, it was a big story, a great photo and a true snapshot into what happened in that instance.

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