Re: [ARSCLIST] Recordings of lynchings?

[John Kelcher <John.Kelcher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

Sorry about that last post - finger problems.

I have said all I wish to say on this topic.
I sees no point in continuing this discussion.

JK

>>> david_breneman@xxxxxxxxx 30/10/2007 12:18 p.m. >>>
--- John Kelcher <John.Kelcher@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

> Let's be rational about this. 

Here are two rational sets of questions based upon the issues
you raised in your posting.  The first concerns pain caused
to the family by the crime, amplified by the availability
of pictures of the crime.  If we are to use pain as a
criterion for whether an image should be banned, then where
do we draw the line?  War photographs?  Natural disaster
photographs?  Crimes aren't involved there, so is the
commission of a murder the deciding factor?  Should that
factor prevent the press from publishing crime scene
images as well?  Should every copy of Life Magazine that
showed frame blowups from the Zapruder film be confiscated?
Or is JFK exempt because he was a public figure?

The second issue you raised was a comparison with child
pornography.  This is an extremely "slippery slope" topic.
No one can deny that photographs of children engaging
in sex acts should be suppressed because their creation
victimizes the subjects.  But there are many cases where
parents get harassed by the authorities for "baby on the
bear skin rug" type of photos because some overzealous
would-be censor accuses them of trafficking in kiddie porn.
If we extend the child pornography model to photos of other
things which might be judged offensive, we risk the same kind
of overzealotry being applied to personal and institutional
archives everywhere that is now applied to child nudity.
Is the photo of the baby on the rug pornography?  Such a
picture of a friend of mine was recently published in a local
paper to commemorate his 40th birthday.  The bare buttocks
were not obscured.  Should the newspaper have been shut
down as a trafficker in kiddie porn?  Is a photo of kids
skinny dipping child pornography?  Many would probably
say so.  Suppose I have a picture my parents took of me
skinny dipping when I was a child.  It's a picture of me.
Can I be arrested for owning it?  All of these are real
legitimate issues for archivists, because the day may come
when the censor comes knocking on your door demanding
that you turn over images, texts or recordings that have
been judged Officially Offensive.


David Breneman         david_breneman@xxxxxxxxx 

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