Life in the industrialized world is dangerous. We’ve built machines bigger than ourselves that have the capacity to hurt and kill us. Of course, accidents happen and tragically on January 28, an 86-year-old woman was killed after being hit by a bus in Mississauga. Although the tragedy of collision and accident should never be dishounoured or exploited (and certainly neither of those things are my
intention), I feel compelled to commend the Mississauga News for publishing this photo:

Mississauga News

For years our media has been watered down, made safe; the ugliness of real life, gore, mutilation has been swept aside, allowing us to believe that while bad things do happen, we don’t have to see them. In writing and in photography we’ve seen a continual heightening of euphemism. What constitutes as news is continually sensationalized and always beautiful. I want a return to the days when we see the physical horrors of crime and accident — isn’t that a better deterrent than packaging it up as a neat and tidy process with few consequences?

I don’t mean to sound morbid. I don’t actually desire to see the physiological effects of human suffering. But I don’t want to be coddled by contemporary media into believing that suffering is pretty. I think the most disturbing aspect of the lack of objective imagery (or the censoring of imagery that “may” offend) is that “safe” imagery so strongly and consistently contradicts the content of the accompanying article.

Weegee

So thanks, Mississauga News, for publishing a photo of an elderly woman dead in the street, with her walker crumpled above her head. I’m sure you got tons of hate mail regarding your “poor judgment”, but guess what, everyone: this shit actually happened and the image you see is an accurate visual representation of the article published. Welcome to real life (and death).

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