Several readers have written to us complaining about a photo we published recently showing a young man who had been beaten to within an inch of his life for allegedly stealing wires.
Several readers have written to us complaining about a photo we published recently showing a young man who had been beaten to within an inch of his life for allegedly stealing wires.
The readers questioned the editorial judgement of publishing such a photograph. We did not take the decision lightly because we are aware that such photos can be disturbing. Taking readers' sensitivities into account, we published the least gruesome of the two pictures available to us and we took care to make it quite small and printed it on an inside page to give it less prominence.
These measures, which were aimed at minimising the impact of the photo, did not satisfy all readers. These readers should consider the many rapes, violent assaults and murders that we report on every week with virtually no reaction from the public.
Lack of reaction can be attributed to the fact that violence has become so commonplace in our society that it barely causes anyone to raise an eyebrow. Perhaps Grahamstown residents have become numb to the horrors they regularly read about and the sudden surprise of seeing it in a photograph (which reputedly trumps a thousand words) makes people realise just how terrible such an attack can be.
Readers' complaints centred around concerns for children who might see the photograph of the victim. This is a perfectly valid concern and we would be very happy if no child was ever exposed to that type of scene. Unfortunately some children in our society witness violence on a fairly regular basis, we consider it our duty to inform our readers about what happens here in Grahamstown.
One of the most disturbing aspects of the outcry was that we did not receive a single sentence condemning the mob justice meted out against the victim portrayed in the photograph. It would appear that some people object to violence only if they have to see it.
