Simply the best analysis of news and of our nation's original sin--racism--that I have read in a very long time. I had begun to despair that this type of writing and thinking existed anymore, even in the content of the New York Times. Thank you, Teju Cole.
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So, brutal images are only relevant if they end up changing political policies, and since most of them don't they're trite and meaningless? Do I have that right? Because that argument strikes me as asinine and absurd as that quote by Susan Sontag.
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Excellent article, Teju Cole. I've been wondering how Trump supporters react to seeing images such as that of Oscar and Valeria Ramirez and also the scenes at the border concentration camps. As you observed about the Times commenters, and as I have observed on Twitter, Trump supporters tend to blame the victims and view themselves inculpable. It seems too difficult for them to connect the dots between their racism and xenophobia and the bodies floating face down in the Rio Grande. And in their minds since they have already dehumanized the migrants perhaps they can shrug and convince themselves that it's really not their concern and even pity is unnecessary.
Thanks for providing the historical details and context. That part is often missing from the Breaking News stories.
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