Morticians prep for 40,000 bodies

[KG4HPN]

I hate to say, this may not be an unreasonable assumption, however. I saw many nauseating photos of corpses lined up along the beaches in Indonesia after the tsunami.

Of course, those weren't Americans and it wasn't the American government who could make the decision to prevent those images from being shown. But I think it's pretty clear that a lack of photos of the dead in this case doesn't have anything to do with a desire to respect the dead on the part of our media. It could mean our government has imposed on the media a requirement to be sensitive, but it also could be another example of our government wanting to protect us from ourselves (They don't really need to see the whole horror of this, it will just upset them, poor things). There's really just no way to know, is there?

[stormie_skies]

While I understand the need for sensitivity to the wishes of surviving family members, I don't think its right to refuse the media the right to cover this situation completely (as gruesome as it may be). What pictures I have seen involving the deceased have been as respectful as possible, with any identifying features blurred or left out to avoid shocking and hurting family and friends.

mf_dolphin, I gotta disagree with you on both of your points here. First of all, YES, pictures of dead bodies ARE required to cover the news properly, at least in this case. Most current discussions pertaining directly to the disaster (and not the response to it) concern either the growing number of confirmed casualties, the recovery and identification of bodies or the unsanitary conditions in the city (due, in significant part, to dead bodies). The deceased are unquestionably a part of the story here, and it seems silly to me to expect the media to ignore that, or to try to "protect" the rest of us from that.

Secondly, you talk about the media showing "common decency" - I would argue that there is nothing "common" or "decent" about what we are witnessing along the Gulf Coast. We are witnessing a human tragedy of untold proportions, and sometimes we need to see for ourselves just how horrible, how heartbreaking, how nauseating something really is, because those strong images and strong feelings are what sends us into action - to help those who are hurting now, and to prevent others from being hurt the same way in the future.

May I ask... did you think it was wrong for the media to release the pictures of people jumping from the WTC after 9/11?

[zoeyann]

As someone who holds a degree in journalism and being from southeast Louisiana I am takeing the stance that this is not so much censorship as much as it is forced respect. First of all even though they showed the deceased after the tsunami the chances of someone regonizing a friend or relative laying amoung corpses was remote. I know people in New Orleans and do not want to find out their whereabouts by seeing their bodies on TV. Not to mention the evacuees who were taken out of the city already know how bad it was they do not need a visuale reminder espeacially if they had to leave a loved one's body behind. Everyone already knows how bad the situation is, and putting those types of images will do nothing to enhance the story. I think most responsible journalist would realize this.

Having said that I realize the comcern will be will the government tell us the truth about the human toll this disater has taken. I believe they will have to. It has already been very publicized and it would be almost impossible to down play this disaster.

[RichG]

The drudgereport article in now way confirms a "censorship operation" . Censorship would be the government in the newsroom preventing the broadcast of the dead. A good journalist, if they wish, could simply obtain a boat and if they were hell bent on taking pictures of bodies would be able to do so and would also be able to broadcast. I think a request from fema asking for the media not to take whatever dignity is left from these poor people is not censorship. Again before we see conspiracies lets do some critical thinking. Besides, we all know that most likely thousands have died where is the conspiracy? There is nothing to hide except the dignity. Thank you.

[mf_dolphin]

While I understand the need for sensitivity to the wishes of surviving family members, I don't think its right to refuse the media the right to cover this situation completely (as gruesome as it may be). What pictures I have seen involving the deceased have been as respectful as possible, with any identifying features blurred or left out to avoid shocking and hurting family and friends.

While you say "be sensitive" you want these pictures shown. Unbelievable! The media wants to show the pictures because they are sensational pure and simple. If they can't tell the story without showing the body itself they should be in journalism to begin with.

mf_dolphin, I gotta disagree with you on both of your points here. First of all, YES, pictures of dead bodies ARE required to cover the news properly, at least in this case.

Respectfully, BS!

Most current discussions pertaining directly to the disaster (and not the response to it) concern either the growing number of confirmed casualties, the recovery and identification of bodies or the unsanitary conditions in the city (due, in significant part, to dead bodies). The deceased are unquestionably a part of the story here, and it seems silly to me to expect the media to ignore that, or to try to "protect" the rest of us from that.

What requires the picture of the body itself to tell the story? Absolutely nothing. The pictures are just shock value and contribute nothing more.

Secondly, you talk about the media showing "common decency" - I would argue that there is nothing "common" or "decent" about what we are witnessing along the Gulf Coast. We are witnessing a human tragedy of untold proportions, and sometimes we need to see for ourselves just how horrible, how heartbreaking, how nauseating something really is, because those strong images and strong feelings are what sends us into action - to help those who are hurting now, and to prevent others from being hurt the same way in the future.

Again as is typical for you you twist my words. I spoke of the media showing common decency in reporting the story. You go off on a tangent about the situation not being common or decent.

May I ask... did you think it was wrong for the media to release the pictures of people jumping from the WTC after 9/11?

The inital pictures were carried live so that was unavoidable. The constant replaying of them was unnecessary IMO.

[aumoore]

Guess you did not watch Good Morning American this morning. They actually paned across the water and then Zoomed in on a man floating face down in the water.

[GalvestonDuck]

Guess you did not watch Good Morning American this morning. They actually paned across the water and then Zoomed in on a man floating face down in the water.

I saw that too. Not to mention they still show the clip of the woman in the wheelchair.

[LAwxrgal]

Well, on the subject of showing the bodies of the dead, maybe some of their relatives are searching for them? I would approve of their bodies being shown only if it's in the case of identifying the bodies. For any other purpose, I would think it would be an insult to the dignity of the families.

[Pebbles]

Yesterday they showed a picture of a man who had obviously drowned in the water for a few days and then pulled onto dry land and left there. Not a sight I wish to see again. I'm sorry, I know there are going to be allot of deaths and the number will be shared. But I don't actually wanna see it on TV.

I won't lie, I am interested in those numbers. I mean one part of me doesn't want to know, but the other part keeps wondering what it is. Its morbid! And keep doing self analysis on why I feel this need to know how many have died all the while knowing it will break my heart and make me cry while on my knees praying for those poor souls. All I can think is it's cause they will reinvorce in my own mind how devistating this is. I know I am not alone in this. I have yet to hear one person honestly state they don't want to know (know this isn't phrased right, i mean they kinda don't want to know it but they will find out somehow, i think most of you know what i mean) and won't listen to the death toll. Why are we like this?

[mf_dolphin]

Well, on the subject of showing the bodies of the dead, maybe some of their relatives are searching for them? I would approve of their bodies being shown only if it's in the case of identifying the bodies. For any other purpose, I would think it would be an insult to the dignity of the families.

That duty will fall to the morticians who examine and attempt to identify the remains.

[stormie_skies]

mf_dolphin, I wasn't trying to twist your words. It just seems we come from two different schools of thought on this issue (among others ): you think the pictures have no purpose, I think they have an important purpose.

What I was trying to say when I said that this tragedy was neither common nor decent (as clearly I didn't say it well the first time) was basically that desperate times call for desperate measures - and sometimes, when things are THIS BAD, shock is something we SHOULD feel, and something media reports SHOULD evoke.

Think of the images throughout history that have moved people to outrage and action: emaciated Jews in concentration camps, bloodied black victims of lynch mobs hanging from trees, the horrible injuries sustained by those who survived in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. There are good recent examples, too : I am sure you remember the video of the contractors bodies, decapitated and unrecognizable, being dragged around by a mob in Iraq. I know I won't forget it. Nor will I forget the pictures from Abu Ghraib. Or, as I mentioned before, the bodies falling from the WTC on 9/11.

None of these images are pleasant to look at. Most of them could be construed as "disrespectful" or "indecent." And all of those images were - and are - shocking. But had they never been published, we might never have fully realized the gravity of the situations that created those images - and, as a result, we might never have gotten angry enough to take action against these things.

I agree with you that the media plays things for shock value sometimes. But sometimes, we really need to be shocked. I think this is one of those times. JMHO.



That said, I think the media has a responsibility to keep identifying features out of their pictures. No family should have to find out that their loved one has passed on CNN. Its a fine line to walk....but the media I have seen so far has done a fairly good job of walking it.

[zoeyann]

Well, on the subject of showing the bodies of the dead, maybe some of their relatives are searching for them? I would approve of their bodies being shown only if it's in the case of identifying the bodies. For any other purpose, I would think it would be an insult to the dignity of the families

I saw a report this morning saying that they were going to try to use the same methods of indentification as they did in 9-11. They discussed dental and medical records and DNA comparison. Hopefully they can identify people without family members seeing their loved ones in that condition.

[charley]

On another tangent here........... I want to know why NO ONE did anything to stop those little girls from being raped! Where were the parents? And those who witnessed the attacks did nothing to stop the men? WHY??? How could ANYONE listen to a little girl screaming/crying and/or see her being raped repeatedly and not TRY to help her? This sickens me. It really does. What a horrible death for a child.... I hope those who heard/saw the crime and did nothing about it are haunted by their memories. And I hope the men who attacked those children die slow, painful, suffering deaths. They deserve it.

[artist]

stormie skies - I don't know of too many of us that aren't already facing the shock and horror of it all. I know I don't need pictures of those that have passed to realize it. Unfortunately there probably are those that need to see it to believe it - but the dignant thing to do is spare those families that have lost love ones from seeing it all over the papers. They have already seen enough horror to last a life time.

[Mattie]

I think repeat playing over and over is rediculous. However, LaWxGal - you tell about complacency in the area for upcoming storms. My parents are the same way - I would have had to forcibly drag tem away kicking and screaming in straight jackets. IF Katrina had come in as projected, I would be looking at dead family members or the possibility thereof.

Shock value?? Maybe - for the rest of the nation

Reality check?? Absolutely - for the people that didn't evacuate, are still holing up in houses where they believe water will recede and life will return to normal very shortly. I think public broadcast announcements should be aired over the raido

Reality check?? Abosolutely - for those in other coastal communities that abide by "it ain't coming here".

Sometimes the only warning/wake up call is to SEE it. Hearing they found only 57, 80, 97 etc. bodies does not represent the great tragedy that is about to unfold as these bodies are found and recovered.

I'm not saying 24/7 coverage of the grusome task of picking up the bodies, but a well thought out media coverage, tasteful (as tasteful can be in these situations) and with the very purpose in mind to bring the danger of a hurricane up front and personal to those people who "poo poo" the potential damage.

I still shake my head as they people watch what is happening out their front door and still refuse to leave!! What IS up with that?? Do they have a criminal past that they are afraid will eventually catch up with them? Are they so terrified that they won't have support and assistance when they leave their homes?? The reverse can be true - show them the evidence that everything is ok somewhere else. However - at this particular juncture - these people that remain do not have the luxury of a begging and pleading scenario from rescue officials. I would be afraid of the potential gas explosions, the fires, the disease potential, etc. One family yesterday said they were staying no matter what - and they had a small boy with them. Let's call child protective services and have the kids removed. They don't deserve this.

Every storm we are faced with the same woes - Why did they stay in the trailer park . . . why were they not evacuated . . . why didn't somebody make them leave.

I think we ought to use every resource we have to alert anyone in the US the hazards and dangers of mother nature. It only takes a few people who "make it" after a storm like this to convince a few others that next time they won't leave either.

[Windy]

There are some photos floating around out there. The AP had a good half dozen on the wire the other day. The saddest one I saw was a telephoto shot from a helicopter of a man on his back in his front yard, arms curled up in rigor-mortis, with his labrador faithfully laying by his side, waiting for him to wake up.

Generally, all news operations are very remiss to put bodies on the screen or the page, because it makes people want to turn the channel or put down the paper.

[jpigott]

i don't think we need to see photos of all the dead bodies, but i think a picture or two of the dead (so long as it is not gruesome) will help ensure that the "soon to forget, instant gratification, now, now, now" American culture we live in will not soon forget the tragedy that has recently transpired. I adamantly believe an exact body count needs to be released to the public as a reminder to do all we can to prevent another disaster of this type occurring on American soil ever again

[The RAT]

Mattie:
I have to agree with you. The pictures may be the wake up call some of those fools on the coast need to see to get them to get out of harms way the next time (and there WILL be a next time) a storm is coming at them.