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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

That taking a picture of someone who is injured and distressed

29 replies

Sassybeast · 06/05/2010 13:40

And then using it on national news headlines is SICK ? Just seen some news headlines flash up - think it was CH4 or CH5 and there was a picture of the clearly injured and clearly distressed leader of the UKIP still trying to get out of the wreckage of the plane which crashed. What sort of person instinctively reaches for a camera, rather than reaching out to help another human being in distress ?

OP posts:

MPuppykin · 06/05/2010 13:51

Yes, I agree. People will talk about 'public interest' and to a point maybe... but to stand by and take photos when help could instead be offered.... it is a little

wukter · 06/05/2010 13:54

I agree.

GypsyMoth · 06/05/2010 13:54

this happened to me once when i was serving in the police....at london marathon. i was helping a man who had been running and become ill,radios were one between two so i didnt have one,i couldnt attract anyones attention to help me or the man...but i kid you not....people were taking photos!!!!

i got st john ambulance attention eventually,but no member of the public assisted with that either

blinkinblimey · 06/05/2010 13:59

Yanbu- people can be insensitive. I would hate someone taking pictures of me like this!

Fluffyone · 06/05/2010 14:00

The worst photo today is of that poor lady who worked in the bank in Cyprus laying dead on the balcony.

Original poster

Sassybeast · 06/05/2010 14:09

I don't think we can get away from the fact that we live in a society where death and tradgedy are on our screens every single day - I think that's actually a separate issue - this picture was obviously taken seconds or minutes after the impact and the fact that rather than reach out to help, someones FIRST thought was to point a camera stuns me. The later aftermath of an incident - fair enough but to actually stand and watch someone struggling to escape from crask wreckage is just sick.

OP posts:

scanty · 06/05/2010 14:14

It does bother me, especially as the poor guy was still trying to get out of the rec and could have been much more seriously injured. I really don't need to see these upsetting images though guess sometimes it's good to shock the public to some of the injustices and nasty stuff that goes on, eg the Haiti earthquake or we might just turn away. Some other parts of the world are much more pragmatic about life and death and think nothing of showing close ups of dead bodies on their front pages or whatever.

Saltire · 06/05/2010 14:18

I noticed this on the BBC news website and emailed them to register my disgust

FabIsGoingToGetFit · 06/05/2010 14:24

I saw the photo and thought it was a huge invasion of privacy. What kind of person thinks to take a photo of someone in that position?

PortBlacksandVoter · 06/05/2010 14:25

Couldn't agree more

I started this thread earlier. Tis terrible esp as someone had said on the news he wasn't trying to get out but was in fact, unconcious...

paisleyleaf · 06/05/2010 14:27

I know, I've thought about this too.
I live not far from the popular suicide spot Beachy Head. A long time ago (I was doing a paper round at the time) there was a photo on the front of some of the papers that someone had taken of someone just at that moment they'd jumped from the cliff edge.
This was before camera phones etc and we all got used to taking loads of pictures all the time.
You wonder how someone's first reaction would be to reach for their camera. The person who took that picture said they did it without thinking.
Photo journalists you can imagine, but joe public?

Original poster

Sassybeast · 06/05/2010 14:38

Oops - sorry to duplicate Port - the pic that i saw showed him very clearly trying to get out - he had his arms outstretched and there was someone climbing towards him to help.

OP posts:

PortBlacksandVoter · 06/05/2010 15:37

Not at all! I was just trying to show that i'd thought it too.

And on your point - i do think it's strange when the first thing a passer by thinks of is to take a shot of it.

Yes i thought he looked as if he was trying to get out too in the pic.

Rebeccaruby · 06/05/2010 20:19

But this was a publicity stunt for UKIP.He was flying a plane with a streaming message behind, and he got the "tail" caught in the engine as I understand it. He had invited the legions of photographers, presumably..

I don't recall the footballer (not sure who)who was writhing in agony with a compound fracture to his leg complaining about being filmed; it goes with the territory. Nor do I remember Richard Hammond moaning about his crash being filmed. Publicity stunt, you get filmed. Goes wrong,you get filmed. Sorry.

OrmRenewed · 06/05/2010 20:21

It's horrible. Have no time for the man's politics but it's still horrible.

WingedVictory · 06/05/2010 23:35

I found myself thinking of the Princess of Wales. No-one would have shown pictures of her in her wreck, although I'm sure there were some...

I was rather shocked about the Farage picture.

Sn0wflake · 07/05/2010 08:36

YANBU

Shiregirl · 07/05/2010 08:58

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

ScreaminEagle · 07/05/2010 09:41

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Southwestwhippet · 07/05/2010 09:46

There is currently a horrid video on youtube showing Oliver Townend (international three day eventer) taking an awful fall at the Kentucky where the horse lands on his head.

Oli was knocked out and broke a lot of bones. He was lucky to survive. The video is clearly taken by a spectator, she zooms in on his unconcious face and stays there for a good 5 minutes. You can hear her, and her friend discussing it

"He's not moving" "he's not breathing" etc. At that point, no-one except the paramedic team knew if he was alive or dead

Why anyone would think it appropriate to film a close-up of anyone in such a vulnerable postion for minutes at a time is beyond me... and then to post it on the internet. People are gore obsessed, it seems to cloud their common judgment sometimes I think.

JamesAndTheGiantBanana · 07/05/2010 09:55

Agreed, it's ghoulish. Plus one of the papers seemed to be almost taking the piss out of him in the headline, saying that he kept saying "I'm scared, I'm scared, I'm scared"

Anyone would be scared after being in a plane crash fgs.

BalsamicJam · 07/05/2010 09:55

YANBU

Cretaceous · 07/05/2010 10:00

Two issues - taking the photo (ghoulish) and publishing it (outrageous). Also the jocular way it was presented on the news - much as I hate UKIP, it wasn't an amusing news item. And what about the pilot, who was more seriously injured?

YANBU.

WingedVictory · 07/05/2010 10:05

It happened yesterday, so people hadn't even got the excuse of a sleepless night for their bad judgement and giddy reactions.

grapeandlemon · 07/05/2010 10:07

On the matthew right this morning they called it an "act of God" and laughed about it - really sick, no matter the man's politics, where is the humanity in that?

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