What do you think? ---Opinions requested, please.

[Mira]

A while back, in GD, I posted photos of drawings of children in Gaza.
I posted them with no editorial comment, and they spoke for themselves.

A disrupter came in and soon it became a fight over Israeli/Palestine issues, and then the post was locked.

I posted a photo yesterday, I was inspired by President Carter's visit to Gaza, and he said he found it just like it was hit yesterday, which means it looks just like the photos I have.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x5859820

In that thread, last night, I made some promises about posting the photos that I think are unbelievably rare since Gaza is locked tight, not being allowed to re-construct, and no reporters can show them, heck, they are not there to take any.
I feel it's such a shame to just have them - and nobody gets to see them.

I went to the Israel/Palestine forum on DU. They have special rules for just that forum: No Photos.

My question to you is:
Since this is the photo forum, can't I show you some photos?

I'd really like to post a few, for a while. I don't even plan to mention where they were taken, we'll know, I'll just say that I'm sharing photos I did not take.

Here we are visiting with a little girl seemingly utterly unattended, playing with styrofoam.

[mth44sc]

1. Why you should have to tap dance

around posting pictures of the conditions in Gaza is beyond me... It does not matter really whether one considers the cause was a result of foreign intervention or a self inflicted wound or a combination thereof - the end result is the same. The conditions ther are what they are.

I say post away. I certainly am intersted in seeing them...

[Mira]

2. Here is why I tapdance... I don't want to get tombstoned. I treasure DU - and

I have lots of guts. But I don't want to hurt myself by getting kicked out of here.

I like your "yes" vote.

M

[mth44sc]

3. If you would get tombstoned

for posting those pics then DU will have lost two of us...

[Mira]

5. At this point, I feel like it would take Skinner and EarlG. to stop me.... :) thank you

for such powerful and serious support.
I'll wait for a few others to weigh in, after all, I'm the queen of polls for this week, but I think we photographers can handle this within ourselves.

:fistbump:

[dbmk]

9. "..the end result is the same."

Precisely. The pictures do not lay blame. They display a result.

One should of course always apply the same critical thinking one would apply when reading a news story in print.

But we should certainly be able to post more than pictures of pets and plants in this part of forum.

[CC]

4. Post the pics here and we in the group will

remember that this is the nicest place on DU and keep any strong opinions one way or the other out of here. We will remember this is the photo-group. A brief explanation like you had on the other one is all that is needed to set the scene. Any disruptors that come in here can be alerted on and ignored.

The photos matter and if they are like the 3 I have seen so far well worth looking at and being out there for people to see.


Now I have to go shoot a cat. (give him his insulin shot.)

[Mira]

7. You make wonderful sense. It is all about photos, and that is why we are here.

Thanks. We can "defend" it easily, as well we should.
When I get this rolling, one thing is certain, it won't be anti-climactic, and I will stop after about 10 posts of 5 each, or so.
I don't want to overwhelm, and that's as much as I myself might be able to deal with.

[WannaJumpMyScooter]

6. I/P is not really part of DU

nor is the gungeon

they are just there to keep the nuts away from other places

[ConsAreLiars]

8. There is no prohibition on posting photos from any location.

They are one way we learn about our world. Those you have posted from Gaza, the ones I've seen, are good examples of that.

Unless some mod happens to go nuts I don't see any reason they would be moved to I/P any more than photos of Latin America would get moved to that sub-forum. On the other hand, if some zealot comes into a thread here and tries to start a fight, we'll alert on that poster rather than taking the bait. It would be the same response if a photo of a homeless person was posted and some asshole came into the thread and started the "he deserves it" or "get a job" crap.

[BrightKnight]

10. I have never accepted the idea that this photography group should be apolitical.

DU is a political forum. I do no limit my politics to a single issue but I am most interested in environmental issues. It is no accident that I post mostly landscapes.

I could see a moderator moving your post to a different forum if the discussion gets too heated. I can't imagine anyone being tombstoned over a picture of a child. I would not participate in a forum that would do that.

If you want a purely political discussion of the images other DU groups might be a better fit.

[tekisui]

11. I think this is the perfect place for them.

The Photo group is mature enough, IMO, to view the images with starting a flame war. I really dislike the photo ban in I/P, as well as the I/P censorship in general.

I think you have found the perfect solution. Although, fewer will see them here.

[BrightKnight]

13. An image ban in I/P is asinine! Visual communication and text can

both be moderated. It might take more effort to find visually literate moderators. There are a lot of people here that understand images and can discuss them intelligently.

[Celebration]

12. Keep posting pictures like this

Somewhere. Because they should be seen.

I'm sure it's fine in General Discussion unless the disruptors take over. Then, they'll lock it, or whatever. All that is out of your control. But at least people will see the pictures.

Why no pictures in the IP group? I haven't even set my little toe in that group!

Not so in the 911 forum. Lots of pictures there with circles and arrows and things I can't see.