I clicked Simon's photo as a favorite before the horrible events in Connecticut on Friday. I posted it above without even thinking. Now, I believe it demands some commentary. However, I don't know exactly what to say.
The shooting is so unspeakably horrible and unbearable, that perhaps the irony of Simon's photo can speak for itself. Nevertheless, let me observe that the image captures what passes for innocent child's play. But, underlying the innocence is this disturbing sense, that as a society and a culture, we all bear responsibility in some measure for the shootings.
I mean to say, if this image on its face said "child's play" perhaps the message is that we need to revise our sense of what's innocent and what's acceptable. It seems to me that we here in the US have been sinking into depravity for quite some time now and that maybe this should be a wake-up call to amend our ways. Perhaps I shouldn't -- perhaps none of us should -- view this image as being innocent. Is this what we should be teaching our kids?
Anyway, I don't mean to spark a debate here -- it really doesn't belong in this thread. But Simon's image is provocative in ways he couldn't anticipated on the day he posted it. It is quite powerful by itself, but more so in this new and unfortunate context.
