Fifty years after the infamous “Daisy Girl” ad ran, pundits were still discussing the disturbing use of an innocent’s image to sell a politician. Back then, the ad only ran once because the outcry was universal, but now the use of innocent’s image to destroy a politician has only created an outcry among conservatives.
The Wisconsin Daily Independent article about a painting of a young girl carrying the decapitated head of Scott Walker posted on an environmentalist group’s Facebook page went viral. Owners of conservative Facebook pages, and conservative websites shared the image and their outrage. Only a handful of liberals recoiled at the sight of the beautiful little girl striking a gruesome pose, and had the nerve to question the use of the image.
In response to criticism, one member of the Facebook group wrote, “Gimme a break. Your American exceptionalism is preceded only by ignorance. This struggle is 500 years old. This image is tame, compared to the wounded knee massacre, sand creek massacre, and on and on. Breath this in. It is revolt. It is revolting. It is.”
Yet another wrote: “The picture is barbaric. Period. Consider if a Republican had posted a similar picture of a beheaded Barack Obama (currently bombing 7 Muslim nations!). You folks would be out of your minds with cries of racism, etc.!”
We shall see. Are you outraged at either or both images above?
When adults use the image a of child to promote anything other than that child they are exploiting that child. It doesn’t matter what side of the aisle they occupy – children are – or should be – sacred. Their images should be treated as such.
But the truth of the matter is that whether it is Madison Avenue trying to sell carrots or ideologues trying sell characters, using children is the cheap and easy way to get attention you crave. In a country where we don’t adequately fund our schools and sell dead babies’ tissue to researchers no one should be surprised that ideologues and advertisers are given a free pass.
We shouldn’t be surprised but we should be ashamed.
Related article: Scott Walker Decapitation Picture Sparks Select Outrage