This is gold. I must confess, my 1st reaction was to laugh (at her, mind you).Photographer Jill Greenberg thought it would be funny to steal a lollipop off a toddler and take a photo.
She used this “art” to make a political statement, but that’s acromulent WRT this post. I'm interested in the subsequent over-reaction:
...the controversial series, entitled End Times has sparked worldwide outrage with some critics calling for Greenberg's arrest for child abuse. The photographer's website has been inundated with up to 60,000 hits a day, a studio showing her work has been slammed and thousands of abusive comments have been raging across the internet. Among the critics is San Francisco father Andrew Peterson who has called Greenberg a child abuser. "She is a sick woman who should be arrested and charged with child abuse," he said. "It seems absurd that any parent who loved their child would purposefully take the child to Greenberg's studio to then be tormented to the point of emotional outrage."
If that’s child abuse (the kids got the lollies back BTW) what do we call it when a parent puts out their cigarette butt on their child, for example? By labelling this child abuse, Greenberg’s critics are guilty of employing a Weasel Word and arguably, Moral Equivalence. Greenberg might be LAME, but that's it.
Out of interest, here's what Greenberg says was her inspiration and the point to these photos (I love unintentional irony):
Greenberg, 39, said her inspiration was a boy called Liam who would not stop crying during a photo shoot. "It reminded me of helplessness and anger I feel about our current political and social situation," she said.
So, because things didn't go your way in the last two US elections you feel like a helpless child who has had her lolly stolen… You admit you're an adult cry baby?
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Tags: Skeptic, Fallacy, Weasel Words, Jill Greenberg.
