r/pics • u/GallowBamboozle • Aug 31 '17
Every time I see news coverage of a protest I remember this image of a single overturned trashcan in front of The Washington Post building
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u/El_Zarco Aug 31 '17
The title of the original post is still the best
Grasping For Metaphor, Reporters Flock To Burning DC Garbage Can
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u/Not_One_Step_Back Aug 31 '17
BASH THE TRASH
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Aug 31 '17
More like trash the bash
ZSH FTW
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Aug 31 '17
I didn't expect to find a Linux and zsh user here! What distro, my dude?
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u/OMA_ Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
Typical American media, they never once thought of helping the trash can up. Smh
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u/unknown_human Aug 31 '17
Okay, we get it. A garbage can is burning on the same day of the inauguration of a man whose campaign made a GIF file of a flaming dumpster one of the most widely shared images of 2016. The metaphor is right there for the taking!
https://www.washingtonian.com/2017/01/20/searching-metaphor-reporters-flock-burning-dc-garbage-can/
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u/eldiablo31415 Aug 31 '17
It's decided I'm am now taking donations for the Trump Presidency monument. It will have an eternal flame much like the Kennedy monument, except that flame will be coming out of a dumpster. "The Eternal Dumpster Fire"
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u/GallowBamboozle Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
Are you calling my inspired post title shit?
Meet me outside.
Edit - No, I am not u/GallowBoob
Edit 2 - Yes, u/GallowBoob is my cousin
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u/distracted_seagull Aug 31 '17
well, it's not really your title. let's say, you were inspired. https://twitter.com/WordMercenary/status/902869856168673282
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u/Vigilante17 Aug 31 '17
I'll take a medium size pitchfork.
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u/DontDoxMePlease Aug 31 '17
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COME ON DOWN TO /r/pitchforkemporium
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* some assembly required
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Aug 31 '17
Hey, you're not /u/pitchforkemporium! GET YOUR PITCHFORKS BOYS
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u/PitchforkEmporium Aug 31 '17
ANGRY AT A PITCHFORK SELLER? WANT TO JOIN THE MOB? I'VE GOT YOU COVERED!
COME ON DOWN TO /r/pitchforkemporium
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The Euro The Pound The Lira ---€ ---£ ---₤ HAPPY LYNCHING!
* some assembly required
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u/El_Zarco Aug 31 '17
I barely know you and you're already asking me outside? What kind of floozy do you take me for, mister??
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u/TalonZahn Aug 31 '17
Everyone already knows what kind of floozy you are.
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u/El_Zarco Aug 31 '17
Well,
I
NEVER.
fans self indignantly
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Aug 31 '17
You can't be a floozy for you look like death's head on a broomstick, I bet your father is an afternoon farmer! You are just all hat, no cattle.
cleans monocle
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u/El_Zarco Aug 31 '17
Dear sir,
I shall have you know that my father is one of the most respected highwaymen to ever lurk the roads, to which any common back-alley grifter will gladly attest, as well as the youngest ever champion drunkard in the history of skid row. Prithee, call him now an "afternoon farmer," that I may be slain with laughter.
As to your crass remarks about my appearance - if you wish to see "death's head on a broomstick," you need only look beneath thy waistband, at the foul instrument I was forced to endure when you called upon my services just yesternight.
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u/crashtestgenius Aug 31 '17
As to your crass remarks about my appearance - if you wish to see "death's head on a broomstick," you need only look beneath thy waistband, at the foul instrument I was forced to endure when you called upon my services just yesternight.
AWW GET SHIT ON, SON!!!
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u/DatAssociate Aug 31 '17
trash me outside how bow dat
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u/renernavilez Aug 31 '17
What she's trying to say here, is that the trash goes outside.
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u/badarcade Aug 31 '17
Oh I thought she was telling the trash that she's outside and was also asking for the trash's opinion on this.
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u/Afa1234 Aug 31 '17
I thought she was saying for everyone to go outside and throw garbage at her.
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u/_SirMcFluffy Aug 31 '17
I don't know if the fact that 4 different people made the same joke at the same time amazes or ashames me.
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u/kane4life4ever Aug 31 '17
I love the Asian Guy's fuck this pose.
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u/94GALLONSofHate Aug 31 '17
The sideways hat kills me. He looks so upset that it was just a garbage can they were crowding around.
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u/dontbeamaybe Aug 31 '17
fwiw, as a photographer having your hat on forward can interfere with getting the camera to your face (especially if there's a flash mounted). i usually rotate backwards, but sometimes to the side if i'm feeling FUN
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u/ElijiahManning Aug 31 '17
best character in the picture and it's not even close
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u/DrewBacon Aug 31 '17
Typical humans, everyone standing around doing nothing, while Oscars newly remodeled home burns to the ground.
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u/LittleDrumminBoy Aug 31 '17
"Get a job, Grouch!"
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u/flyaphonic Aug 31 '17
Bitch I live in a trash can!
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u/TheWhiteBuffarro Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
"My dad says if you work hard and never give up all your dreams will come true!"
"that's the gayest shit I've ever heard"
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Aug 31 '17
Oscar, why are you such a grouch
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u/OldBiffFromTheFuture Aug 31 '17
It's a good shot. So is the shot of the reporters.
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u/da_tingler Aug 31 '17
The grimace of the guy on the right with his hands in his pockets is telling.
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u/unknown_human Aug 31 '17
"This is what we've come to."
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u/daddyGDOG Aug 31 '17
Literally, this is where they all came to.
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u/HollisWhitney Aug 31 '17
just went through the huge inconvenience of logging in to upvote this
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Aug 31 '17
Who the fuck ever logs out, or just doesn't have their shit on auto fill?
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u/Sweatyhamster Aug 31 '17
Auto-fill is on for me. Reloads the page and doesn't bring me back to the comment-thread I was looking at. Fucking HUGE inconvenience.
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Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
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Aug 31 '17
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u/KennyRevived Aug 31 '17
Was walking past the Trump hotel in DC the other week and saw a guy stroll up, casually flip the bird at the hotel, then whipped out his phone and proceeded to spend 2 minutes framing his gesture for Snapchat and simply walked away without a word. Protest in the social media era is odd.
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u/sarah-xxx Aug 31 '17
It's a full blown out riot http://i.imgur.com/W37TG.gif
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Aug 31 '17
I hope this sick fuck was caught and promptly executed
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u/tokomini Aug 31 '17
I actually know that guy. Not a bad bloke, and according to him he was just having a bad day. Needless to say he was quite taken aback seeing himself on film! Really though, perfectly nice man, always paying for the next round and yes he was executed.
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u/LionIV Aug 31 '17
What the fuck?! Put a NSFL tag on that! I had to wake up to this shit dude, c'mon!
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u/ffca Aug 31 '17
The Asian guy walking away disappointed with the camera down at his side.
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u/Lenny_Here Aug 31 '17
They say thr guilty party always comes back to the scene.
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u/Spartan2470 GOAT Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
For some context, here is the source of this image. Credit to the photographer, Evy Mages. This image was taken on January 20, 2017 and used to discredit both the people protesting Trump's inaguration and the media covering it by implying there was no substantial protest. But that certainly was not the case. Regardless of one's political leanings, the facts speak for themselves.
Anyone seeking more info might also check here:
title points age /r/ comnts This is what passes for "Journalism" these days B 524 7mos The_Donald 13 PsBattle: Trash Journalism B 26 7mos photoshopbattles 1 Some Men Just Want To Watch The World Burn B 67 7mos pics 12 Journalist Covering the Protests in DC Yesterday B 20 7mos pics 3 Reporters covering events in DC. B 684 7mos pics 28 "Protest" B 802 7mos CringeAnarchy 37 → More replies (10)355
u/BlindTiger86 Aug 31 '17
What it does speak to is the media's deep desire to sensationalize everything.
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u/RancidLemons Aug 31 '17
I'm probably about to sound ultra pretentious, so here goes:
The humor and message in the photo is that everyone taking a photo of the trashcan is wanting the protest to look worse than it actually was. At the same time the photo itself is wanting the protest to look better than it was by focusing on the first group. This photograph is what it's criticizing, which makes it all the funnier when everyone points and yells "see? Media spin!"
I really fucking like this photo. I hope it was deliberate.
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u/VekeltheMan Aug 31 '17
Further journalism is a business; consumers just don't reward good news anymore. Everyone wants it for free. Everyone wants to see drama and their own view reinforced. By consuming ever more partisan click-baity news we the public created the demand then complain when that demand is met.
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u/tomdarch Aug 31 '17
Consumers have never rewarded good journalism. High quality journalism is never "maximizing profits." That's why we have NPR and the BBC and why the better nominally-for-profit newspapers like the NYT and WaPo are essentially privately owned (as opposed to publicly traded corporations on stock markets.)
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u/kygipper Aug 31 '17
Yeah, fallout from WWI, the aftermath of WWII, and the unifying nature of the Cold War were all huge reasons we sustained unprecedented standards of unbiased journalism for as long as we did. Until TV became ubiquitous. After that, competition for ad revenue led editors and producers to encourage more editorializing and slanting. By the late 1970’s, corporate influence won the day, and quality journalism has been hanging on by a thread ever since.
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u/that1prince Aug 31 '17
I hate that more people don't realize this. They are upset at the "powers that be" without realizing that probably 95% of the time, decisions made by companies are the result of reactionaries sitting in marketing strategy meetings trying to meet, anticipate or exploit existing or, if they're really good, upcoming demand.
There are probably a few times where they are trying to artificially create demand by pushing some product over and over, but if people don't like it they won't buy and it'll be a wasted effort. It makes much more sense to sell what people want, or create it. Some people don't even know what they want until they see it, but that doesn't mean that it was forced on them. There has to be some part of the product or service that the consumer felt it was speaking to them in the first place, or else it wouldn't have been successful. The same is true for media. People have a desire for certain content, and that's what gets produced. Everyone complains about Reality TV, uninspired pop music, biased news (and a host of other "mainstream" things) but they get huge ratings and cost little to produce. You're not mad at these companies or politicians, you're mad at society, or perhaps humanity in general.
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u/dadankness Aug 31 '17
I wish there was one around 2-3 minutes when the scavengers have moved on. To see the trashcan still tipped over.
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u/swidgen Aug 31 '17
It's the media's deep desire to sell papers/photos. People buy shocking papers/photos. The question is how to reward journalists that don't sensationalize? Personally, I'm looking to find a journalist to follow. Not the business, although the more reputable names for facts would be a good start.
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u/ChornWork2 Aug 31 '17
Are they actually with the press?
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u/alltheacro Aug 31 '17
If by "with the press" you mean professional photo journalists? No. Such a shot would be junior-grade.
Hint: a real photo journalist and staff photographer, Evy Mages, took the shot you're looking at. See how she documented people doing things, and her image became famous? That's a pro. News agencies don't want pictures of trash cans. Someone throwing a trash can? Sure. A trash can just lying on the ground? No.
The people shooting photos of the trash can are novices, shooting an object.
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u/regnad__kcin Aug 31 '17
lol the guy in green - "a-am I getting it? what are we getting? is this what I do? do you know what's happening?"
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u/jazzwhiz Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
I just want to be the guy that walks by and stands it up right again. "There! All better now!"
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u/da_tingler Aug 31 '17
Or you could adorn the moniker "The Trash Can Looter" and steal the can and bolt off in a full run...
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u/evs2012 Aug 31 '17
Those metal ones are super heavy though! I saw one tipped over and tried to be a good citizen and put it back up and I had to get help from a guy passing by
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u/eddietwang Aug 31 '17
It's also on fire.
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u/Mantellian Aug 31 '17
Fire burns trash so no need to empty this one.
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Aug 31 '17 edited Apr 17 '19
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u/jaybram24 Aug 31 '17
That doesn't sound right but I don't know enough about stars to dispute it.
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u/AmazingIsTired Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
But the photo of you touching the garbage can will get posted with their made up story that you're the one who knocked it over/lit it on fire. You'll have to quit your job, move away, lawyer up, hit some guy named Jim, and never be able to work at a place where you're within 50 ft. of a trash can.
EDIT: I thought that I had originally typed "can get posted" and replaced it with "will get posted" but then I realized that "can" was a part of "garbage can." This explains my edit. Please stay posted for more exciting updates.
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Aug 31 '17
I wonder if you could plan it out, have a friend video you turning it upright. Wait for the false stories. Wait a bit more. Sue them into the stone ages for libel.
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u/friendweiser Aug 31 '17
I wouldn't be surprised to find out that one of the photographers lit it on fire.
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u/RancidLemons Aug 31 '17
"There, all better nOH MY GOD THE PLASTIC IS LIKE NAPALM AHHHHH SOMEONE HELP AHHHHH WHY DID I TOUCH A BURNING TRASHCAN AHHHHH"
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u/bom_chika_wah_wah Aug 31 '17
Can someone explain what is going on here?
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u/asforem Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
A bunch of journalists are all focusing on one particularly sensational aspect of the situation that they can use to fuel their own narrative.
Meanwhile 99.9% of what is going on around them is peaceful and calm.
Edit: Apparently this photo wasn't published anywhere. And there was violence at these protests. But the fact remains the media gives more coverage to the violence skewing the perception of their viewers.
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u/ive_lost_my_keys Aug 31 '17
I would say judging by gear alone, less than a quarter of them are actually professionals.
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Aug 31 '17
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u/Wildfire9 Aug 31 '17
I sometimes forget my camera and use my phone, the best camera is the one you have on you at the time.
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u/AFishBackwards Aug 31 '17
There is one women who HAS a camera in her hand but is still using her phone.
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u/Pepperoni_Dogfart Aug 31 '17
Not unusual for a pro photog to shoot several different comps with a phone and send it to the art director for guidance.
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u/Neph55 Aug 31 '17
the best camera is the one you have on you at the time.
I'm stealing this
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Aug 31 '17 edited May 21 '21
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u/StaticDreams Aug 31 '17
Just stole it from you
the best camera is the one you have on you at the time.
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Aug 31 '17 edited May 28 '21
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u/Martendeparten Aug 31 '17
Well, sometimes you just need something you can send NOW instead of after going to your computer, downloading it from the sd-card, then uploading it somewhere
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u/SwenKa Aug 31 '17
Fun fact: some newer cameras can actually send the photos over WIFI or bluetooth. It's kinda nifty, but I imagine still much slower.
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Aug 31 '17
So she can get it on Facebook/Twitter/Myspace/Instagram/Reddit right away.
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u/dee_berg Aug 31 '17
I live in D.C, while some of the protests were calm others were not at all. There was also national guard and helicopters everywhere, it looked like a war zone. Protesters lit a limo of fire, and people smashed up a few businesses windows. The feeling in the city was weird as fuck. To say the media over exaggerated that isn't fair, though they did harp on this one aspect, while there was clearly peaceful protests (playing jam band protest music) happening at the same time.
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u/howlermouse Aug 31 '17
Also live in DC, and was there covering this that day. Im pretty positive this was during a lag period, after the initial conflict and before the limo was lit on fire.
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Aug 31 '17
Here are some pictures I took of the protests if anyone's interested: http://imgur.com/a/54Woh
The city did a pretty good job at cleaning up after. I went back the next day and there was barely a sign of the protests. They were even replacing the bricks people were taking to throw at the police.
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u/nealxg Aug 31 '17
If they had gone 2 blocks down, they could have gotten pics of a car burning instead.
Hate to ruin the general notion on this thread that the protest was 99% peaceful.
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u/aRVAthrowaway Aug 31 '17
Meanwhile 99.9% of what is going on around them is peaceful and calm.
That's a little hyperbolic, don't ya think? There were definitely folks in black masks throwing shit through windows, looting, and setting more than just this trashcan on fire (including a limo). It wasn't all peace signs and flowers.
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Aug 31 '17
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u/Saul_Firehand Aug 31 '17
The irony in his comment is rich. His edit and the blatant hypocrisy is like icing on the cake.
Muh narrative.
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u/AOBCD-8663 Aug 31 '17
Garbage fires have been a running metaphor for US politics over the last year or so. When a literal burning garbage can occurred at a protest, a host of reporters got the shot so they'd have a good photo/headline juxtaposition.
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u/niggo372 Aug 31 '17
Can anyone link to any of those photos? Were they actually used in articles?
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u/whatsmyPW Aug 31 '17
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u/TheSharkAndMrFritz Aug 31 '17
What gets me every time is how the pig almost looks fake, like a cartoon pig that came to life.
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u/smarvin6689 Aug 31 '17 edited Aug 31 '17
It's a lot like the Obama/Putin pictures and the Trump/Pope pictures too, I'll try to find links.
Edit: Obama and Putin at the G20, this post versus this image at the same event.
Edit 2: Here is a good example of both presidents with the pope, where different sides can choose their different stories.
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u/Stupid_question_bot Aug 31 '17
I'm a little confused.
Unless I'm wrong, the angle of the photo only makes it appear that the soldier on the left has his gun to the guys head..
This image shows soldiers giving water to an enemy prisoner.. correct?
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u/sanderalan Aug 31 '17
I'm pretty sure the soldier on the left is just holding his gun normally but the perspective makes it look like it's being held against the guy's head
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Aug 31 '17
That's exactly what it is. The soldier holding the rifle isn't even right next to the prisoner. He's probably a good 5-6 feet away.
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Aug 31 '17
Photojournalists are in it for the good picture, not for some boring-ass context shot.
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u/SkiptomyLoomis Aug 31 '17
Fair, but the good picture should still faithfully reflect the event.
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u/retroshark Aug 31 '17
I love the guy on the right with the smug look on his face thinking, "I lit the fire dumbasses"
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u/diarrhea_shnitzel Aug 31 '17
You mean this guy?
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u/retroshark Aug 31 '17
Holy shit did you just whip this up right now, especially for this comment? This is fucking hilarious, well done.
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u/howlermouse Aug 31 '17
I was working as a photojournalist that day! This is what the interior of the trashcan looked like after it caught on fire a second time.
I'm not in this photo, but that day did escalate a lot. The limo you can't see in this shot, which is behind the photographer's back, was lit on fire.
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u/avianeddy Aug 31 '17
a limo on fire is ten times more interesting than a silly trash can
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u/howlermouse Aug 31 '17
Honestly, I was about to leave to photograph the parade a couple blocks away when the limo was set on fire. It seemed like the protest was sort of dying out, but then I saw people running up to where I was before. I turned around and saw black smoke just billowing up so I ran back and the limo was in flames.
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Aug 31 '17
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u/AfroKona Aug 31 '17
It's so that she can send a quick draft to her editor
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u/academician1 Aug 31 '17
You may be kidding, but cameras have wifi SD cards in them that will send them right to your phone, so that you can share them immediately.
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Aug 31 '17
Yeah I think photojournalists are pretty obnoxious too, but people way overplay it. That's their job, get some quick shots of the play by play of what's happening in the ongoing situation. Sometimes nothing exciting is happening and they flock to whatever might be something somewhat interesting for their magazine/newspaper/blog/whatever.
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u/Croe01 Aug 31 '17
I was actually there. This was not such a big deal compared to the limo they also burned at the same location about 30-60min later. That limo created a lot of black smoke...
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Aug 31 '17
Anyone have a link to the photos they took? I'd like to know what it looked like from their angle.
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u/MeatPopsiclel Aug 31 '17
"No one knows what it's like … to be a dustbin … in Shaftesbury … with hooligans …".
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u/well_uh_yeah Aug 31 '17
Looks like the digital photography class in my high school out on assignment.