Graphic War Images on the Web

From Yahoo News:

In a report released Thursday, the Pew Internet and American Life Project also found a major cultural divide: Men, Democrats and younger Americans were more likely to approve of having such images on the Web.

Television, newspapers and the Web sites of mainstream media outlets generally refrained from using the most graphic images of Iraqi prisoner abuses and the killings of Nicholas Berg and other Americans in Iraq.

But photos and even video could be readily found elsewhere — at anti-war sites, Web journals, the Drudge Report and discussion boards frequented by sympathizers of terror groups.

According to the study, 24 percent of adult Internet users, or 30 million people, have seen such graphic images online, and 28 percent of those people actively sought them out. That comes out to more than 8 million active seekers.

Yet overall, Americans disapprove of the postings by a margin of 49 percent to 40 percent. Another 4 percent say approval depends on circumstances, while the rest wouldn't say or have no opinion.

A third of the Americans who saw the images — some 10 million — regret doing so.

Matt's Chat

Wizbang is the main source for these images in the conservative blogosphere. If he doesn't have them, he can point you to them.

We have choosen not to display the images and I have not sought them out. But I do think it is important for those who question what we're doing in this war to go check them out. For those who think Iraq is not THE front on the War on Terror needs to see those images. These are some EVIL people and they need to be eliminated.

I know that Mark has seen some of these images, perhaps he can share some perspective...

Mark's Remarks

The world needs to know what happened, to see the evil out there. However, certain groups (Democrats) spin the killings and images into an anti-war screed. I don't know about you, but when I see innocents slaughtered, I do not want to turn tail and run. However, that is what the left wants. They want us to let these people be slaughtered and to let their murderers run free.

Here is the thing that bothers me. We still continue to see Abu Gharib and images of it all over the place, but yet we don't see the images of Saddam's brutality or the brutality of these supposed fighters terrorists who want to destroy us. This is subtle manipulation on the part of the media, which is why also you never see 9/11 images anymore, even when we talk about an anniversary or recall the events. The media calls it being tasteful, I call it deadening the memory so we will forget, and through forgetting, begin to doubt.

I hated seeing the images of Nick Berg, Danny Pearl, and the other beheading victims. However, thought it made me ill and brought me down emotionally, I felt I needed to see it to be reminded of why we fight, and what we are fighting against. I don't agree with forcing people to see it or "surprising" them with the images in a sudden page change. People should be warned, and they should choose to see it. However, children, I feel should not be exposed to these images until they are at least high school age. Unfortunately, radical teachers across the country decided to go for shock value and scare children and berate them with "this is why we shouldn't go to war" crap. I hope these teachers are tried and convicted of child abuse and never teach again. To take such an approach of victimizing children to indoctrinate them is selfish and detrimental.

John Kerry Delinda Est!