Outrage over photos of girls signing bombs

By: Mike Yamamoto
Topics

Any images from a war zone are controversial, but the level of disturbance rises exponentially when children are involved. So not surprisingly, the rhetoric has run rampant with the publication of photos depicting Israeli girls signing shells apparently destined for Lebanon.

Although some bloggers praised the images for portraying the tragedy of war, others pointed out that the photos have been predictably used for propaganda on all sides. A common theme among several posts is the responsibility of newspapers and other media in publishing photos that are certain to provoke deep emotions at a most volatile time.

And, as with any form of information today, the issue was additionally complicated because of the instant circulation afforded by the Web. Once they were picked up from such mass-distribution photo sites as Flickr--and often presented with little or no context--control over the interpretation of the images became impossible.

Blog community response:

"What we would suggest is that editors think not just about the emotional response certain photographs can elicit, but also about whether in any given case they have supplied readers with the information they need to really understand what it is they are seeing."
--CJR Daily

"While the bomb-signing event is certainly newsworthy, BAGNewsNotes makes the additional point that children are almost certainly being used to propagandize a particular ideology. And that's just outrageous."
--slatta

"Better for them that they see what's going down. For us, on the other hand, unaware of the stage (and unwitting consumers of 'knock out' information product), we can only be outraged."
--BAGnewsNotes

Mike Yamamoto is an executive editor for CNET News.com.

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by rajputtt May 6, 2010 11:38 AM EDT: Wow, I love this follow up story to the piece.

http://www.samoanewsonline.com/viewstory.php?storyid=14844; Reply to this comment

by tjslo February 4, 2010 1:08 PM EST

I have been a faithful 60 Minutes viewer for over 30 years. The segment prompted me to contact the Governor?s office of American Samoa to see how I could help gather sports equipment to donate to the sports programs. Within an hour of my email I had a reply from the Governor?s Office of American Samoa. The Deputy Chief of Staff told me that they are in real need of football helmets, but would gladly accept any and all donations that I could gather. I have contacted our high school and community for help. Not being a football mom, I did not know that high school helmets are used until they are inspected and deemed no longer safe. For this reason, although I am getting some miscellaneous equipment donated by local residents, schools and the university, I can not get any helmets. This is my first attempt at anything like this and I had a vision of obtaining much more equipment than I am getting.

I am posting here in the hopes that somebody reading this article and all the way down to the comments may be able to help my efforts with a contact that can help provide helmets and equipment. We have a shipping container and the shipping costs donated by two local companies. All I need to do is fill the container. If you have any equipment that you can ship to California (cheaper than shipping to Pago Pago), please email terri_j(at) charter(dot)net. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.

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by bunnydiet September 19, 2010 8:45 PM EDT: I too have been a faithful viewer of 60 minutes for the past 30 years. I am a middle-school, inner city ELA school teacher and I would like to work on a fund raiser with my students for football equipment for the Samoans. Please, can you help me set this up? Can you tell me who to contact? This is just what I am looking for this year to reach a part of my students that frustrates me. Please let me help. Bunny Dimmel


by tjslo February 4, 2010 1:07 PM EST: I have been a faithful 60 Minutes viewer for over 30 years. The segment prompted me to contact the Governor?s office of American Samoa to see how I could help gather sports equipment to donate to the sports programs. Within an hour of my email I had a reply from the Governor?s Office of American Samoa. The Deputy Chief of Staff told me that they are in real need of football helmets, but would gladly accept any and all donations that I could gather. I have contacted our high school and community for help. Not being a football mom, I did not know that high school helmets are used until they are inspected and deemed no longer safe. For this reason, although I am getting some miscellaneous equipment donated by local residents, schools and the university, I can not get any helmets. This is my first attempt at anything like this and I had a vision of obtaining much more equipment than I am getting.

I am posting here in the hopes that somebody reading this article and all the way down to the comments may be able to help my efforts with a contact that can help provide helmets and equipment. We have a shipping container and the shipping costs donated by two local companies. All I need to do is fill the container. If you have any equipment that you can ship to California (cheaper than shipping to Pago Pago), please email terri_j(at) charter(dot)net. Any help at all would be greatly appreciated.; Reply to this comment

by val_lihang_jacobo January 26, 2010 9:51 PM EST

Long Beach, California -People usually don't think about images that aren't seen. Omissions, therefore, have just as much relevance to a story than the other more blatant offenses. And the antithesis of omission: exaggeration.

All too often, the allure of being on "TV" automatically heroifies production companies visiting a small island. In this particular case, it's CBS/60 Minutes reporting from American Samoa on the apparent mystery behind the seemingly disproportionate number of Samoans in the NFL.

For some reason, Samoans here choose to let this silly, erroneous, ignorant report go unopposed. In fact, some Samoans have personally thanked 60 Minutes for giving "our people" any coverage at all.

Sorry, but not all coverage is good coverage. According to 60 Minutes, Samoans are successful in the NFL because we're "big people" with "a lot of heart." No credit to the strength of Samoan networking that gives our kids exposure. No credit to Samoan NFL greats who give our kids proof that the dream can become a reality. No credit to the Samoan value of being humble that instills "coach-ability" or the humility to know there's something to learn from those who came before you. Not one bit of credit to Samoans being smart enough to learn and master The System.

Instead, we're defined as savage warriors who found an outlet for all this rage in football -- serendipitous, 60 Minutes claims, because football is ALL that American Samoa has to save our people from the Recession.

?I was very disturbed by that 60 minutes report? said the Reverend Elder Dr. Liona Thompson, a prominent Samoan community leader in Southern California.

?O tu ma aga i fanua e pei o le i?a iviivia translated, this Samoan proverb literally means, our culture in its various indigenous ways is complicated to dissect, even with cultural context and skill. It?s very much like deboning a bony fish. Samoa o le atunu?u mamala, talalasi. Samoa is sacred in its own intricacies. We are an oral tradition and our stories are a reflection of that awe.?

This conversation with my friend ?Amelia Niumeitolu and the Reverend Dr today, centered around community empowerment compelled the release of this additional commentary.

I argue that the 60 Minutes report and the resulting silence from our Samoan and Pacific Islander community is the new form of hierarchy of the privileged. The same ones who gave Samoa a treaty, split our islands to claim one as a strategic "territory," wiped us of indigenous pride, and corrupted the natural resources of our harbor, ocean, land and people. And, coveting their cannons and cash, we acquiesced, as good little colonials should.

In the midst of the first tsunami in 200 years, in spite of scientists screaming foul against greenhouse gas emissions from industrial countries, the US fumbles on the one chance to redeem itself in Samoa with FEMA and wrapped that natural disaster management up so quickly with this 15 (actually 13) minutes of fame. Touchdown America!

I cannot fault the local Samoan media reporting on the different "sightings" of the crew. I cannot fault, the hypocrisy of American Samoa Governor, Togiola Tulafono, giving 60 Minutes the keys to the island to exploit for coverage. Oops did I say that? I meant to say, explore. But, I digress.

While our people on island and those of us abroad are hurting deeply and attempting to reclaim our lives post-tsunami, most Samoans in this great nation of ours are still in a deafening "time out," and numbed by the all the primetime and football season hype. I'm beginning to wonder if I missed the play. Are we running out the clock? Was that "Red 52" or "Blue 79"?

The point is, as Samoan Americans, we don't know that we don't know (yes that means ignorance) -- when we're being played. So while you?re enjoying some football the next back to back Sundays, remember to watch for omissions and exaggerations by your favorite sports commentators. I?m sure you?ll have plenty to say come Super Bowl Sunday.

What makes our community stories different is that they belong to us. They are not anyone's call but our own. We have every right and obligation to scrutinize foul play and tell our own stories without western filtration. Forget the wild card, all it takes to win, is ownership of what?s at stake( protecting our integrity) and full responsibility for what we gain to lose (our indigenous values). That?s the matchup we need the insight of analysis and opinions on.

There's a yellow flag on this play by 60 Minutes, and we need to be on the field to review it.

Val LiHang Jacobo is a Samoan American business woman; and social justice advocate based in Los Angeles, California.Connect with her on Facebook.

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by chainz29 March 3, 2010 1:18 PM EST: I commend you Val LiHang Jacobo for your comments; I agree with them entirely. I am whole-heartedly against dubbing our island home as "Football Island" because it is, in several ways, insulting. What about the increasing number of Samoans who are attending colleges and universities in Hawai'i, the mainland and abroad (not via sports scholarships)? Not to mention, an increasing number of our people who are obtaining graduate and/or professional degrees? What about the late Mosi Tatupu who attended Punahou? I, too believe that "we need to be on the field to review" every "play" that any other news or media coverage outlet decides to pull. Although it was commended as "good exposure" by many, I think we need to be able to take hold of the reins at some point. We need to be able to pass on our own stories under our own terms and conditions. This particular coverage only scratched the surface, and it is our innate responsibility to our culture and heritage to provide a real and in-depth story. We owe it to the Man up Above, our forefathers, our families and of course, our future generations. Unbeknownst to many, this article exemplified exploitation, and it is should not be tolerated. Ia manuia lava toe fuafuaga o lenei vaiaso.


by LT56NY January 23, 2010 7:17 PM EST: As a former Pop Warner football player from Queens, NY with less then stellar equipment in the 70's when I played,I was appalled by the unacceptable condition of the equipment and practice fields that existed on the island.

If 30 players have made it to the he NFL including the Cincinatti Bengals Lineman featured on the show and multi millionaire Troy Palamalu, how come they haven't contributed to outfitting these teams and scholls properly? What about the colleges that recruit on the island or the NFL? Get this country proper equipment and fields to practice on without lava rocks. There is no excuse for the equipment and facilities that this segment exposed.; Reply to this comment


by koko98-2009 January 19, 2010 1:43 PM EST: Good story but you talked around the issue that most of the players you are talking about were not born in Samoa. The real cradle is not the islands but the high school programs in Northern San Diego Country. They take the kids of Samoan descent and turn them into football players like Junior Seau.; Reply to this comment

by Rob619 January 19, 2010 1:14 PM EST

This entire show failed to mention how the US min wage legislation single handedly destroyed the Samoa economy. The Tuna industry has moved out of Samoa and now ships are unavailable to bring in merchandise. So Samoa must now pay for ships which has raised prices. We can see what this will do the U.S. We cannot see it yet because the US works on a much larger scale and Samoans can live on less money. The US minimum wage laws have not only mandated that Chicken of the Sea pay it's workers more money but has ultimately destroyed employment opportunities for Samoans. Chicken of the Sea has a factory of robots now. this is an example how supposed "good intentions" of our overnment is not effective or efficient. The real disaster was not the tsunami that devastated the island which was devastating in human loss and damage but is the government intervention that has devastated Samoa in economic damage.The government is more disastrous than an act of nature. this is an example how media focuses on the wrong thing because the real story was not the effect of football on Samoa but the drastic economic devastation that is posed if the minimum law wage is not repealed in Samoa that Starkist is currently lobbying for.

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by HEIGHTS163 January 19, 2010 5:10 PM EST: I think you missed the whole story Rob. The story wasnt about the crumbled economy of AM Samoa. The story was about warriors from a small dot on the glob...


by erb0087 January 18, 2010 1:12 PM EST: The "Hawaii Five-0" closing credits featured that scene of the powerful Polynesian oarsmen in the outrigger canoe.

One of my favorites.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-71FVm1K9Kg; Reply to this comment