afo@pucc-k (Laurie Sefton) (09/28/84)
{sorry if you're trying to eat while reading this}
Excuse me, but;
Did anyone see the story about the British soldier having been found after
having been deep frozen in the arctic for the last 38 years or so? I didn't
really mind the story, but the photo accompianing the story is what I would
like to expound upon. I realise that the scientists are thrilled and delightedthat the man had been so well preserved for all that time,and now they can findout what killed all those men up there, but did the wire service (and the
Chicago Tribune in this case) have to treat us to a photo of the poor man's
corpse?
This smacks of the photo-sensationalism that has become rampant in the last
few years. First we got to see the body-bags, now we get to see the bodies
is glorious black and white. And no, I am not being overly squeamish, I spent
quite a few years cutting up various dead beasties with one hand, and eating
my lunch with the other. What I am talking about is that the family of that
man (or anyone else who has died in 'newsworthy' circumstances) ought to
have the right of not having their family members paraded in the newspaper
so that the necrophiliacs of the world can get their kicks. Do you think the
photographer would be thrilled if someone told him that they were going
to dig up his grandmum and take pictures because the 'public has a right to
know' how the body has held up over the years?
I'm disgusted
Laurie Sefton
{allegra, ihnp4, harpo}pur-ee!pucc-k!afowetcw@pyuxa.UUCP (T C Wheeler) (10/01/84)
Laurie, the corpse was 138 years old, not 38. The sailor had been a member of the Franklin expedition, searching for the Northwest Passage. Now, given that noone survived the expedition, and we don't know what happened to them, this is a pretty interesting find. The pictures of the corpse aree what most folks consider news. The body was perfectly preserved in every detail. This fact will allow scientists to discover, perhaps, what the men died of up there in the arctic. I guess I feel no more offended by seeing pictures of the seaman than I do of seeing pictures of Lenin or Mao in their glass coffins. T. C. Wheeler
davew@shark.UUCP (Dave Williams) (10/02/84)
The corpse was that of a British sailor, aged 20, who was killed 138 years ago. I don't think any of his relatives would complain. I saw it on television and felt it was in somewhat poor taste.