It’s Been 50 Years. I Am Not ‘Napalm Girl’ Anymore

And Also:  I noted in a past entry that I lost AOC; it looks like I'm but one of many though again for me it is oh so close district line wise.  And, now the New York Assembly map was struck down, but the court said it is too late to draw a new one.  The new map will be for the next cycle.  It would have been better to do that for the U.S. House (if possible) and state Senate maps too.  The accelerated process was something of a mess. 

A few years ago, I read The Good Fight by Danielle Steel, attracted to its historical based story of woman living basically through American history's prime events from the 1940s to the 1960s.  It was light reading, her style from what I can tell to use serious topics, but to write in a non-complex fashion that would be approachable to someone with a eighth grade education (minus maybe some references). 

I thought it would be a good way to briefly talk about the events and point to various discussions and books suitable for further reading. I don't think (unfortunately for the person who runs it) that website gets much more hits than here, but you can check it out.  I read Finding Ashley, which was okay (finding a long lost child wasn't enough; there was a #MeToo subplot).  

I also am reading Beautiful, about a fashion model who was the victim of a terrorist bombing. Her mother and boyfriend of the moment (she was much more close to her mom) killed and she was severely injured.  But, unlike other less pretty sorts (I am a tad mean but yeah), it was not like she was maimed (loss of limbs or such).  I'm about 2/3 done and it is easy to read, but so far, it is somewhat thin.  And, it is only about 230 pages.  

Well, maybe there is a reason she has so many books. Quick to write this sort of thing.  One thing covered in The Good Fight (other than her father at the Nuremberg Trials and her grandfather being on the Supreme Court!) was the main character taking care of a young victim of the Vietnam War.  

"Napalm Girl" is perhaps the most famous one and she wrote an eloquent op-ed suitably dated June 6th.  It was nice to hear that the same person who took the famous picture of a nude little girl running after her village was attacked with napalm also helping her get to safety.  

Nick changed my life forever with that remarkable photograph. But he also saved my life. After he took the photo, he put his camera down, wrapped me in a blanket and whisked me off to get medical attention. I am forever thankful.

She also referenced the shootings in Uvalde and notes the importance of looking at, including those who were killed and are suffering now. ("We must face this violence head-on, and the first step is to look at it.")  The green sneakers of one dead girl (basically the only way to identify her, after she was shot with a weapon of war) and little superhero/animated creature coffins come to mind here.  

Some also want us to see the blood on the walls and things like that.  I don't know.  But, pictures do humanize.  And, merely seeing school pictures or the like doesn't do it.  The "napalm girl" was photographed nude, running, and screaming.  That is the hell of war, not just a photo on an obituary.

Photographs, by definition, capture a moment in time. But the surviving people in these photographs, especially the children, must somehow go on. We are not symbols. We are human. We must find work, people to love, communities to embrace, places to learn and to be nurtured.

The op-ed ends on an optimistic, humane note:

That picture will always serve as a reminder of the unspeakable evil of which humanity is capable. Still, I believe that peace, love, hope and forgiveness will always be more powerful than any kind of weapon.

I am somewhat distraught about the ugliness of some of the replies to current evens.  It is not like I soft soap things -- I at this point simply think the Republicans are unfit to rule (nationally and in various states, including Florida and Texas) and the Supreme Court is not to me a legitimately put together institution.  I belabor this some.  I'm sure some on Twitter etc. are tired of it.

But, I don't speak of "SCROTUS" or just speak with visceral disgust and hatred each time some topic arises involving such people.  I also don't assume we are a lost cause as a nation.  I realize that on some level it is a difference in degree many times.  Still, it is just depressing to view things that way.  We are still humans.  

It is so hard sometimes, especially since online people are venting and so on in ways they might not in person.  It still is bad.  We have to retain some humanity and hope, even while be realistic.