MMMM #560 --- Photography of a Government Lynching. (i.e. Hanging?)

HANGING A HORSE THIEF

When is a hanging a lynching?

And when is it permissible to take photos of the body or, 151 years later, to profit from the sale of a photo of whatever you call it?

A major auction company sold a photo of two Native Americans, Little Six and Medicine Bottle, hanging from a gallows in 1865.  They were among hundreds convicted in the killing of some 450 "settlers" near a reservation in Minnesota.

The price:$18,000

I do not know of any protests over the sale.

You can see the photo at the auction website HERE.

 


     Photos of dead bodies used to be commonplace, and, as I have commented on before, are still common in the media...IF the bodies are "foreign". You can easily find all kinds of non-Americans dead in the streets from war or natural disasters, photos that would never be shown if they were U.S. citizens. Criminals have been an exception, For example, here's gangster Pretty Boy Floyd. 

There is only one know photo of President Lincoln in his coffin, an indication of how unacceptable it was to take them in the first place. Can you imagine how many photos there would be now with everyone cell camera equipped?

ALSO: The President-Elect met with network anchors and executives today, behind closed door and off the record.




[The Monday Morning --and sometimes afternoon--Media Memo is a longtime feature of www.timlennox.com]