Once again the media comes under fire for misuse of questionable imagery. The tension of this controversy belongs to none other than the editor of the reputable Golfweek magazine.
Dave Seanor, the now ex-editor of the magazine in question, gave the go-ahead to run the picture of a noose dangling in a haunting manner on the cover of Golfweek.
Oddly enough, the cover featuring the ominous image was to reference the hot water Kelly Tilghman (a host of the Golf Channel) was in. Tilghman was under fire for using "lynch" regarding how younger golfers could contend with Tiger Woods.
Seanor knew the image could be misconstrued, but he ran with it anyway. Regrettably, he made the wrong decision. He meant to use the visual of the noose as a way to describe the situation Tilghman was in, not as a racial overtone.
I feel extremely bad for Seanor. In media, it seems you must have tough skin with a gentle touch. Unfortunately, there is a thin line of what can be said connecting to other races.
There are so many questions that come into mind for me. I know that the noose is associated with lynchings, but what about the poor, innocent men and women of the Salem witch hunt? I had people in my family that were wrongly accused of being horse theives that were hung, so should I be offended by the image of the noose?
I understand what the connotation of the noose is supposed to mean, but when are we going to allow the 40-plus years of Civil Rights to kick in? We need to let the noose stand for something else.
It was a symbol of which hunts for a period of time after the Salem tragedy. It became a symbol of corporal punishment for thieves and train robbers; and, yes, the noose is associated with the oppression of our black nation, but now it is time to let it become something else. The more we keep the symbols in the light and ackwonledge them, the more dissensions between the nation will stick around.
We need to rethink the ways in which we want to view our future, and put them into effect. It starts with one action and can only continue with the next step taken towards it.
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6 comments:
The picture of the noose hanging in a haunted manner on the cover of Golfweek sends mix messages to readers.
Seanor should have thought about his decision more carefully. I guess he didn't think how it would affect people from all kinds of backgrounds.
In media, the reporters and photographers have do be more careful on touchy subjects like nooses hanging from a tree.
I believe that there is going to be a huge controversy over this for a while. The question is, when are we going to end this and let our Civil Rights mean something?
The point to all of this is that people have to speak up if they want change. Dr. Martin Luther King did.
Nowadays I think people find anything they can and try to turn it into a race issue, just to cause a stir. Personally, if I were to pick up that issue of Golfweek, race would not have been the first thing I thought of. Probably not even the second or third. I can see how it would cause some commotion, or anger, but losing a job over it?
It amazes me at how I continue to see the majority of people overreacting by taking things way out of context. It seems that so many are constantly looking to condemn others rather it be racial or not.
I do feel sorry for this editor who is being condemned, but he should have probably tried to predict what the outcome of printing the picture would be. And dealing with the public reactions as much as he does he should have reconsidered before publishing the magazine.
Its unfortunate for Seanor who like many other people probably didn't think of the noose as a racial reference.
Its kind of a touchy subject anyway. A noose hanging from a tree can be taken many ways. Which means other people might find it offensive.
I don't think he should have lost his job though. At least he's creative.
The firing of Dave Seanor is completely logical to defend the magazine publishers.
If they hadn't fired the editor it would have became a fiasco, comparable to CBS and Don Imus. Giving them no other choice, then to fire him.
Putting a noose on the front cover of a golf magazine? Come on, I don't want to shout "racist" and have a protest in the streets. But its dumb to think that it wouldn't be interpreted as a racial remark.
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