Warning: The following link goes to a page with a photo that could be considered graphic, depending on your sensibilities.

http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/ar … /901280491

Via http://www.metafilter.com/78703/No-Panic-in-Detroit

There's a lot of talk on that MetaFilter page about how graphic, stunning, and horrifying that photo is.  I don't know.  It should come as a surprise to no one that homelessness is brutal and sometimes fatal.  This fatality just happens to be encased in ice.  I certainly think it tragic (I don't consider acknowledgment of tragedy to be an emotional response), but I don't understand what is stunning about a photo that merely demonstrates an unusual instance of a widespread and highly visible problem.

How long do you think it will be before someone posts this on Fail Blog as "Squatting Fail"?

The internet killed any emotional receptors I had long ago. That was with the advent of shit like Tubgirl and swap.avi.

Put in comparison, 2 girls 1 cup actually made me laugh while everyone else was throwing up.

The IceMan Cometh!!

..What a chilling photograph, it made my blood run cold.

what burg did you come from to think that one up?

That cold-hearted bastard... the only thing that really surprises me is that nobody took his shoes.

Were I to see this in person I would probably be pretty concerned about it- I would still crack jokes like the ones above, but I would get down to my civic duty between time.  Over the internet though, it's just another image of suckyness that happened to someone else.  If I got my underwear all in a bunch every time I saw injustice in the world through my computer monitor I'd need the Jaws of Life to get them off of me again.

Injustice seen through a computer monitor is still injustice.

The picture reminds me of a scene from Address Unknown. As one of the characters from the remake of Dawn of the Dead so vehemently stated: better him than me.

were his face visible,, then hell yes i'd be completely unnerved at seeing this.
but not being someone with a foot fetish, just a pair of clothed lower legs legs isnt too disturbing... you see worse on Law and Order...

i suppose I'm the only person who thought Encino Man...
..does that make me suppository??

Why insult me? It was just a silly little joke, nothing more. Maybe not in the best taste, but still pretty tame in the grand scheme of things..

I'd say the real measure of desensitivity is that some photographer saw a dead man and simply took a picture, an editor somwhere approved and distributed it, and we (and who knows how many others) took in this picture by choice and reduced it to a talking point.
I don't intend any umbrage by that, it's merely emblematic of the problem: nothing's personal, passionate, horrific, embarassing or disturbing these days, it's all interesting. The deaths of our loved ones are tragedies, but the deaths of anyone else are just news. Programs on Sunday morning list the names of the deceased and slain in packs like so many sardines, and for some the period  between the passing of their name and the start of an ad for ED medication is all the mourning a person will get. You might as well stroll through a graveyard with your headphones on.
Everyone dies, and death in and of itself is nothing to be feared. But I can think of no colder hell than dying and merely being discussed instead of mourned.

I don't think it's realistic to expect people who have had no connection to a person whatsoever to mourn that person's death. One can recognize the tragedy in a death but honestly I don't think one can feel the full impact of every person's death... or should. I don't feel that's wrong. Those who knew and loved a person will certainly mourn, but it's unreasonable to expect everyone to. If everyone stopped to take in the full impact of every individual death, the world would be at a constant standstill, crippled with sorrow and depression.

And also, how are we all supposed to mourn a death if it isn't acknowledged? That's what this piece of photojournalism is supposed to do--capture a terrible loss and ideally, prompt readers to reflect on things like social injustice, poverty, and yes, even our inability to feel. It's not as though the photographer had a choice to either take the picture or somehow save the man that was already frozen to death. He took the picture because he thought it was relevant. I think it's unfair to demonize the photographer for taking that picture (assuming s/he had no emotional connection to the subject matter?), the editor (assuming his/her sole concern was to sell papers?), or the readers (assuming they will read the article or see the photo and have no personal reaction whatsoever?). I think the piece is the exact opposite of reducing mourning to reading a name on the morning news--which SonicPanda opposes--yet he opposes this opposite as well. If neither is appropriate, what is one supposed to do--not say anything at all? Wouldn't that be even more impersonal?

Assuming I'm reading Idolores correctly, I believe he meant burg, as in "iceberg" -- you know, keeping in line with the whole subject of ice?  In other words, he was running along with your joke.

Ahh, still so young in the ways of puns.

It has been estimated that at least 106 billion people have died since homo sapiens evolved. If one could mourn a death per second, then it would take approximately 32 years to mourn a billion deaths. Thus, it is not possible for any one person to mourn every death that has ever occurred. And many millions, possibly billions, were not acknowledged. Imagine if we did have a snapshot of every person's death. Since everyone does die, this indicates there is a moment of death that can be visually captured. The fellow with his legs sticking out of the ice would be quickly forgotten, as many people were burned alive, fed to lions, and tortured in dank dungeons. Even more arresting than deaths of the past would be deaths of the present. It is possible for us to die at much higher velocities than our ancestors, because of airplanes and cars.

  Also, it's normal to avoid dead bodies. They stink for a reason - stay away from me, my flesh is no good. Plus, hanging around a dead body might expose one to predators that are attracted to, rather than repulsed by, rotting flesh. It is normal to feel indifferent to a dead human body, as doing anything about it does not increase one's chances of survival. It is only because of emotions that we feel compelled to care for something that can do nothing for us.

i get upset when i see a squirrel get hit by a car,, but not this dude...

Well, as I said, I didn't intend to demonize the people mentioned, more to argue that death has become as casual a thing to the social conscience as news on celebrity hookups. It seems treated like a social issue than genuine tragedy lately.
I also don't mean to suggest that we mourn every death, for the reasons Virtual Boot mentions. By the same token though, reporting on every death is just as deadening. Not discussing a person's death seems impersonal, but I'd argue that it could also be a show of respect. I understand the sentiment though, definitely. I've made some posts here in the past when people I've admired passed away. But if we don't know them, tracking their deaths feels like little more than a body count. Even if a guy leaves nothing behind, the least strangers like us could do is leave him be.

I'm probably rambling now. Sorry for that. Death brings my mind strange places.

Thanks for that one, Angie. Pretty much on the dot.

Oh, I get it now.

God, I really suck..

Happens to the best of us, bro. I'd never truly just up and insult someone on these boards.

You're not the first. Religion is believed to have been invented due to the realization of our mortality (one disadvantage of being conscious). So, our minds have been going to strange places for some time now. If we were immortal, if no one were ever buried, we'd never question (or decree) what happens.

oh come on dude,, its fine as long as you insult everyone equally and expect it back.

so, speaking of american celebrities selling themselves out for foreign tv ads.. you think chewbacca ever starred in a french bidet commercial? I mean, if that's not one hell of a testimonial, then i dont know what is... although i supposed Billy Mays would be a close second... "it has the power to blow the crap completely away"

(original longhairmike joke 1/30/09)

Now I feel like Celes in the second half of FF6, when she was berating that seagull who was just trying to help.