(no subject)
Yeah, it's been a while. I've been sooper sooper busy. Substantive post to follow.
But I wanted to share this. Yesterday, I received a political mailing from my Alderman, Joe Moore, who is up for reelection. On one side is a photo of the owner of a local restaurant and some "Joe Moore is a man of the people who wants to support the small business person" text. On the other side is a shot of him and a bunch of "just plain folks" doing something bizarre and obviously staged at a farmers' market; a bunch of carrots, a rope of what looks like raffia, and a tree branch cutter are involved. And a guy who looks like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean.
And then there's the following photo...
Was there no one in his office that looked at a proof of this and said, "Y'know, this photo really has some unfortunate aspects to it; perhaps we should look for some other way of composing the shot."?
The woman in the shot is Violetta Adrien, the restaurateur from the other side of the mailing, so, taken as part of the package, the shot makes sense, but let's face it: she looks like freakin' Aunt Jemima here. She's short and heavyset; she's offering a plate of food to a tall, avuncular, white man while wearing a huge, vaguely subservient smile, and she's wearing the modern equivalent of a kerchief on her head. And judging by the fact that Alderman Moore has his eyes closed, I can't imagine this was the best photo available.
Now, I have no opinion of Joe Moore. I probably should, but politics has gotten to the point that I cannot bring myself to care, particularly in the case of local races. But I doubt that he really meant to present a photo that represents him as a sort of modern day Plantation owner, but REALLY?
But I wanted to share this. Yesterday, I received a political mailing from my Alderman, Joe Moore, who is up for reelection. On one side is a photo of the owner of a local restaurant and some "Joe Moore is a man of the people who wants to support the small business person" text. On the other side is a shot of him and a bunch of "just plain folks" doing something bizarre and obviously staged at a farmers' market; a bunch of carrots, a rope of what looks like raffia, and a tree branch cutter are involved. And a guy who looks like an extra from Pirates of the Caribbean.
And then there's the following photo...
Was there no one in his office that looked at a proof of this and said, "Y'know, this photo really has some unfortunate aspects to it; perhaps we should look for some other way of composing the shot."?
The woman in the shot is Violetta Adrien, the restaurateur from the other side of the mailing, so, taken as part of the package, the shot makes sense, but let's face it: she looks like freakin' Aunt Jemima here. She's short and heavyset; she's offering a plate of food to a tall, avuncular, white man while wearing a huge, vaguely subservient smile, and she's wearing the modern equivalent of a kerchief on her head. And judging by the fact that Alderman Moore has his eyes closed, I can't imagine this was the best photo available.
Now, I have no opinion of Joe Moore. I probably should, but politics has gotten to the point that I cannot bring myself to care, particularly in the case of local races. But I doubt that he really meant to present a photo that represents him as a sort of modern day Plantation owner, but REALLY?