It's a powerful image, but has the young woman been interviewed about how she felt? Or are some people just attributing to her what they think they would have felt in a similar situation?
However, since my skin is pink-ish, I am not the embodiment of what they hate. And pink people were not the subject of jubilant picnics to celebrate their lynching. People with her skin colour were.
This image will live in the history books alongside the other epitomous images of the horrendous racial disparity that just will not die in our "all men are created equal in the sight of God" country. These men, on the surface, show a cohesive boldness of hate with their uniforms but at the very same time are showing themselves to be cowards by hiding behind their masks. If they really did see themselves through the eyes of Almighty God, they would have to feel such a dreadful sense of shame for such a hateful display of a total lack of humanity, compassion, or empathy. These men have no idea who this young lady is, or why she is on that bus, and yet they would choose to intimidate her with their presence. I'm certain that they would make comparisons to street thugs doing it and I would say, " So if you do the same thing you despise in others, how does that make you better?"
The dignity and strength of the young Black woman on the train is such a stark contrast to the mindless, faceless white men, trying to hide in plain sight.
The men must know in their souls that they are cowards.
Her calm resolve is impressive. But it’s been honed by decades of this kind of disgusting behavior.
What do we have to do to make the hate unacceptable?
So many people seem to think that this all started with Trump. If you weren't around when Nixon announced his "Southern Strategy" (which I think of as a descendant of Jim Crow) or when Reagan gave a "states' rights" campaign speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi, do read up on them. Then review the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision (2010), which was handed down less than two years after "we the people" elected the U.S.'s first Black president -- and around six years before Trump was elected the first time. These things are connected, and moving forward is going to be very difficult if we don't come to terms with the connection.
Donald Trump is the perfect embodiment of the detritus that one hopes and prays will sink to the bottom of the tortured human oversoul and never rise to trouble the world.
I saw that sickening photo yesterday and like you, Nina, I was flooded with images of similar horrific moments preserved on film for history. I fear the terminal illness of racism has become so advanced it will finally kill this nation.
I pray this young woman is safe and isn’t too traumatized by this moment. At the very least, If it were me, I’d probably become agoraphobic and so filled with rage I’d explode. Actually, I am filled with that much fury.
Well crafted and documented piece Nina!I I skipped the crowded cattle car( metro)train rides to miss one of my favorite fireworks displays I’ve ever photographed. Appears I might have missed an opportunity to photograph some incredible civil rights pics…
Ellie Leonard captured the sense of the photo perfectly in a Substack note yesterday when she wrote it looks like something Norman Rockwell would have painted.
Heard or read this somewhere re MAGA: There has always been a sewer, Trump just kicked the lid off. We all know that the exact opposite of what Trump says is true...biggest ever = embarrassingly small. Paid by Soros or SPLC = the FACT (Lewandowski admitted) that the cheering folk at foot of Trump Tower escalator were paid $50 to stand there for three hours by an extras casting co. Anyone on FOX et al connect the dots between fossil fuel loving, 4th of July pardons of goons breaking Clean Air laws on their trucks, and DC weather?
It is beyond grotesque that all this is happening in America. Whoever thought that the nation that prided itself in helping to end WWII, albeit a bit late in the day, would turn into the fascist swine they fought to overcome? The same goes for all those who espouse that vile ideology in the UK.
What on earth has my comment got to do with 'privilege'? In the United Kingdom we began to get a bit sick of the U.S.A. behaving as if it won WWII single handed. However, the U.S.A. was a trusted ally and manifestly opposed to Nazi ideology and we fell for the "special relationship" bullshit for a very long time. The fact that those tables have now drastically turned is worrying, to say nothing of depressing. We have learned all about the foul, criminal, treatment of Black Americans. Nazi ideology included hatred of all people who were not "Übermensch" and the fact that America opposed it gave hope that the ghastly German racist ideology was gone for good. That it has reappeared in America, of all places, is downright disgusting. "Land of the free and home of the brave"??? Obviously not.
How to drown two legitimate points (hers and your own) in the drool of a troll. Nothing pleases the oppressors more than when the oppressed -- newly or constantly, privileged or otherwise -- turn on each other.
Those images are a tragedy. I wish he had never been elected to office a second time.
He never should have been elected the first time. It says something really ugly about America that he got even 1% of the vote.
I know; it's wild. I'm so tired of him and ugly voters
Me too. It's absolutely infuriating.
It really is and not to mention that he drains all the good that's left in the country.
Terrifying for her. This image should be all over the NYT and other mainstream media.
I'm glad the Black girl survived.
It's a powerful image, but has the young woman been interviewed about how she felt? Or are some people just attributing to her what they think they would have felt in a similar situation?
To paraphrase Freud, sometimes a black girl is just a girl. You or I would probably be terrified as well, and this is the true power of that image.
Yes, I would be terrified.
However, since my skin is pink-ish, I am not the embodiment of what they hate. And pink people were not the subject of jubilant picnics to celebrate their lynching. People with her skin colour were.
This image will live in the history books alongside the other epitomous images of the horrendous racial disparity that just will not die in our "all men are created equal in the sight of God" country. These men, on the surface, show a cohesive boldness of hate with their uniforms but at the very same time are showing themselves to be cowards by hiding behind their masks. If they really did see themselves through the eyes of Almighty God, they would have to feel such a dreadful sense of shame for such a hateful display of a total lack of humanity, compassion, or empathy. These men have no idea who this young lady is, or why she is on that bus, and yet they would choose to intimidate her with their presence. I'm certain that they would make comparisons to street thugs doing it and I would say, " So if you do the same thing you despise in others, how does that make you better?"
As always spot on Nina
He has unleashed the worst tendencies of the inhuman soul.
Of course, Meaghan Kelly mentioned nothing about ICE in masks.
This is disturbingly disgusting!
The dignity and strength of the young Black woman on the train is such a stark contrast to the mindless, faceless white men, trying to hide in plain sight.
The men must know in their souls that they are cowards.
Her calm resolve is impressive. But it’s been honed by decades of this kind of disgusting behavior.
What do we have to do to make the hate unacceptable?
So many people seem to think that this all started with Trump. If you weren't around when Nixon announced his "Southern Strategy" (which I think of as a descendant of Jim Crow) or when Reagan gave a "states' rights" campaign speech in Philadelphia, Mississippi, do read up on them. Then review the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision (2010), which was handed down less than two years after "we the people" elected the U.S.'s first Black president -- and around six years before Trump was elected the first time. These things are connected, and moving forward is going to be very difficult if we don't come to terms with the connection.
Donald Trump is the perfect embodiment of the detritus that one hopes and prays will sink to the bottom of the tortured human oversoul and never rise to trouble the world.
I saw that sickening photo yesterday and like you, Nina, I was flooded with images of similar horrific moments preserved on film for history. I fear the terminal illness of racism has become so advanced it will finally kill this nation.
I pray this young woman is safe and isn’t too traumatized by this moment. At the very least, If it were me, I’d probably become agoraphobic and so filled with rage I’d explode. Actually, I am filled with that much fury.
Well crafted and documented piece Nina!I I skipped the crowded cattle car( metro)train rides to miss one of my favorite fireworks displays I’ve ever photographed. Appears I might have missed an opportunity to photograph some incredible civil rights pics…
Ellie Leonard captured the sense of the photo perfectly in a Substack note yesterday when she wrote it looks like something Norman Rockwell would have painted.
Thanks for posting this photo. It’s a warning to us all that we need to do all we can do to stop this madness.
Excellent column for the day after the 4th. Just excellent.
Heard or read this somewhere re MAGA: There has always been a sewer, Trump just kicked the lid off. We all know that the exact opposite of what Trump says is true...biggest ever = embarrassingly small. Paid by Soros or SPLC = the FACT (Lewandowski admitted) that the cheering folk at foot of Trump Tower escalator were paid $50 to stand there for three hours by an extras casting co. Anyone on FOX et al connect the dots between fossil fuel loving, 4th of July pardons of goons breaking Clean Air laws on their trucks, and DC weather?
It is beyond grotesque that all this is happening in America. Whoever thought that the nation that prided itself in helping to end WWII, albeit a bit late in the day, would turn into the fascist swine they fought to overcome? The same goes for all those who espouse that vile ideology in the UK.
What on earth has my comment got to do with 'privilege'? In the United Kingdom we began to get a bit sick of the U.S.A. behaving as if it won WWII single handed. However, the U.S.A. was a trusted ally and manifestly opposed to Nazi ideology and we fell for the "special relationship" bullshit for a very long time. The fact that those tables have now drastically turned is worrying, to say nothing of depressing. We have learned all about the foul, criminal, treatment of Black Americans. Nazi ideology included hatred of all people who were not "Übermensch" and the fact that America opposed it gave hope that the ghastly German racist ideology was gone for good. That it has reappeared in America, of all places, is downright disgusting. "Land of the free and home of the brave"??? Obviously not.
How to drown two legitimate points (hers and your own) in the drool of a troll. Nothing pleases the oppressors more than when the oppressed -- newly or constantly, privileged or otherwise -- turn on each other.