By Stephanie Guevara
Photos of students’ corpse shouldn’t be publicized because it won’t stop gun violence. It’ll only be a platform to champion the shooter.
Although photos may have an impact on our society, they won’t be enough to stop gun violence.
Two decades after the mass shooting at Columbine High School, students have asked to have photos of their dead bodies publicized if they die in a school shooting.
These students have started a campaign called #MyLastShot where they want to attach a sticker on their IDs or cellphones saying “In the event that I die from gun violence, please publicize the photo of my death.”
The students of Columbine High School said, “We’ve become numb to the stats. Numbers that lack humanity. Progress isn’t made through censorship. It’s made when we see humanity at its worst, and together, bring out our best…in order to find a solution, we have to see the problem.”
According to Fred Ritchin, Dean at International Center of Photography in New York, students want to use photos to spread awareness and stop gun violence.
Students shouldn’t worry about publicizing photos of their dead bodies in the event of a school shooting.
Photos of other atrocious forms of violence have circulated world wide and violence wasn’t ended.
In 2015, a photo of the drowned body of a three-year-old Syrian refugee circulated world wide and it obligated the Turkish government to allow refugees in, but that didn’t end violence in Syria.
Every time there is a school shooting videos of the event circulate on social media, and it makes society emotional. However there still isn’t a solution to stop gun violence.
Ritchin said students are tired of seeing post-shooting photos of mothers hugging their children, or police tapes in the article Columbine Students Are Asking: Will Sharing Photos of the Dead Change Our History of Violence? They want serious actions to be taken.
Failed attempts from government officials to stop gun violence have compelled high school students to take drastic actions.