Falling Man

The story of this photo portrays the extemporaneous job of a photojournalist. Capturing the harsh reality of the event, the photographer manages to document history. I related to when the article described the photographer viewing the pictures for the first time off of the SD card, and knowing exactly the picture he wanted to view the details of when he first scrolled past it, just by detecting the framing. Whenever I take pictures at concerts, I will normally have to sort through hundreds of photos, but I am normally able to pic out the best ones almost instantly because I remember taking them so vividly, and thinking to myself  "this one is going to turn out well".
             I was quite shocked when I read that bodies poured from the buildings for over an hour and a half, like a cascade of misery. From someone who was a year and a half old at this point, the only memory of the event that I have is the news broad-castings that are replayed and the stories from elders. Perhaps I imagined the event happening much quicker, thinking it was more like water than molasses. This makes the suffering seem more real, not a scene in a movie anymore.
             Unlike many people in the media, I do not believe that this image in making light of the man's death or exploiting his final moments. In my opinion, it is honoring him, and all of the others who were forced to make the decision to jump. They are a different breed of suffering that was created on this day in history. Because the man remains unnamed, he is now a symbol for the misery of the other side of 9/11, the dark side of the moon that is not the first thing that comes to mind when thinking about the topic of those who lost their lives on that tragic day.
              The avoidance of this photo, and all footage of those who jumped, illustrates that America is afraid to view the weak. We honor the firefighters, the heroes, but we avert our eyes from the ones who were less hero and more human. As a society, we glorify heroes, and I'm not saying that those who served on 9/11 are not heroes, but that everyone who lost their lives that day deserve respect, whether a jumper or armed force worker, and not to be hidden away like a disgrace.
               Many use art as an outlet for their pain. That is why the sculpture had the right to create Tumbling Woman. Other people have the choice to view it and appreciate it, but in America, everyone also has the choice to create what they want to.
               This article was very interesting and opened my eyes to another side of 9/11- the hidden, almost shamed into hiding, side. I think that these people who fell or jumped deserve to be respected, not seen as a betrayal or a loss of hope, but rather the bravery to end the flaming suffering.