WARNING: This post deals with suicide. Some readers may find the article triggering.
Someone took a selfie with a suicidal man on New York’s Brooklyn Bridge.
Yes. They did. A suicide selfie. And we thought the idea of funeral selfies was bad….
An image of a woman taking a photo of herself with a man who was attempting to take his own life is going viral today after the New York post ran it on their front page with the caption: “Selfie-ish: My photo with the Brooklyn Bridge suicide guy”.
Here’s the pic.
It’s been reported that the tourist watched with a group of people for around 25 minutes, before she turned and took the photo. And at that moment, her actions were captured by a photographer from the NY Post.
In the story that ran alongside the image, the NY Post writers were unforgiving.
With scores of onlookers watching the dramatic 10 a.m. rescue by cops, the crass camerawoman turned her back to the scene, angled her phone toward the bridge and snapped a shot.
The scarf-clad blonde even cracked a thin smile.
When approached by The Post afterward, she suddenly became camera-shy.“I’d rather not,” she said when asked for her name. She then hustled out of Brooklyn Bridge Park.
In the hours since the front page was published, the internet has lost its cool over the image – and over society’s obsession with selfies – but also with the NY Post’s treatment of the image. (The NY Post are not strangers to controversial front pages.)
The Huffington Post questioned the NY Post’s decision to “publicly shame the woman on the front page of the paper Wednesday morning,” while Gawker made a point that everyone else seems to be forgetting.
“As for the man on the bridge, he was eventually talked down by a police officer and taken to a hospital for evaluation. But who cares about that,” they wrote.
Well, we want to throw this one over to you. What was your reaction to the image when you first saw it? What would you have done if you were in the woman’s position?
Do you think people are losing their sense of what is an inappropriate when it comes to sharing on the internet? Where’s the line between what you should post and what you shouldn’t? Would you ever take a photo at a funeral – or at any type of memorial? If you saw a car accident, would you take a photo of the scene? Or would you just keep driving and mind your own business?
Also, given that is it so inappropriate to take pics of suicides, have you wondered what the NY Post doing there in the first place?
If you or a loved one need to talk to someone, please consider calling Lifeline on 13 11 14, or Beyond Blue on 1300 22 4636.
Top Comments
Like many readers I reckon there are two issues. 1.Stopping to watch. 2.Taking the selfie.
Would I have stopped to watch the guy on the bridge if I’d been there? Probably yes.
Do I think it is wrong – Yes.
Away from the event I can tell myself that it would have been morally wrong to ghoulishly wait to see if the guy was talked down or jumped – but I have to admit I probably would have stopped. In my defence I would have been hoping for the talk down. But anyone who has slowed down to look at a car accident or watched with interest a news report on a burning building should be careful not to cast the first stone.
Would I have taken a selfie? Absolutely Not.
Do I think it is wrong? No
I am not of the generation that takes a selfie with a background of a stack of empty beer bottles or a pink house or two dogs copulating. But the selfie isn’t really about the event, it’s about THEM and the event is just context. It pretends to be “Here is something interesting!” but it is really just “Look at me!” If it were one of my kids I would gladly tell them that the world really isn’t that interested in THEM. But moderate Narcissism isn’t morally wrong; it is just a character flaw.
So I think EVERYONE watching the guy on the bridge was on shaky moral ground. Especially the newspaper reporter who was there to make profit from the event. And while the girl’s selfie shows poor judgment I don’t think it puts her in any special category of wrong compared to the rest of the crowd.
Huh? Standing and watching is wrong but taking a selfie there isn't? LOL
It's all about 'self' isn't it - no concern for the situation, no respect, no compassion, no sense of appropriateness. Just selfish instant gratification. Yuk.