Photojournalism is an amazing feature of the modern age. Starting with the Civil War, American photojournalists have been capturing events military and civilian, lives wealthy and poor. They have been implanting into our collective consciousness jolting perspectives and immortalizing key moments. Here are two iconic photographs I curated from My Modern Net.
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| Migrant field worker in California, c. 1936. | DC-4 over Manhattan, 1939 |
Although these photographs were taken at about the same time, the contrast between them is chasmal. On the left, unimaginable poverty and despair. On the right, unimaginable advancement and optimism. Which is the correct view of reality?
This is why critical thinking is so important, particularly in the age of photojournalism and deep fakes. What is outside the image’s frame, what happened before the snapshot, what happened after? Perhaps the children on the left rose to become land owners in nascent Silicon Valley. Perhaps the swaggering pilot on the right perished in Operation Overlord. Using critical thinking, we use a photograph as an initial step toward building a larger picture, spatially and chronologically.
One of the most revealing, notorious, and shameless artifacts of local photojournalism is this portrait taken on June 6, 2023. In it we see Laura Stewart, Jill Ortman-Fouse, and Kristin Mink (Gang of Three) at a rally showing their support for forced LGBT studies starting in elementary school.
Let’s apply critical thinking and use this image as an initial point toward building a more complete understanding of these ladies’ beliefs.
The Gang of Three often state their concern for residents of color. In this image there are no residents of color. I attended three of these parent rights rallies, and I don’t recall any (or very few) non-whites at the pro-LGBT rallies. By far the people who were Hispanic, Latino, non-Hispanic, non-Latino, Black, African American, American Indian, Alaska Native, Asian American, Native Hawaiian, Other Pacific Islander, or any other insulting label you want to think of were on the parent rights side.
Kristen Mink, carrying a sign “You can’t opt out of LGBTQIA+ existence,” expresses her views. What other aspects of education does she deny opt-out?
- Children from disadvantaged neighborhoods cannot opt out of their equally disadvantaged schools. Unless the parents are savvy enough to apply and get accepted into magnet programs, those children are trapped in failing schools.
- Jewish students have no escape from their anti-Semitic classmates, teachers, administrators, principles, or union activists.
- Teachers cannot switch jobs to a different employer. To protect their pay and benefits, they must work at MCPS—even if that means succumbing to sexual harassment.
- Nobody can opt out of “boundary studies” and forced busing (see related post).
We see from this larger picture that the Gang of Three and their allies (such as Natalie Zimmerman) are not interested in students’ or teachers’ welfare. The more opt-out they deny, the more control they accrue. It is control they seek, not compassion.
On September 19, 2024 there was a forum in which the Board of Education candidates responded to questions from prominent local journalists. Only one candidate, Brenda Diaz, expressed a willingness (better, a desire) to limit the control the BoE has on the school system in the form of charter schools. She is the only candidate who showed any compassion toward parents, teachers, and most importantly the students.
We are in the throes of mail-in voting, and approaching early voting and election day. If you want to return some control to your child’s education, vote Brenda Diaz for District 2.
