George W. Bush finds himself stranded with too much baggage from Iraq.Should we let him down now?
We anti-war bloggers are between Iraq and a hard place. As the saying goes, ANY publicity is good publicity, and the Bush Spin Machine knows that all too well.
Sometimes publishing what WE think is a damning photo only serves to make Bush’s face ever MORE familiar to the public, ever MORE iconic than before. HE gains, not we. Pictures are bullets, and bullets can sometimes riccochet fatally. Oops... sorry Dick, just a slip of the lens...Sometimes a stand-alone photo alone can say it all, but care must be taken that its implications are unambiguously anti-Bush. Many photos, though, are clarified by a caption or commentary. An individual interprets a picture according to their beliefs and experiential pre-dispositions. It’s often difficult for a left-wing Democrat to look at a photo with the same eyes as a conservative right-wing Republican: we see the candle – they see two faces.
That easy-to-make mistake is all too clear in this "STRIPES" poster:
I suggest avoiding this poster entirely: it is a PROPAGANDA GIFT to Bush (respect and apologies to topplebush.com). Even though the intended message is thoroughly anti-Bush (and accurate), the overall visual impression actually assists Bush much more than any printed message might damage him.After all, much as I gag to admit it, Bush is a handsome-ish sort of chap. In this picture he’s smiling, and he has two attractive women are gazing admiringly (up) at him (almost reverently), thereby heightening his status. In typical Cold War propaganda style, Bush's person is portrayed physically larger than surrounding admirers (Mao Tse-tung was the authority on that trick of smoke and mirrors).
Humans are basically visual creatures, and usually don’t bother reading much unless they are strongly motivated to do so – especially such small print as on this poster. The off-yellow font is too indistinct against the green background, so the text is easily over-powered by the stronger distracting patriotic colours of the flag. Result? Bush is further associated with Patriotism... exactly what he wants. Only those already pre-disposed against Bush will actually get the intended message, and it's probably not so important to preach to the already-converted.
My silly photo of a donkey and cart might arguably be a more powerful anti-Bush weapon than the ‘STRIPES’ poster, but only if it's captioned in a way that makes people understand – and hopefully to laugh at Bush. Eliciting a laugh can swing a vote: you can't laugh at him then so easily continue to support him.
Another option is to superimpose a caption onto the photo itself. That way, web-surfers (like you) can simply copy text-and-picture as a package, thus:
Enough rambling from moi – on with the gallery… but remember that being careless with pictures can all too easily backfire. Copy these photos to your heart's content - but do take care how - and where - you use them. Let's get the bungling Global Village Idiot out of office ASAP. My apologies if I've inadvertently trampled on any sensitivities among those families who have lost their sons or daughters... I'm sure you'll understand my motives.Not sure how to copy a photo onto your computer?
1. Hover the mouse pointer over the photo
2. Right-click once then click on 'Save Picture As...'
3. In 'Filename', give the picture a name, or keep the existing name
4. Under 'Save In', choose where you want to store your picture
5. Click 'Save'.
( Otherwise known as piracy?)
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