Comments on A disturbing picture

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Re: Re: yes, it is like being witness to a seed of evil...
yes, you have expressed it perfectly.

posted by vogue on March 24, 2009 at 2:52 AM | link to this | reply

Re: yes, it is like being witness to a seed of evil...
and this one looks as if it is laden with twisting tendrils....

posted by mysteria on March 24, 2009 at 1:39 AM | link to this | reply

an incredibly bizarre photo
an amazing thing to capture...surreal and interesting to feel what pops up in my head when I look at it...

posted by mysteria on March 24, 2009 at 1:34 AM | link to this | reply

Any kid with a gun at that age is disturbing :(

posted by shelly_b on March 23, 2009 at 10:40 AM | link to this | reply

It's true what gapcohen says. However, you see these 'boy soldiers' in pictures or on TV, but to come face to face with one in reality is truly terrifying.

posted by vogue on March 23, 2009 at 7:59 AM | link to this | reply

Vogue

That’s pretty bizarre, to say the least.  Umm…..

posted by Troosha on March 23, 2009 at 7:20 AM | link to this | reply

Vogue - this is not the first example of a "child soldier" and it won't be the last.  I fear for these kids; in Somalia, Gaza, Afghanistan, etc. who have no future except for hatred and violence.  These babies are being brainwashed.  It's sad and terrifying.  Mal

posted by gapcohen on March 23, 2009 at 6:21 AM | link to this | reply

Thanks for all the comments. I must add, to explain why I found this so particularly disturbing, that when visiting Turkish internet cafes, I found that the majority of users are very young boys who do nothing, for hours on end, than play the most cruel and violent games there are. In that contaxt I can only fear for - and from - that kid.

posted by vogue on March 23, 2009 at 6:06 AM | link to this | reply

It is disturbing.

posted by hazel_st_cricket on March 23, 2009 at 5:46 AM | link to this | reply

Re:
Yes, in that way you are right; I too played cops and robbers when I was a girl. However nowadays as we read daily accounts of gun violence in our cities (also in fairy-tale Denmark) and know that children are forced to bear arms in various countries, this type of picture is especially disturbing.

posted by elinjo on March 23, 2009 at 5:24 AM | link to this | reply

Just for the fun of going against general consensus,  I am going to say that ominous as the picture apears I tend to see the little boy in it as just a little boy ... Didn't we play cops and robbers when we were little? Did carrying a toy gun and going "pum"  "pum" make us criminals or policemen when we grew up?  I think our perception of the image in front of us is colored by our experiences and feelings.  We must all remember that "a cigar, sometimes is just a cigar"  :-) On the other hand... he might very well be the very young looking leader of a terrorist cell. Who knows??? in today's world anything goes. 

posted by Sinome on March 23, 2009 at 4:56 AM | link to this | reply

Wow, it really makes you wonder!

posted by Ariala on March 23, 2009 at 4:37 AM | link to this | reply

It is indeed disturbing, and very sad too.

posted by Nita09 on March 23, 2009 at 3:59 AM | link to this | reply

It is ominous-that is what I wanted to say. Thank you for sharing and bringing to light what is going on. I'm so sick of reading books about other places and their conflicts, it's like wading through treacle, and your picture gets straight to the point.

posted by Tiddlypush on March 23, 2009 at 2:52 AM | link to this | reply

I am not happy about the gun. It is totally inappropriate in a place of worship. I hate guns anyway.  However, on a deeper note, there is something a little symbolic about this.

posted by Tiddlypush on March 23, 2009 at 2:47 AM | link to this | reply

Guns are not toys! Photos like this disturb me too. I think that this would be an excellent springboard for an article on private possession of weaponry.

posted by elinjo on March 23, 2009 at 1:55 AM | link to this | reply

I share your feeling...

posted by Kayzzaman on March 23, 2009 at 1:46 AM | link to this | reply

I have a feeling that if you pay attention to little boys in Istanbul that you will see that many of them have guns (some real, some toys made to look real).  Gun ownership in Turkey has risen greatly and so has gun deaths.  Like this boy pushing his way in and demanding his picture taken, I'm sure that carrying guns make them feel more masculine and grown up.  Can you imagine what he will be like in another ten years--if he lives that long.

posted by TAPS. on March 22, 2009 at 11:43 PM | link to this | reply