The brutality of Emmett Till’s death in 1955 is significant to the brutality of today’s epidemic of gun violence in the U.S. The inhumanity of Till’s murder was revealed with the images of his brutalized body, as his mother demanded.
The prevalence of weapons of war in the form of combat rifles in our country contributes to the brutalization of too many victims. But these victims are almost never seen, thereby largely shielding the public from the horror of the damage that these weapons do.
We should exercise due care in showing somehow the extent of damage done to shooting victims along with the pictures of the victims as smiling youngsters and adults that we usually see. Our hiding the public from the truth is probably a disservice to the victims, their families, our community and the nation.
