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Tilted Cat Head
Administrator
Location: Manhattan, NY
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Interesting first few posts...
I read this in today's NYTimes.com
I like the end comparison to Mad Magazine's "What Me Worry?
Quote:
July 12, 2005
LINK
On the Web, Fearlessness Meets Frivolousness
By SARAH BOXER
Every momentous occasion seems to have a moblog (read: mob log). But not every moblog is created equal. In 2004, there was Sorry Everybody (sorryeverybody.com), a Web site where hundreds of people posted pictures of themselves apologizing for the re-election of George W. Bush. Now there's We're Not Afraid (werenotafraid.com), a mass pictorial response to the terrorist bombings in London.
We're Not Afraid has exactly the same form as Sorry Everybody, but a wholly different tone and effect.
The site was created on July 7, the day of the bombings, when Alfie Dennen, who works at Stream UK in Chalk Farm, England, posted a picture of the London skyline with this caption: "Show the world that we're not afraid of what happened to London today, and that the world is a better place without fear." Since then, the sentiment has shifted somewhat.
Today, if you manage to get on the site at all (it's so popular that the server can't quite keep up), you may see among the thousand or so postings a picture of Yoda from "Star Wars" with the words, "Not afraid I am." Or you may see Eric from the animated series "South Park" saying: "I'm not afraid - I'm big boned!!!!!!!" Or you may find a picture of a pink handbag with the words, "Hey, terrorists, have a bag of bothered." Yes, frivolity has arrived.
The pictures and messages come from all over. There are cute cats and brave hamsters sending their greetings. From Italy, there's a shot of Michelangelo's David, posted with the words "Non ho paura!" From Germany comes a picture of a man with a bong and a bottle of water. The caption says: "Afraid? About what??" And various vacationers have sent in shots of themselves at the beach.
The site displays a range of defiant postures. Some people hold up their middle fingers, presumably for the terrorists to see. Some people posted pictures of American soldiers, presumably for Londoners and Americans to see.
But more and more, there's a brutish flaunting of wealth and leisure. Yesterday there were lots of pictures posted of smiling families at the beach and of people showing off their cars and vans. A picture from Italy shows a white sports car and comes with the caption: "Afraid? Why should we be afraid?"
A few days ago, We're Not Afraid might have been a comfort. Today, there's a hint of "What, me worry?" from Mad magazine days, but without the humor or the sarcasm. We're Not Afraid, set up to show solidarity with London, seems to be turning into a place where the haves of the world can show that they're not afraid of the have-nots.
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