Compassionate Christchurch, Youthful Sincerity of the Climate Strike: Our Social Week

Acts of grief may not be universally relatable, but this week in New Zealand they were certainly felt by all. Pictures from the aftermath of the Christchurch massacre look a lot like the mass shootings Americans have grown accustomed to, but with very different undertones of solidarity, defiance, and resolve embedded in the mourning process. Less than a week after it happened, New Zealand’s Prime Minister has already taken the bold step of banning automatic weapons, a far more pragmatic and responsible response to tragedy than the hand wringing afflicting lawmakers in this country.

We also had our eye on protest this week. It’s been said that photographs that hingae on words for their meaning — from billboards, newspapers headlines, stop signs, etc.– are rarely great pictures. True, English should not be a prerequisite for reading images, and reliance on cultural relativism is an easy approach to storytelling, but an exception may be found in photos of public protest where precise messaging is the point and the camera a means for its amplification. Photos of this week’s youth-led climate strike speak volumes about the priorities of kids coming of age in the Trump era, in part because activists’ hand-scrawled poster boards and protest signage do it for them. Seen as a group, these pictures capture a postmillennial political yearning, where heartfelt nods to nostalgia, pop culture, and humor reveal a generation increasingly at odds with the old world order.

-Rian Dundon

In a world of strife – and leaders that take advantage of it – this is quite a gesture. #NewZealand PM @jacindaardern at Wellington mosque on Sunday. @GettyImages #NewZealandMosqueAttack pic.twitter.com/6TMXuVLZpx

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 17, 2019

⁣The theme in #Christchurch across many pictures. 📷 Anthony Wallace @AFPphoto ⁣ @usatoday; Donna Field via @guardian. #NewZealandMosqueAttacks pic.twitter.com/mqSArPEeZe

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 18, 2019

@Guardian @DailyBeast @VOANew etc. Given the sphere has spent the last 24 hrs talking about NOT enabling terrorists online, why would you enable him by circulating his image at all, but ESPECIALLY in custody making a white power sign?? (Here’s a sliver.) #NewZealandMosqueAttack pic.twitter.com/1JfljMC5ps

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 16, 2019

There are 5 sickening screenshots @ReuterPictures distributed from the shooter’s live video, including a pic of the terrorist himself. We nearly put one here. But, should we have linked? More importantly: should Reuters have moved them at all? #NewZealandAttack #MosqueAttack

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 15, 2019

We may hesitate over role of the gun, but it’s otherwise a stunning reframe: Solidarity, amplified by gesture/meme of a young PM donning the head scarf, as its own “automatic weapon.” @jmcolberg 📷@AP_Images @DerSPIEGEL https://t.co/zwFaoAjsX8 pic.twitter.com/1gJuO0Y91C

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 21, 2019

Looking at pix of Friday’s student #climatestrike largely buried by domestic media. Think this banner actually might refer to anyone over, like, 50. 📷 @reuterspictures #climatechange #globalwarming pic.twitter.com/hKgzcAF12I

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 18, 2019

More from the student #climatestrike: How the focus changes when you’ve only got 12 years left to shift. “For now we see in a mirror, darkly.” 📷 @reuterspictures #Brighton #ClimateAction #ClimateChange pic.twitter.com/rRoakXXWGb

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 18, 2019

Literally, the best shot. @ReutersParisPix #climatestrike https://t.co/uxoxyMYvjR pic.twitter.com/5MtcolneeA

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 21, 2019

Are you seeing these? 2030-19=8 (in Havana’s case.) #climatecrisis #climatestrike 📷 @Jacquelyn_M @AP_Images pic.twitter.com/xAysjKTETm

— Reading The Pictures (@ReadingThePix) March 19, 2019

Photo: Vincent Yu/AP Caption: A police officer stands guard with a rose to pay respect at the service for a victim of the Friday March 15 mosque shootings for a burial at the Memorial Park Cemetery in Christchurch, New Zealand, Thursday, March 21, 2019.