What do you think about the baby in the flag controversy?
There’s probably little doubt that the intent of the image of a newborn baby cradled in an American flag was not evil or malicious, but people’s motives are rarely looked at when outrage takes over on social media. I know this isn’t fire or EMS related but it very well could be. What happened with a professional photographer’s series of pictures of the baby and his proud father, an active-duty member of the U.S. Navy, could happen to anyone using social media.
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Even when you think it through carefully, there will always be someone who catches something that can undermine any good intentions you have, whether those going after you have a legitimate complaint or not.
So, what do you think about the pictures and what do you think about the controversy? Is your opinion swayed by the fact that the parents and the photographer have all served our country in the military?
If you are a firefighter and think these photos are wrong, what do you think of the one below, brought to our attention by reader Erin O’Donnell?
@STATter911 doesnt make much sense. Dont remember anyone blasting this photo for misuse of the flag. pic.twitter.com/BuJrsutsrg
— Erin M O’Donnell (@EOD13) March 12, 2015
Gillian Mohney, Good Morning America:
Vanessa Hicks said she had no idea her photo would be considered controversial. The photo, from a military family’s newborn photo shoot, showed a newborn infant wrapped in an American flag held by his father, who was in his military uniform.
Hicks, a Navy veteran herself and the wife of an active-duty Navy member, said her intention was to honor the flag as well as her clients, who wanted to incorporate their military service in the photo shoot.
“This is what he was fighting for, his son wrapped in an American flag,” Hicks told ABC News. However, when she posted the image on her page, she started to get comments accusing her of desecrating the flag.
On one Facebook page an unidentified poster put up her picture writing and wrote they found it was “disrespectful, rude, tacky, disgusting, and against the U.S. Flag Code.”
“I mean — before all this, they loved it,” said Hicks. “The mom shared it on her Facebook page. The grandmother was there and loved it. I had gotten nothing but positive feedback,” she said.
But when Vanessa, who’s a Navy veteran and is married to a sailor, posted it online Monday, it went viral.
The Facebook page You Call Yourself A Photographer blasted Vanessa, calling her unpatriotic. The page, with 3,906 “likes,” does not have a person’s name publicly connected with it.
A post from March 9 stated “The flag is not a prop. I repeat: THE FLAG IS NOT A PROP. To use the American flag in such a way is disrespectful, rude, tacky, disgusting, and against the U.S. Flag Code.”
“Not only the photo, but the service member that was in the photo – saying he should be reprimanded; he should be kicked out; he’s dishonoring the uniform,” Hicks continued.
