Human Dignity in a Photo

I went out shopping this weekend and came across this display(Left) in the store Buckle. I took a second to read a few of the bracelets and then I looked at the cardboard display that explained a little bit about what the bracelets stood for.

Turns out "Humanity" is a brand that when purchased, 25% of the net profits are donated to rebuild Homes for the Holidays for families still living in temporary housing and FEMA trailers in New Orleans. After doing a little more research on it when I got home, I discovered that "Humanity" is not only bracelets but they also make shirts. Some of the shirts on the website say things like "Peace Love Japan" and sayings on the bracelets vary and include things like, "Make a Difference", "Faith", "Pave the Path", and "Unity".

I think it is great that a store such as Buckle is carrying through with this initiative because the store attracts young adults who may not necessarily have the means to donate large amounts of money, but are able to help by purchasing a bracelet. Another great thing about it being a piece of clothing/jewelry is that when worn they may get asked questions about it and can share their knowledge, and promote the cause to others. Bringing awareness to this brand/cause is what is going to make it successful! 

When capturing dignity in a picture as opposed to words or writing I think that biggest factor is that it is frozen in time, forever. This picture will always exist. In my particular example, the display may change, the bracelets may change, and the cause may change eventually but from now on when I see the word Humanity I am going to think of this brand and it's cause.

 Although this photo may not be an exact picture of Dignity, its purpose and overall mission is all about human dignity. The individuals who are still being affected by Hurricane Katrina are living with the ruins everyday while others move on with their lives and go home to their warm house and never even think about the people who don't have a place to call home anymore. This has to have a large affect on their self-dignity.Putting myself in this position, I would feel that I was able to provide a home for myself and I was doing just fine, until this tragic event happened and now I can't seem to get back on my feet. This constant struggle would surely tear at one's self dignity and maybe make them feel like less of a person. Through initiatives such as "Humanity" people will be able to build new homes and get their lives on track once again so they can live their life out to the fullest and overcome this obstacle that they were unfortunate to have to live through.

The biggest thing that hit home for me about this particular cause is that it is helping individuals right here in America. Often times you see campaigns and chances to donate to other countries when a natural disaster has happened, which is wonderful, but I think it is important to have that exact ambition to help our own people when they are in a time of need.

In general, images and media in our society can uphold or violate human dignity depending on the photograph/video. I think a large part of whether it is upholding it or violating it is whether or not the individual gave his/her consent to be in the photograph knowing that it will be showed on the television, newspaper, or whatever means it will be shown through. Sometimes I think the individual behind the camera gets carried away with trying to cover the event and lacks the thought of how it will affect the people the pictures/videos are of.

It is interesting to consider how the media connects to other issues that we've discussed in class. I feel that news broadcasts and newspapers are the main forms of media that connect to what we've covered in class material. The main problem is that without the media the public wouldn't be aware of what is going on in areas such as criminal justice, other cultures, or the health field, which are all areas that bring about issues of Human Dignity. What stems from this problem is that sometimes the media twists facts to make a "better" story which could end up hurting one's dignity even worse than it would be hurt by simply being displayed.

I'm not sure what the answer to this problem is, it seems that ethics are being pushed more now than ever, but seem to being followed less and less. By displaying dignity through a photograph/video one is taking a large chance of harming one's dignity but most times they are just trying to share the emotion, whether good or bad with the rest of the world so that we as a whole can understand just what is happening in that particular situation.



Buckle Website:
http://www.buckle.com/product/product.jsp?bmForm=morew&bmFormID=iYMF5L1&bmUID=iYMF5L2&bmIsForm=true&bmPrevTemplate=%2Fproduct%2Fproduct.jsp&bmHidden=formName&formName=morew&bmHidden=N&N=2221+43&bmHidden=Ns&Ns=&bmSubmit=women&women=View+More