The Scandal Was That It's Not That Scandalous

In 2004, photos of torture and abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq became public. With this outing came lots of reactions. Many people were outraged and many Americans were embarrassed that people from their civilized country could behave in such a grotesque manner – not only in the active torture but also in the documenting of it. People were surprised that pictures were taken and that it was made out to be such a spectacle for the cameras. People were shocked the torturers seemed to be having so much fun in the images. And even though all this shock and outrage is certainly well founded, it really should not have been as surprising as it was.

Hazel Carby’s article “A Strange and Bitter Crop: The Spectacle of Torture” takes a look at why the fact that Americans torture and show others should not be so astounding. In the article she writes, “the taking of photographs and videos, the preservation and the circulation of the visual image of the tortured/lynched body, the erotic sexual exploitation which produced pleasures in the torturers – all these practices are continuities in the history of American racism” (Carby). See, it is/was not an uncommon occurrence for the torture or lynching of non-white bodies. And with this torture and lynching comes the documentation and displaying of it. Carby goes on to say that “[t]here were almost 5,000 documented instances of lynching in the United States between post-civil was ‘reconstruction’ and the mid 20^th century… The photographs of these bodies were not designed merely for storage, but rather functioned as public documents” (Carby). The images of these lynched bodies were used as postcards, as advertisements, as part of portfolios for photographers. A public spectacle was absolutely made out of these events. So it should not be astonishing when Americans today act like they did in the past.

I was looking around the internet for information on lynching and torture done by Americans and I came across this great cartoon:

Now when we take a look at this cartoon, we can see a lot of things going on. We see a middle aged, large white man with the words “USA, World Cop” written across his suit. He is holding a noose that is attached to a tree with the name “Iran” written on it. We also see another man behind the large white man. This figure is hooded and has “Southern Justice” written across his chest. His dress is eerily similar to what a member of the Ku Klux Klan would wear. Behind the hooded character is another tree with a three nooses hanging from it. In front of this tree is a sign that reads “Keep Out: White Tree.”

This cartoon visually shows exactly what Hazel Carby was talking about in her article. The past of America’s racism and violence towards non-white bodies is nicely illustrated by the hooded figure and the background tree. America’s current racism and violence toward non-white bodies is depicted nicely through the large white man and the Iran tree. [Editor’s note: I know Iran and Iraq are different places with different problems, but we started a war with both places and I’d place a bet that what happened in Abu Ghraib happens in Iran too.] The two figures are interacting quite nicely. In fact, the large white man seems to be letting the hooded figure in on a “joke” he’s playing. And just as there’s a relationship between the two figures in the cartoon, there is also a real life relationship between what the two are representing.

(Image Courtesy of: http://blogs.newamericamedia.org/bendib/817/the-lynching-of-iran)