I don't think she gets it. If the first tweet didn't warrant some backlash, I'd say her following responses definitely did the job: Spoiler
I don't get the outrage or indignation at all. I mean as far as I've ever known when people travel they take pictures of the places they visit. How is that selfie offensive?
Because it was taken at Auschwitz of all places. A visit to a place where some of the worst atrocities in recent history occurred just ain't the time nor place to take a stupid, self-gratifying photo like that.
I honestly think its just her stupid face. Really though, most people who talk to me about what it was like to be there said it was just an indescribable feeling of dread. The worst part of their trip and a feeling that will never leave them. Its not like taking a selfie on the Ponte Vecchio or in front of the Eiffel Tower.
I am so glad when I a stupid teenager "selfies" weren't around. Not to mention social media as a whole. Yes, it's very poor judgment to do what she did but, in this day and age how can anyone expect her to have any judgment in the first place? They don't think prior to doing, it's almost mechanical for them. Shame on her, she's an idiot but she is one in a sea of millions of them.
The more you know I wonder how many of the teenagers viewing and retweeting her selfie now know what Auschwitz and the holocaust are that didn't before. #upside
There are just some places I don't think are appropriate to take selfies and those places usually involve large amounts of humans suffering, Pearl Harbor is the other place I don't really like to see smiling faces in front of the wall with the names of all the dead soldiers that are still in the ship underneath you, have some respect.
Not that I condone what she did, but by that token, dewercs, I shouldn't have taken a photo of myself smiling on the Great Wall of China either. There are thousands of people buried under that wall.
Re: The more you know Don't worry. If they believe those lies history books constantly tell them then Michael Crook, esquire, will set the record straight for them.
Fair point, the Great wall has been around for thousands of years and for some it represents pain and suffering but to others it represents protection and progress and if I knew families who lost loved ones due to enslavement for construction or dying defending it I would probably not take selfies in front of that either but to each his own. A concentration camp and a battleship full of dead soldiers are a reminder of how horrible war is and how evil human beings can be to each other, it may not be against the rules to snap selfies but it is certainly in bad taste.
Not at all - but the point was made that 'selfies' have no place where large numbers of people have died. I was merely stating that the Great Wall (along with any number of other places) are tourist attractions which also fit that criteria. I think, when it comes down to it, it's a personal judgement call. Did the events surrounding that particular place constitute a horrifying chapter in human history? If yes, don't take a selfie.
It's interesting... because there are so many monumental construction jobs that involve exactly that: -- pyramids -- railway -- panama canal -- Great Wall of China (as already mentioned) -- FIFA qatar, 2022 I think what marks concentration camps apart from all of that is the pure evil nature and purpose of the place. It was meant for one thing and one thing only... to kill people. It was a human abattoir. I tend to look at Pearl Harbor as a cemetery, and as such, proper respect is paid to the dead. And respect is, I think, what is missing from her picture. Her narcissism has overcome the sense of respect for the dead that she should have. I wonder why she doesn't have that sense of respect? I don't blame her, she's too young and stupid to know any better... but I do blame her parents, or whatever other supervisory person took her there. They didn't impress it on her well enough, nor did they shame her for doing that shit. We need to start shaming people for doing inappropriate behaviour... whether it's parking in a handicap space, or taking stupid selfies at a highly inappropriate time. Sure, millions of internet users piling on her is too much, but there still needs to be some shame given. $0.02
Real question? Has anyone here visited a dramatic site like that when they were under the age of 25? I visited Dachau when I was 22 and could've easily been accused of chatting up a girl, although no selfie thankfully. I knew the history of the place, I had taken several classes on the Holocaust, we even hitched on with a paid tour group of the site. Despite all this, despite knowing better, when you're young you do stupid things when you don't mean to. Someone needs to sit her down and talk to her instead of yelling at her, Also people need to understand a bit of this is just age. Imagine the indignation Civil War Era people would feel if they say kids playing on the fields of Gettysburgh not knowing or caring to have a clue about the suffering that went on there. Finally someone got it right, someone should've stopped her from taking that photo and taken responsibility for her attitude instead of allowing her to look stupid.
Rock and Roll No. But I think I saw Auschwitz and The Holocaust open for Blue Oyster Cult in 1981. Too soon?
The difference is, the Holocaust is fairly recent. There are still many, many survivors alive. Slaves that built the Great Wall of China or worked on Southern US plantations, not so much. Not to mention that the Hololocaust is well documented with pictures, video, etc. keeping in the public conscience.