POLLUTION

Which is deadlier, air pollution or cultural pollution? You make the call.

David:

 

Effective commentary on the distressing turn consumerism has taken. Now, one can test drive an automatic (semiautomatic?) weapon, just like test driving a car. Amazing. Also, this shot reminds us that everything in Las Vegas is not glitz and glimmer.

 

Nice goin' . . .

 

michael

and we could say "statement" about this world. This photo is a message, and it's clear and well presented, thank you, G.

Almost looks like the aftermath of a nuclear attack...Very well captured...My best...Marjorie

is this a real sign, or did you doctor it? Anyway, the seeming desolation the photo shows complements the billboard very well. I'd much rather see a picture of a V8 bottle there. Cheers, Micheal

Did you call? Were they friendly? What did'ya get?

 

 

What a world. What a sad, sorry world.

Thanks. Yes, I wanted to show the smog, because it was bad on this day. But, worse than that, is a series of these signs I saw as I passed through Vegas on I 15. The mere fact that nobody seemingly objects to them says so much about our culture. Added to this, is the fact that I read in the news someplace in the last few days. a boy of about eight years old was handed one of these for no other reason than his dad thought it appropriate, and he fired it, but the recoil caused it to come up and point toward his head as it kept firing causing the boy's death. A very tragic and so avoidable incident. I have an eight year old grandson, and as much as I'm sure he would think it neat to fire one of these babies, I fervently hope that he outgrows that desire ASAP.

Thanks. This was definitely intended to make a statement.

I guess that is one way to describe it. To me it is an image of the worst of mankind's efforts. Both environmentally and culturally.

This is all too real my friend. There were about five of them I passed. I did not do much processing. It is what it was. (Sadly)

I think we view this about the same way.

One presumes he means "try one" on the giving end and not the other way around. There is this guy Tom Shane who sells diamonds, and he is always on the radio when I want to listen to sports. A few months ago, he started running these ads where he tells his prospective clients to give up one latte a day to save up for buying diamonds. In his greed, I don't think he paused for a second to understand what he was saying, but simply copied the idea from similar ads run to raise money for starving children in yet another country whose population is brutally expolited to keep the diamond mines churning out glasslike objects to feed the vanity of women far far from the scene of the consequences of their obsessions. What irony, then, that they would start skimping on coffee--and one sees the natural extension, meals--to keep old Tom Shane in Porsche Cayenes.

This looks like some apocalyptic future where everyone is afraid to go outside for fear of being shot or choked by bad air. The apparent desolation of the scene adds much to the power of the statement.

 

Even from my earliest memories of traveling through your country, as a youngster in the backseat of my parents car, I have noted that America wears its identity on its billboards.

As always your social commentary is you at your best. Thanks for giving me another dose.

It is apocalyptic. I've never thought about the billboard thing, but I suppose you are absolutely right. And, if you are, I'm afraid to think what that means.

this image is just increadible for me...how is it possible to advertise for an army weapon as simply as that, almost naively as if it would be a car or a a kid's toy....America can be such a strange (and interesting) country....well the simplicity and the subject is the power of this image...it speaks for itself...thanks for sharing David....for me this image is really nice photojournalism as it has the potential of starting a debate/discussion on the subject....

As a Swiss citizen, I have no doubt that you cannot begin to comprehend how this vision could exist. Hell, I live here and can't explain it. Not even in Iraq can I imagine a billboard with a strap on bomb pictured, and the invitation to a potential suicide bomber to come in and try it on for size. It is madness and disease. And, it should cease. But I fear it will not....

a very frightening image. my first thought was of the tragedy of that 8-year-old boy. i suppose some would say that this falls under the right to free speech. i have no ambitions to politics, so i feel that i can safely say sometimes, i am embarrassed to be an American. i hope by this time next week, i will have some hope for a better future!

I agree, and I can see some hope of improvement. But, having a bit of hope in a corner of my heart, I still have that nagging and overwhelming despair in feeling that it may be too little too late. And I sure hope I'm wrong.

i will always be amazed about how much Americans love weapons. i mean people love their weapons everywhere, but Americans also put them on huge bilboards. and it is not about pistols but about machine guns. i mean what do you hunt with them? helicopters?

'Try one'. On what? Or worse still, on who? Once again you captured a snippet of the American culture in a very photogenic way. Nice, David, I still like looking at your photos, even though I do not visit Photo.net as often as I used to.

I'm an American, and I'm as amazed as you are. I don't think this love of tools designed for no other purpose than to kill can say much for our culture. I'm sorry to say that I believe the American Era is on the wane, and probably deservedly so. On the other hand, I fear what evil might replace it.

I do miss your frequent commentary and image posts. But a man does what he has to do and moves on. I have no doubt that you, as a European, will find our love of guns easily understood. I live here and I don't understand it. I think this country has become one of extremists. Not only do we carry guns, but we carry machine guns. Not only do we have religion, but fundamentalist extremist religion. And our democracy is unraveling because everyone assumes their right to believe whatever they want means they do not have to roll up their sleeves and work for a better government and a better society. Yeah, it's kind of sad.

We are polluting this earth both environmentally and culturally,David. An ominous reminder.

Unfortunately, I think you are right my friend. It's a pretty prosaic image, but I've always thought of mankind (perhaps in concert with other species) as little more than a virus upon the earth. And, like a virus, we consume our host until his antibodies kill the virus, or the host dies, thereby making it an inhospitable host. It's a simplified model, but one that has me fairly well convinced. And with that happy thought Amal, I bid you good evening.