Results: Sometimes history repeats itself. Sometimes history can't be repeated. Sometimes photography is one of the few witnesses that remember what happened. (Warning: Some of what photography has recorded is quite disturbing.)
At one time Beirut was a beautiful city and was called "The Paris of The Middle East." It took much less time to destroy it than it took to build it. At one time, what is now Las Vegas was desert scrub land. It can take decades or even centuries to gain freedoms and human rights yet it can take only a few short years to lose them. Here are some photographs that suggest we should fight just as hard to retain our rights as we did to win them.
1.
1.
In 1979 Muslim fundamentalists overthrew the secular monarchy of Iran and the new religious oppressors immediately began dehumanizing and subjugating women. This also happened when the Talban arrived in Afghanistan and Hamas in Gaza/Palestine. Anyone in the USA who reads this should beware because it might be happening there. Do women in the US have more freedom now than they did before the "Feminist Movement" in the 1970s or less freedom?
More freedom now than before the 1970s.
37%
•
557 votes
Less freedom now than before the 1970s
12%
•
177 votes
Just as little freedom.
10%
•
156 votes
Just as much freedom.
12%
•
176 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
20 votes
Not Applicable
31%
•
463 votes
- No - I'm a man.
- No.
- No
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.46% | 5 | |
| unsure | 0.18% | 2 |
| The lack of freedom is at times self induced | 0.09% | 1 |
| hard to say anymore | 0.09% | 1 |
| Absolutely no comparison. | 0.09% | 1 |
| women WERE gaining freedom/equality until The Former Guy's reign of terror | 0.09% | 1 |
| See comments | 0.09% | 1 |
| Define "freedom"...? | 0.09% | 1 |
| (1) Iran is just one of many Middle Eastern nations where the USA has a history of meddling. (2) American women have less freedom than a decade ago because men (transgender women) are undermining women's fundamental rights, especially in sports. | 0.09% | 1 |
| They are starting to lose the freedom they gained in the '70s | 0.09% | 1 |
| From what I see women in the US are loosing their freedom. | 0.09% | 1 |
| Sometimes sadly, only in word and not in deed. And even more sadly, sometimes the oppressors are other women not just men supporting/maintaining the power. | 0.09% | 1 |
| You have wrong information and can't compare Talban with Hamas. | 0.09% | 1 |
| Women in the US began losing their rights with the overturn of Roe vs. Wade. | 0.09% | 1 |
| I don't know enough about the subject to say (not United Statesian) | 0.09% | 1 |
2.
2.
This photo is of two little kids dancing in the Streets Of New York City, around 1940. There are several comments that come to mind when I look at this photo. Which ones resonate with you? Feel free to add your own.
Cute photo. You rarely see kids dancing in the street these days.
37%
•
555 votes
Cute photo. A white kid and a black kid playing together was worthy of comment in the 1940s but it is not unusual to see this these days.
29%
•
439 votes
Cute photo. A white kid and a black kid playing together was more common in the 1940s but it is less liable to happen these days.
8%
•
113 votes
If left to themselves kids of different ethnic groups will happily play together. It is their parents who prevent this from happening more often.
36%
•
546 votes
These kids are obviously in a very poor neighbourhood. (If you agree with this one, please comment).
3%
•
45 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
13 votes
Not Applicable
24%
•
365 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.23% | 4 | |
| All kids should be this carefree. | 0.06% | 1 |
| The boy looks ike he's in a better mood than the girl. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Joe B i d e n hates this photograph because he can't sniff the little girls' hair, and He feels that white children should not hang out with "roaches" in a racial jungle, but poor kids are just as smart as white kids. | 0.06% | 1 |
| Children don’t judge by colour, maybe some should learn from them. | 0.06% | 1 |
| innocence | 0.06% | 1 |
| You have to be taught to hate, to be racist. These kids hopefully haven’t been contaminated by that yet. | 0.06% | 1 |
| kids don't see color | 0.06% | 1 |
| MORE common in the 1940's? Ludacris | 0.06% | 1 |
| Children only see the inside and don’t care about the outside. Parents poison them and rob this innocence | 0.06% | 1 |
3.
3.
This photo is of Lonnie Johnson, Inventor Of the Super Soaker, in 1992. Here are some thoughts about this photo. Which ones can you relate to?
Great invention. I hope he made a lot of money from it.
34%
•
517 votes
I wonder how many prototypes he developed before he got it right.
14%
•
216 votes
I didn't know a black guy invented the Super Soaker
16%
•
241 votes
Was he able to bring the product to the market (manufacturing, distribution, patents, financing etc) or was he exploited?
12%
•
178 votes
Was he able to bring the product to the market (manufacturing, distribution, patents, financing etc) or did he have to sell his invention to the likes of Hasbro?
17%
•
248 votes
Other (please specify)
1%
•
15 votes
Not Applicable
36%
•
543 votes
| Other Answers | Percentage | Votes |
| 0.28% | 4 | |
| Why didn’t I think of that. | 0.07% | 1 |
| I've used a squirt gun before, but never a Super Soaker. | 0.07% | 1 |
| I don't know what a super soaker is. | 0.07% | 1 |
| It's a ramped up squirt gun, that's all. | 0.07% | 1 |
| Not a clue what a super soaker is | 0.07% | 1 |
| Interesting, hadn't noticed the color of his skin. | 0.07% | 1 |
| Was the super soaker the “Mother of Invention” for people dealing with horrendous summer heat in some areas? | 0.07% | 1 |
| When you don't see color, you don't see existing prejudice against it either. | 0.07% | 1 |
| I use a type of this soaker to keep the male cats in line . | 0.07% | 1 |
| I typically don't care about who invented something. | 0.07% | 1 |
| Makes me think of Songkram Festival - there were plenty of these around then to so | 0.07% | 1 |
4.
4.
The Library of Alexandria in Egypt, was one of the largest and most significant libraries of the ancient world. Alexandria was the capital of knowledge and learning because of it. Its influence declined after the purging of intellectuals from Alexandria in 145 BC. In 642 AD, Alexandria was captured by the Muslim army with the library's destruction by order of Caliph Omar. "If those books are in agreement with the Quran, we have no need of them; and if these are opposed to the Quran, destroy them." The photo is of books In Cincinnati's Main Library which was demolished In 1955. We are now seeing a trend in removing books from libraries, some to digitizing, some due to politics and some to censorship. History should not repeat itself with the destruction of knowledge and literature. Do you agree?
Yes
52%
•
780 votes
No
7%
•
107 votes
Undecided
14%
•
216 votes
Not Applicable
26%
•
397 votes
- War memoirs that glorify war.
- yes
- no, it is up to parents to monitor their children's reading material.
Comments