gallery: bloomington airshow

I used to have some airshow photos here. I have deliberately removed them. If there is something you're interested in, feel free to ask for it by email, and I may send it to you.
 
The reason I have removed them is simple: over the past week, I have noticed a sharp increase in the number of people who were viewing my page with referrals from Google apparently in search of certain military aircraft. (Yes, all that information is logged by the server as a matter of course.) I do not believe that this rise in traffic is at all independent of recent national and global events.
 
I am a pacifist. I believe that a military response to last week's tragedy would engender a tragedy in its own right. The pervasive rhetoric of war in the media and in the language and opinions of some of those around me is something I find terribly disturbing. Watching the server logs, I have begun to realize that I may be unwittingly contributing to the violent, nationalistic, self-righteous sense which has been building recently under the guise of patriotism.
 
I took those pictures in the first place for several reasons. First, I had an inefficent telephoto lens that I'd never really put to the test; nor had I ever tried to take fast pictures before. I received a wonderful camera as a college graduation gift, and I like trying things out, amateurishly. Second, I really do like planes and stunt-flying -- not in any deep way, just a sort of childish "wow, cool!" And last, but hardly least, I have a friend who is very enamoured of aircraft, and his enthusiasm for airshows is contagious enough to make me stand in the bright heat of a July day.
 
I know full well that the various branches of the military use performances at airshows to bolster their recruitment. The performance we saw that day was nothing short of spectacular, and I managed to capture some of those spectacular moments in surprising clarity. But: those spectacular moments, while impressive when removed from their larger social context, are nothing more than an advertisement for the military.
 
I am a pacifist.
 
I will not advertise for the military.
 
Rosemary Braun
Wed Sep 19 22:55:40 CDT 2001