Pelosi’s image: more than 'year book photo’

In the American Library Association group on LinkedIn, a commentor is chastising me for being part of a perceived “trend” to discredit members of U.S. Congress who support U.S. President Barack Obama. I posted a link to a Storify curated by Deborah Petersen because I thought it relevant to library workers’ efforts to curate historic records.

The commentor likened the Photoshopped image to “a year book or class photo,” something not of legitimate concern. But as reported in the Atlantic Wire, this is the first time that any congressional caucus does not have a white male majority.

This is, therefore, more than merely a “year book or class photo.” It is history’s first draft of an impressive political gain by women and racial minorities.

The commentor impugns my integrity by claiming my post is not really about “Photoshopping the yearly group photo.” I can only respond that my concern with credibility has nothing to do with political ideology. I resent this person aligning me — someone she has never met — with a “trend” to discredit supporters of the president.

My colleague Berenice Quirino addresses the issue in her column this week; in it she argues that elected officials should be held to the same standards of credibility as journalists. “An official image used as documentation should represent what happened, not what a person wants to convey.”