In responding to the events at Charlottesville, former President Barack Obama tweeted a Nelson Mandela quote and a picture taken by former White House Photographer Pete Souza. The tweet has gone on to break records, becoming the most popular of all time.
The former president has been relatively quiet on Twitter recently, but his recent post has quickly skyrocketed. As of this time, the tweet has amassed over 4 million likes and 1.5 million retweets, while continuing to grow:
Pete Souza himself also posted the photo on Instagram, commending the former president for his message and including the same Mandela quote. Souza is widely respected and lauded for his work as the White House Photographer and continues to be highly active in posting his images and issuing political commentary. Of course, this is yet another reminder of the ability of photography to connect with people and the crucial role it serves in society. His powerful work, when combined with Obama's (and Mandela's) message, seems to have resonated with many people.
[via Washington Post]
I've given Trump the benefit of doubt that he's just another eccentric but deep down he's surveying the situation before playing his master stroke. Now i realize he's an unbearable buffoon with verbal diarrhea
Photo in header of the page is a bit red compared to original :)
Dare I say it....I like the boosted image better than the original :/
LOL!!
We should probably just keep Politics & Religion out of here...take pictures, talk about taking pictures and share pictures.
Actually, this was the whole point of the post to stir up the political pot. It's happening on other forums and social media I participate in the last couple of days disguised as something "innocent". The usual troll click bait that we saw during the election.
Yeah, I'm really not sure if this is in reference to my post or Obama's, but if it's referring to mine, I would ask that you reread and notice the extreme lengths I went to make sure the article had no hint of my personal political leanings. The point was to say: "look, a really respected photographer's work resonated with a lot of people, and that's a neat reminder of how important our work can be." It's certainly not clickbait; you knew what the article would be based on the title, and believe me, if my intention was to troll, it would be obvious. The fact that the comment section has unfortunately (though not unexpectedly) mostly ignored the photographic aspect of this is a bummer.
Impossible to know but I wonder of the four elements of his post, the timing, Nelson Mandela's words, the photo or the fact President Obama posted it, which had the greatest impact on the popularity. Or conversely, which had the least impact.
My point being, I don't think the photograph had much impact. I really like it, though!
Obviously, I cannot know what you were really thinking by posting the photo. However, I just don't believe you. No biggie....there's plenty of people I don't believe. I really think you knew by posting the image you were hoping "anti Trump talk" would get stirred up. Why else would you go out of your way to remove political leanings as you stated above? So you can have a great comeback?
The photo is not technically special. The photo does have an emotional hook and a "moment" which is nice. Souza is a fantastic photographer. However, I do not believe those are the reasons you really .posted
Just be honest....people are smarter than you think
Dale, you can either accept me as trustworthy, or there's not much else to be said here. You asked for an explanation and I gave one; if you don't believe it, that's on you. If you read my other work here, the last conclusion you'll come to is that I'm deceptive for the purposes of subtle influence.
:)
The anti-Trump talked should be stirred up. All the time. As much as possible. If you disagree with me you have something wrong with you. There is no grey area here.
It's a fine image and his comment has nothing to do with politics..simply a humane statement.
I agree. I really like the photo and Nelson Mandela's words. The problem, if it is one, is that while I can easily take his post at face value, disregarding his omission of any culpability on the part of BLM or antifa, people on the right aren't given the same courtesy which gives the impression of political motivation.
Lovely image. He put up a quote and a perfect image that aligns with LOVE, and all of a sudden people feel the need to defend Trump?? Hmmmmm.....
He didn't post this in a vacuum. Like Japanese art and literature, what isn't shown or said is often as important, or more so, than what is. Also, see my reply to John Aitken, above.
What shit is visiting this site and posting here?
yea, russian Trumpet
Great photo, great quote. I'm into the message sent here.