True story?

[Double Down]

It would be weird to me if he made it up -- but again, after the Rolling Stone stuff, I blame no one for being skeptical about stuff that seens too fitting with certain is ideologies.

The objection from Rush et al is quite clearly motivated less by journalistic skepticism and more by the denial that a kid so young could decide he's gay and share distress over those feelings with total strangers who would then respond with kindness and empathy instead of scorn and judgment. We can all be thankful Ann Coulter didn't dream up HONY and meet this kid and respond by giving him an atomic wedgie.

All that said, are kids that young really sharing their sexuality fears with a stranger who walks up and asks to take a pic? That seems like a big stretch.

On the other hand, if you make it up and it goes viral (which lots of HONY pics do) wouldnt the kids parents blow it up almost immediately?

 

[LongTimeListener]

YF, some skepticism is warranted here, but there's a better chance of this kid being legit than there is that Lynne Russell and her husband capped that guy as the result of a surprise attack in their hotel room.

 

[JackReacher]

Here is a link to his actual site. The one I linked in the previous post is someone who aggregated their favs (and now that I think about it, probably is committing a copyright violation). Some of them are really powerful.

http://www.humansofnewyork.com/archive/2015/

Thanks for the links. Never seen that until today. Pretty damn cool.

 

[outofplace]

Where'd I "go after" her.

****, I agree with what she said.

I just don't think the thing is real/true. I think it was designed to draw out the very reactions we saw. It would draw inspirational messages, and would expose homophobes.

Mission accomplished.

As for the "who" are speculating, they're not hard to find. Could I post links? Sure, but they're all over. It's not some underground thing.

Some are speculating that the whole thing, including her post, was a set-up. You're taking a mild shot at credibility there, likely to set up a less subtle one. It's what you do.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I like Humans of New York. I think it's interesting storytelling in short form. Everyone who complains about the Cult of Schlongform should embrace the *idea* of HofNY, at least. Because people love that ****, and when done well, it's quite good.

I also think this pic feels a bit like a plant, but Stanton (the guy who does the pics) has a pretty great track record. I'm giving him the benefit of doubt.

I've been thinking about this post since I saw it here late last night.

How do you know he has a great track record? How do you know he deserves the benefit of the doubt? Has his work been independently evaluated? Confirmed? What's his background? I don't exactly doubt you, but I do want to know more. Didn't Sabrina Erdely have a great track record, until she didn't? Stephen Glass?

I see the photos Facebooked from time to time, but didn't give them much thought. I think that I thought they were meant to be fiction, or some mish mash of fiction and reality.

 

[Songbird]

I'll give him the benefit of the doubt. I believe what he does is true because it's what I do up here, everyday: stories of customers at the gallery. Same exact thing: photos, words, vignettes.

Can't guilt-by-association everyone just because of the Erdelys and Glasses of the literary world.

 

[Dick Whitman]

I wish I could remember the newspaper. Maybe the Louisville Courier-Journal, but don't quote me on that. In high school, I believe, I went to a journalism workshop of some sort. One of the speakers was a columnist whose schtick was to randomly call someone from the phone book, get them talking, and then tell their story. The idea, of course, was that everyone has a story to tell. This reminds me of that quite a bit. Of course, the photos and setting add tremendous value.

 

[MisterCreosote]

The one YF posted seems a little too ... perfect.

But, as a whole, it's much more realistic and I'm much more inclined to believe they're all legit when I see the ones that aren't as polished.

Like the guy who just says, "I need a dog." Or the guy who admits he spoils his daughter. Or the clown who says, "I'm under a lot of pressure right now." Or, "We don't very well speak English yet."

 

[YankeeFan]

I wish I could remember the newspaper. Maybe the Louisville Courier-Journal, but don't quote me on that. In high school, I believe, I went to a journalism workshop of some sort. One of the speakers was a columnist whose schtick was to randomly call someone from the phone book, get them talking, and then tell their story. The idea, of course, was that everyone has a story to tell. This reminds me of that quite a bit. Of course, the photos and setting add tremendous value.

It's been mentioned on this site before, and I'm blanking right now on the reporter's name, and on the name of the segment, but the guy on the CBS Sunday Morning Show does this.

I think it's true, and folks like DoubleDown and Jones have mentioned it before, a good reporter/interviewer should be able to find a good story in just about anyone. (DD and Devil famously argued this point in light of some story. Can't remember that story either.)

I have no doubt this guy -- or Songbord -- could find lots of god stories if he works on it daily. But, this one just doesn't seem real to me.

Maybe it is. Either way, the kid in the picture exists. As viral as it's gone, I wouldn't be surprised if he is identified, and we learn the truth.

 

[Dick Whitman]

It's been mentioned on this site before, and I'm blanking right now on the reporter's name, and on the name of the segment, but the guy on the CBS Sunday Morning Show does this.

I think it's true, and folks like DoubleDown and Jones have mentioned it before, a good reporter/interviewer should be able to find a good story in just about anyone. (DD and Devil famously argued this point in light of some story. Can't remember that story either.)

I have no doubt this guy -- or Songbord -- could find lots of god stories if he works on it daily. But, this one just doesn't seem real to me.

Maybe it is. Either way, the kid in the picture exists. As viral as it's gone, I wouldn't be surprised if he is identified, and we learn the truth.

I don't think Hillary Clinton was involved in a conspiracy here, but I'm highly skeptical about the photo. It's unfortunate that Rush Limbaugh is the one that raised doubts, because I'm sure that will turn a lot of people off of pursuing verification.

I'm waiting to hear back here from DD about the artist's track record, so I can be swayed, but strictly on its face, I wouldn't be surprised if we get the kind of explanation we get from memoirists in the coming days: He was capturing the "essence," this was a composite character, he did meet a little boy like this one time, "truth" is more important than accuracy, etc.

 

[YankeeFan]

I do have to admit that I didn't know much about this whole "Humans of New York" thing.

I know I've seen it pop up in my Facebook timeline. I looked last night, and a bunch of friends, including all of my nieces and nephews who are old enough to be on Facebook, follow it.

I think I probably assumed it was a more sophisticated version of "People of Wallmart".

I did not know it was one person's efforts. If you had asked me, I would have guessed it was crowd sourced, even if curated by one person.

The post is interesting. To me, it just seems designed to generate reaction. But, I suppose, that's the point in general, to a degree.

But the guy isn't a trained journalist. He has no editor. So, does he take some artistic liberty? Does he let the pictures, and their subjects, tell the story, or does he look for a picture that illustrates a story he wants to tell?

 

[YankeeFan]

I don't think Hillary Clinton was involved in a conspiracy here,

I really don't either. Her involvement in the story certainly brought it more attention though. I think her words were likely heartfelt.

It's unfortunate that Rush Limbaugh is the one that raised doubts, because I'm sure that will turn a lot of people off of pursuing verification.

Oh yeah. If you google it, there are about 100 left wing sites that are now invested in this story being true, and Limbaugh being wrong.

I wouldn't be surprised if we get the kind of explanation we get from memoirists in the coming days: He was capturing the "essence," this was a composite character, he did meet a little boy like this one time, "truth" is more important than accuracy, etc.

That's pretty much what I think. I just assumed from the post that this is how I was supposed to take it. I'm surprised to learn that his posts are taken to be literal.

 

[MisterCreosote]

But the guy isn't a trained journalist. He has no editor.

That's because what he's doing isn't "journalism."

It's fine for what it is - a very creative use of social media.

I view it similar to the way I view biopics. Some liberties are probably taken, but overall, most of them are pretty accurate.

 

[Dick Whitman]

That's because what he's doing isn't "journalism."

It's fine for what it is - a very creative use of social media.

I view it similar to the way I view biopics. Some liberties are probably taken, but overall, most of them are pretty accurate.

Has he said this, though? Is the artist here on the record, now or in the past, saying that his works are not to be taken literally? What are his standards?

 

[YankeeFan]

That's because what he's doing isn't "journalism."

It's fine for what it is - a very creative use of social media.

I view it similar to the way I view biopics. Some liberties are probably taken, but overall, most of them are pretty accurate.

Well, right. That's basically my point.

He's not a journalist, and isn't practicing journalism. He's much more an artist than a journalist.

So, I wouldn't be surprised if he didn't hold himself to journalistic standards.

 

[MisterCreosote]

Has he said this, though? Is the artist here on the record, now or in the past, saying that his works are not to be taken literally? What are his standards?

From his site:

My name is Brandon and I began Humans of New York in the summer of 2010. I thought it would be really cool to create an exhaustive catalogue of New York City’s inhabitants, so I set out to photograph 10,000 New Yorkers and plot their photos on a map. I worked for several months with this goal in mind, but somewhere along the way, HONY began to take on a much different character. I started collecting quotes and short stories from the people I met, and began including these snippets alongside the photographs. Taken together, these portraits and captions became the subject of a vibrant blog. With over eight million followers on social media, HONY now provides a worldwide audience with daily glimpses into the lives of strangers in New York City. It has also become a #1 NYT bestselling book.. It’s been quite a ride so far. Feel free to follow along.

My completely uneducated guess is he takes pictures and publishes whatever the people say their story is, with no verification that it's true.

And, that's fine, as far as I'm concerned. All the ones I've seen are pretty harmless fluff.

His book was a best-seller on the NYT's nonfiction list, but then again, so was O'Reilly's "Killing Jesus."

 

[Double Down]

He's published something like 8,000 of them. In that sense, it's nothing at all like SRE's work. She was very careful to use people who would not be photographed in the rape piece and housewife heroin and prostitute stories. All of these have pics where the people are purposefully ID'd. I'm not going to tell you he didn't make this one up, but if he made **** up on the regular, is like to believe *someone* after 8,000 tries would say "Hey's that's bull. I didn't say that."

 

[93Devil]

"Too perfect?"

I guess this is cooked up as well? Or is this OK because it does not mention someone who is gay and referenced by Hillary Clinton?

Brandon,

I am one of the officers in this picture. My friend found it in your book and pointed it out to me. The victim under the sheet was a woman in her late fifties. She was Miss Austria in her early 20's and a contestant in the Miss World pageant. At the time of her death she was destitute and alone, but still carried her passport with a photo of her at the peak of her beauty. She was stunning. On October 22nd of last year, wandering the halls of the building she had chosen for her last act, she had looked for an open window at the record company that produces Maroon Five. Asked to leave, she found one a floor above in a hallway, took sleeping pills, sat on the ledge in the sunlight for about ten minutes, then leaned forward. Anyway, thanks for the photo. It is one of those souvenirs of one's life that come to be valuable because it has unexpectedly captured a moment of you doing your life's work, genuine and unrehearsed.

 

[Dick Whitman]

He's published something like 8,000 of them. In that sense, it's nothing at all like SRE's work. She was very careful to use people who would not be photographed in the rape piece and housewife heroin and prostitute stories. All of these have pics where the people are purposefully ID'd. I'm not going to tell you he didn't make this one up, but if he made **** up on the regular, is like to believe *someone* after 8,000 tries would say "Hey's that's bull. I didn't say that."

Some of them just show people's shoes or hands, though.

 

[93Devil]

He's published something like 8,000 of them. In that sense, it's nothing at all like SRE's work. She was very careful to use people who would not be photographed in the rape piece and housewife heroin and prostitute stories. All of these have pics where the people are purposefully ID'd. I'm not going to tell you he didn't make this one up, but if he made **** up on the regular, is like to believe *someone* after 8,000 tries would say "Hey's that's bull. I didn't say that."

The more famous he becomes the more he is going to have people embellishing their own stories to get on the Facebook feed. How can he filter the BS from the great? It's probably impossible, so he might make a mistake or two along the way. Of course, the first slip up he does, internet trolls will be trying to take him down.