the opposite of love is indifference: rachael gilbert

picture taken of children fleeing mustard gas in vietnam. behind them walks american soldiers, who make no move to help the children. this picture is often credited to having changed the american mindset on the vietnam war (previous to the publication of this photograph, the majority of americans were against the war). child in foreground has ripped off her burning clothes.  

what is the speed of fear? is it slow and creeping, unrecognizable until at last it is upon you? or is it quick to reach past your heart and settle in your bones?

is it faster than child’s feet?

child’s feet and innocent hands that grasp for hope thousands of miles away in a land they will dream about but never reach. child’s feet that grip hard and fast on the unforgiving earth, desperate to flee from the scene. small voices whose screams fracture the sky, split it open into the storm of the century. child’s screams which fall on the deaf ears of uniforms who left their humanity back in that hope filled land of the free.

my mother once told me that the opposite of love was not hate. no. the opposite of love was indifference. i never quite understood until this moment. but now i know, i understand. what my mother said all those years ago was true. the opposite of love is indifference. and in this image, that’s all i can see.