Abandoned State Mental Institution (Title Edited)

Sorry if the title offends you. I just thought it worked well. I have a cousin who has down syndrome, so I have nothing against retarded people. Anyways... These pictures were taken at an abandoned piece of property pretty close to my home. It is known as the "Albert P. Brewer Center." It's kind of like a retirement home, but it was intended for people that were mentally retarded. It shut down probably about 4 or 5 years ago. I only have 4 pictures, but the property is huge. There are a lot of buildings, courtyards, playground stuff, and things of the like.

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I don't believe you meant to offend but I do find the title insensitive.

I like the photos because they imply, if not directly state, that an institution has been shut down in favor of placement of handicapped persons into the community. They tell a story, which is what photography is all about, IMO. I hope my interpretation is correct.

Nicely done bit of documentary work.

Jim

I guess the title of the thread was really pointless. I figured someone would find it insensensitive. So, why I did it.. who knows? I guess I'm just not the nicest guy all the time. =/

Hmmm...'Tards.

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Yeah I know. I'm sorry.

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We all do stupid things, sometimes. Keep posting. Your images are very good.

Jim

Yeah, the title is not only insensitive, it portrays you as a very ignorant individual. Sorry, did that offend you? "house of tards" --- did you really think someone wouldn't lay into your for that? Anyway, I'm not going to waste too many more keystrokes on this, but I feel that you need to know that posting images with a title like that does not make you look like a nice guy, an artist or a photographer worth hiring. It makes you appear ignorant, except that you also state that you have family with D.S. ....thus, I must assume that you are not ignorant you are just insensitive and/or don't care.... going for the "shock" factor were you?

I like your images, though they look a little flat and drab (which kind of works with the subject matter)... But the title does not work well. Even if it did, you had to expect a reply like this, so don't take offense. Please keep posting your images. This is a great forum, but when posting here, you might want to keep in mind that we come from diverse backgrounds and I happen to be a special education specialist. My main job is not only teaching individuals with disabilities, it is also advocating for them. Taking shots at a population that gets enough crap from people who don't know any better for the purpose of making your "title work" is not acceptable in my opinion....especially from someone who has family with D.S. (should know better) and who appears to have the insight of a photographer and the ability to produce great images. The subject matter here definitely NEEDS to be captured by good photographers and I commend you for noting this need.... the title is offensive though.

-daniel

Danny chill out. He's a different person with a different opinion, and may not find the same things insensitive as you. If it isnt too over the edge then just drop it and critique his photos. We are here to look at pics and suggest/comment on them, not to bicker over someones choice of words.

I thought they were good pics. Maybe a darker tone would fit in with the "abandoned" theme of the photographs.

I agree. I also stated that I liked the images. Referring to someone with mental retardation as a "tard" is simply not acceptable in my opinion. Yes, we are here to look at photos and critique them. He knew what he was gettign himself into by posting a title like this....he appologized for it in his first statement! This tells me that he knew it was not a very nice thing to say, but didn't care and decided to post it anyway.... I guess if that is ok with you, then you must not personally know anyone with mental retardation. If this were a post referring to other people that I know personally using racial slurs or gender slurs I would react exactly the same way.

You aren't really going to try to justify to me, the use of "tards" to refer to people with mental retardation are you?

-daniel

dsze, I think he was just trying to be clever as a play on words with "house of cards", but I agree, probably not the best choice of words. From that aspect, it actually is pretty clever since this place is closed down. I also found the "My cousin has downs" kind of funny, like how prejudiced people always say, "Hey, I'm not prejudiced, I have [Insert color/race here] friends".

Back the pictures, which are good. I like #2 and #3.

Okay, gang. I think the subject of his unfortunate choice of titles has been discussed enough. Let's talk about the photos.


JustDon'tDie:
It's clear you knew the use of that term would be controversial. I find it regrettable that you would have made such a choice knowing that it would draw more attention than the photos themselves. That's really too bad, because they are very good images of an interesting subject.

It's your choice, of course, but it seems to have been a distraction that some folks simply couldn’t ignore. The term suggests an insensitivity that hopefully does not represent your actual attitude on the subject.

Thanks,


Tom

Yes, I thought the cousin comment was kind of funny too. YES, I like the images, I just thought the choice of words was unfortunate.

Belmondo, just to make this crystal clear... I will never let it slide when someone here thinks that it is ok to use someone's disability in a derogatory fashion. I simply will never be able to "ignore" that. It is unfortunate that others are able to let that kind of ignorance go unmentioned in my opinion... but, you are right about this being done to death. You guys talk about the images if you want and I promise to zip it!

I'm sorry. I guess I can be immature at times. I am only 18, but that's no excuse. I just thought the name fit nicely and it would draw attention to the thread.