Photographer: Nazi salute image should not be offensive – National News

MILWAUKEE (AP) – The parent who took a photo of Wisconsin high school students giving what appears to be a Nazi salute on the steps of a local court said Tuesday that he was simply asking teens to say goodbye to their parents before heading to the prom. and never anticipated the image would attract a widespread condemnation.

But Pete Gust, who has a son in the photo, said he understood why his photo of about 60 boys in front of the Sauk County Courthouse in Baraboo last spring offended some people. About two-thirds of the boys have their right arms lifted in the gesture, many smiling broadly.

"The optics are not good," Gustavo told The Associated Press, while asserting that he did not believe the boys were making a Nazi salute: "There's never had the slightest idea of ​​it … shaped so as to simulate anything offensive to anyone. "

Gust claimed that his camera had simply picked up the wave of boys prematurely, claiming that he "regretted that I did not get to the top".

Many viewers of the photo were deeply opposed, criticism from private individuals and Jewish organizations, including the memorial and Auschwitz-Birkenau museum in Poland.

One of the students in the photo also rejected the suggestion that the gestures were anything but a Nazi hello. Jordan Blue, who is photographed without expression and arms down, said that he thought some students had the intention of doing the hello as a joke.

"It was very disrespectful of what I thought, and it was a very bad representation of the upper class and the Baraboo School District, because, no doubt, the Baraboo School District does not support this. kind of action and it's a district that offers a lot of opportunities for students, "said Blue at Baraboo News Republic. "It's something I will never forget."

After being taken in May, Gust posted the photo on his photographic website, Wheel Memories. He kidnapped him on Monday and apologized after he surfaced social media messages and has been widely shared.

The Baraboo School District stated that he was investigating the case and that the local police stated that she was participating in the investigation.

"If the gesture is what it appears to be, the district will pursue all available and appropriate actions, including legal, to resolve the problem," District Superintendent Lori Mueller said Monday in a letter to parents.

Half a dozen speakers addressed the issue Monday night at a school council meeting. Kevin Vodak, chairman of the board of directors, said the photo "has deeply disappointed, ashamed, dismayed and irritated."

"The photo profoundly upset my personal belief in the process we've been doing as a community and school district to be tolerant, inclusive, accept and admit all who are different from ourselves," he added.

Earlier Monday, a hundred people gathered near the courthouse to attend a rally for the unit, intended to convey a positive message about Baraboo, a community of 12,000 people located 115 km northwest of Milwaukee.

"The goal is to show Baraboo that it is about love," said organizer Sherri Schaaf.

Officials from the Auschwitz-Birkenau Memorial and Museum commented on the photo on Monday.

"That's why, every day, we work hard to educate, and we need to explain the danger of seeing a hateful ideology develop," they said.

(Copyright 2018 The Associated Press Inc. All rights reserved This document may not be published, disseminated, rewritten or redistributed.)