-Albert EinsteinIt's a cautionary tale.
Your mother always told you, "don't steal".
Apparently that goes for more than just candy.
By now you've heard about it.
Teen flickrite and photography princess Rosie Hardy has screwed herself over, and has retreated from the limelight, fighting off accusations of blatant plagiarism.
And honestly... I'm disappointed, not so much with Rosie herself, but with a society that is so drama-hungry and bored with their own lives that they feel it necessary to bring down one of the most creatively brilliant artists I've seen in a long time.
Don't get me wrong - I've seen all the "proof". I've seen the side-by-side photos, and it's incredibly hard to ignore the fact that several of Rosie's "inspirations" appear in her DeviantArt favourite lists. That is in-your-face, to the T evidence that can't be ignored. But to go to such an extent to bring down someone who has rightfully and upfrontly apologized to millions and millions of viewers, who very well could have simply ignored and denied all accusations, is just cruel. The act of plagiarism is a very serious topic, this I am not denying either; but in Rosie's case, where can you draw the line between inspiration, and stealing?
I'd like to think that I am not a naive person. And while it has been said before that I have "too much faith in people", believing most are good hearted and kind, I still am not blind when it comes to judging character, and accepting those without intelligent thought as to who they really are. I have been following Rosie Hardy for years, literally. I came across her photos before she had met Aaron, before the flickr fame, before she was much more than an amateur photographer posting photos of script etched into piano wood. She was very much like myself: a beginner, with little more than self-taught experience, but willing to learn and be inspired by the shiny new world of Flickr. I've had messaged conversations back and forth with Rosie, and I feel confident in believing I was conversing with a human being, versus a LonelyGirl15 scenario. (Google it if you're not familiar with the former Youtube phenom.) I continued to watch Rosie grow as a photographer, and followed her budding romance with Aaron Nace, a fellow Flickrite. Again, while many turned their heads at the idea of the romance, thinking it was fake or creepy or simply a hoax, I continued to follow the story and Rosie's photostream, thinking all the while that maybe this was simply a glimmer of hope for the romantics out there. I myself would not necessarily follow that route to find romance, but who's to say that it's not the same as meeting someone on the street? Aside from the "you could be a 40 year old woman living with cats" thought, you are still unaware of who this person is, as a person. Who's to say that with the invention of the internet, relationships formed through this venue are false?
Essentially, I feel as though Rosie has simply made a mistake, and like anyone in the spotlight, is feeling the backlash. I couldn't believe my eyes when I read some of the cruel, forceful comments following Rosie's most recent Flickr post - do people really not have enough drama in their own lives that they feel it necessary to bring down a teenaged girl, simply trying to follow her passion? She's apologized. She's removed most, if not all of the photographs in question. The fact that she has made money off these photos doesn't sit well with me either, but this isn't a situation where she was maniacally sitting at a computer screen, hands formed into a peak similar to Mr. Burns, watching the Flickr community fall at her feet. She was simply creating works of art she thought to be worthy of public view, and while she definitely should have credited those who deserved such, at least she has realized the error in her ways, and has rectified such. The cruelty of humans has astounded and disappointed me to the point where my judgement of faith and goodness has wavered, and I can never look at Flickr the same way again. Those who have personally attacked Rosie have disappointed and disgust me. I believe it's necessary to inform those who are doing wrong, but to bring someone down so cruelly is completely unnecessary.
I'm basically shocked. Partly on the accusations themselves, and partly on the fact that they are legitimate. The most disappointing part of the entire ordeal is that Rosie Hardy, guilty or innocent, was and is my personal inspiration. To see someone's character be so destroyed over a simple mistake immediately brings sympathy to mind, but then to realize such accusations are based on truth and fact, hits the story home. What does it say for my photos, when my inspiration is no longer original?
I'll probably rant more later.
This is very disjointed.
And really quickly written up in class, between assignments.
But.
Who are we, when it becomes necessary to bring down someone else for self-satisfaction?
Sucks to your ass-mar, I'll think twice before posting anything on Flickr again.
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