Tank Man

Posted by William M. Connolley on October 9, 2007
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Via mt via the newly re-returned QS, I find this wonderful video. Having been a small child obsessed by building plastic models of tanks, I always found them rather beautiful, but this combination of their hulking threat and human fragility is iconic.

Previously I’ve only seen stills, and in some ways the video is less beautiful, but it makes the man even more courageous.

I haven’t listened to the sound track so don’t vouch for whatever the talking heads are saying. The political message at the end is a bit offkey too.

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Comments

  1. #1 Dean Morrison
    2007/10/09

    . truly astonishing to see that again.

    The shopping bags give certain poignancy – and maybe saved his life. They say this was an ordinary man – with somewhere to go – and an ordinary future like you and me. He’s no angry revolutionary nor an enemy of the people. There is no reward for courage or loyalty in killing such a man…

    The unseen man in the tank was a bit of a hero too – I wonder what happened to him??

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tank_Man

  2. #2 Luboš Motl
    2007/10/10

    Given the fact that the tank is almost at rest and the person is 1 meter away, I don’t find it that shocking.

    The rows of tanks of always look identical, like those that were testing the Nusle bridge:

    http://motls.blogspot.com/2007/08/safe-bridges.html