Jimmy (Jimbo) Wales wrote:
Separately, I don't think the argument that "Those who want to hide these images don't trust the audience to be able to handle it" is very compelling, because the opposite argument could be made just as well. "Those who want to force the audience to see the image don't trust them to make up their own minds about what to read."
True, but, putting people's rhetoric aside, this is essentially what the argument boils down to. To treat such pictures differently is a cultural statement in itself about that picture. This debate is not so much about what constitutes an appropriate image but which cultural point of view will prevail on Wikipedia. It's one of those issues where there is no NPOV. To hide or remove such an image is a statement. To keep such an image inline or linked is a statement.
Christiaan