Self-taken photos are -- as a general rule -- of no use or interest to anyone but the narcissistic subject. From the era of Myspace angle shots to the age of the Instagram duck face, this has been a true, verifiable fact. A Florida high school student has just shattered the time-tested rule, though, by photobombing his teacher, with great results. The TwitPic captioned "selfie with my teacher while she having contractions" went absolutely viral since it was posted earlier this week.
Susana Halleck isn't due until December 15, according to her Facebook page, but she began having contractions while teaching class this past Tuesday. A junior at Coral Springs Charter School, in an act of either mischief of Schadenfreude, decided it was the perfect opportunity for self-promotion.
The image's foreground shows a Lil Wayne look-alike grinning widely, wearing sunglasses inside for reasons unexplained. The background features the boy's business teacher as she calls her mother and makes a pained expression, according to Local 10.
Malik Whiter's photo, which was retweeted internationally, is extraordinary in its simultaneous capturing of joy and misery. But is it cruel? At least one person yesterday questioned the student's integrity for sharing the photo, although the vast majority of Twitterers are hailing it as a classic of the selfie genre.
Although Whiter told Local 10 he was merely trying to capture an important moment in the life of a great teacher, taking the photo was probably a dick move. And the moment he captured didn't turn out to be so important after all. Halleck went to the hospital but did not deliver, and she was back teaching yesterday.
Follow Miami New Times on Facebook and Twitter @MiamiNewTimes.
Follow Allie Conti on Twitter: @allie_conti