So I have written about this topic before.
When Paris was attacked, I was ashamed (even of myself) of the way people reacted to this country going through what they did. It was sad and we felt for them. But has anyone else noticed that we only ever feel for these "super power" countries when so many other places go through this everyday?
The following is what I wrote after Paris.
Every one of us is guilty.
We tend not to change the color overlay of our facebook pictures for countries like Afghanistan or Syria. Most of us don't even know that China's youth is so opressed and depressed that they're locking themselves away in their rooms and even killing themselves. No one bat an eye at the college campus in Kenya where 147 people were killed. And the Paris media attention drowned out the suicide bombing tragedy in Beirut one day before.
What happened in Paris is indeed a tragedy. But it brings to light how we as Americans pick and choose who to show our compassion to.
It's only fitting that we care about a world superpower but not about a tiny island or small village. We choose to send help to a country with a stable government (or in few cases monarchy), a perfectly capable military, and an overall ability to handle these situations on their own.
This is not to say we should ignore what happens around the world. But it is to say that we should show every country, even our enemies, enough compassion to prove we are human.
Isn't it sad that humanity is something we need to prove?
This is the case with more places than just the US. But since I don't live anywhere else, I'm pointing out the issue here.
Wake up. Please.
Je suis Paris.
Je suis the rest of the world.
I know we all feel for Brussels. It won't be long before Facebook concocts an overlay of their flag for people to "show their support" but not really do much else.
It's sad.
But then their is the thought of, "Do we react to every single bombing or attack?" "Does anyone expect us to send relief to EVERY country with problems?" "How do we keep up with so many incidents?"
I don't know.
But don't you think we should stop white-washing incidents and scaling their impacts against each other?
Don't you think it's only fair to care about everyone equally?