- Joined
- Nov 27, 2005
- Messages
- 67,946
- Reaction score
- 3,861
- Staff
- #21
The right may be quicker to buy into fear and paranoia, but ultimately fear and paranoia are apolitical.But, what is interesting is how the socialist and left wing students at my University are now baying for blood, and demanding a full on invasion of the "Middle East" with ME telling them an invasion would be wrong!
I think it's not so much that people don't care what happens to innocent people in Beirut or Baghdad. But unlike Paris, terrorism is a daily occurrence (so to speak) there. That means, the media doesn't report on that as much, and even then, they report on it to a degree that it becomes just another part of the "media blur" to the Average Joe. Unfortunately. I think we instinctively shut it out as well, because we don't want to know what a crappy place the world can be. Add to that the distance from where we ourselves live, and it's rather easy to stay detached from it, because it's so far away.
You're not wrong necessarily, but a) the more frequent occurrences should make it highlighted in the media more and b) it still makes the Average Joe hypocritical for being part of the (of course) sincere outpouring of grief over Paris while turning a blind eye to Beirut, Baghdad, and all the other countless attacks that happen that claim dozens and dozens of people on a regular basis.
Depends on who "we" is referring to. Western governments regularly carry out attacks that kill untold numbers of people, including civilians. Western governments financially support the oppressive governments that help create terrorism in the first place. Etc. Are those governments not monsters because they do those things while cloaked in vague notions of freedom and democracy? Are we not monsters for allowing it to continue?Needless to say, all loss of life is tragic. And all loss of civilian life is a crime against humanity. I would echo Blade's sentiments slightly. My idol, Don Johnson, posted the famous Nietzsche quote about not turning into the monsters we hunt, yesterday, on his Facebook. They are monsters - we are not. It's important to remember that, especially in the next few weeks when we decide how to proceed with a response to this.
The whole cycle has to stop.