Pray for....

Mint Sauce

So in recent weeks we have had severa attacks on western countries, carried out by lone gunmen, crazies, and IS, all resulting in wall to wall news reports, discussions here, and pray for... on peoples facebook statuses. Then theres a bombing at an airport in Turkey and reports last for a about a day or two, and finaly this morning, 80 are killed by a bombing in Kabul, also by IS, but very little coverage from Western Media, and barely surfacing on social media.

Not to take away the grief suffered from recent events, but because they are from North Africa, or Middle Eastern, does that make them any less important? Or are we just amune to it, not on our doorstep, and less likely to travel there, so we dont respond, or is it something else.

Either way, 80 people killed, by the same people by that have been guilty of other attacks, are still worthy of the same respect and acknowledgement regardless of where they are from, the colour of their skin, or who their god is.

The_Valeyard

Odd thread title for this.

But no. it's no less important, but the further away and cultural different it takes place, the harder it can be to feel or latch onto it, that's not to say we dont care. It's just what happens closer to home, naturally gets more attention and chatter.

event

What's your point?

tomwaterford

event wrote: »

What's your point?

Heineken plz

Shenshen

Isn't the thing about prayer that it only works if you believe in it, or did I misunderstand all those concerned Christians over the years?

There's your problem right there - incompatible theological connectors.

Mint Sauce

event wrote: »

What's your point?

Did you read my post? Attack on western Europe, wall to wall coverage on news and social media. Attack on middle east by the very same terror group, very little mention. Are they any less important?

Fr_Dougal

Mojo.

Dirty Dingus McGee

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OlDEzmSff3M

Mojo?

FortySeven

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Mojo.

Mojito.

Dirty Dingus McGee

Fr_Dougal wrote: »

Mojo.

Bastard. You beat me by one minute.:D

Dirty Dingus McGee

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Did you read my post? Attack on western Europe, wall to wall coverage on news and social media. Attack on middle east by the very same terror group, very little mention. Are they any less important?

We live in Western Euope. Therefore it is going to get more coverage in our media.

HardenendMan

Maybe because we are European we discuss European matters more? I'd say the middle easterns discuss their atrocities more than the European ones?

larchielads

Well if it happened in America or Australia we'd be all over that too but when it happens in the far east or north Africa we don't give a toss.

The op is bang on.

Estrellita

Mint Sauce wrote: »

but very little coverage from Western Media, and barely surfacing on social media.

Not to take away the grief suffered from recent events, but because they are from North Africa, or Middle Eastern, does that make them any less important? Or are we just amune to it, not on our doorstep, and less likely to travel there, so we dont respond, or is it something else.

But is even the sympathy given to the western atrocities genuine? You talk about people putting pray for... in their statuses. Its bandwagon stuff for most people in my opinion. Think about it, most wouldn't even pray in a fit, never mind darken a church door.

gumbo1

I think it's the NIMBY mentality. If it's not somewhere that most people would go on holiday then why should they care.
I went to east Africa last year and was checking up on Al-Shabab and their going ons in the run up to my trip, haven't really looked twice since I returned!

donegaLroad

it could be argued that prayer is the root cause of much of this malarkey OP....

or is that your point?

Wesser

When it comes to the media.... White rich people matter more that dark poor ones.

This has always been the way that it is reported in the media.

Hundreds and hundreds of people die everyday in Africa of malnutrition and easily treatable infectious diseases and in childbirth but nobody ever reports on that.

I think it's really sad but that is what the media feeds us.

Mint Sauce

Estrellita wrote: »

But is even the sympathy given to the western atrocities genuine? You talk about people putting pray for... in their statuses. Its bandwagon stuff for most people in my opinion. Think about it, most wouldn't even pray in a fit, never mind darken a church door.

I totally agree, after France, Germany, and Brussels, people had pray for.. and had their profiles displaying the countries flag. Today, nothing, its almost a sheep mentality, or wanting to be seen supporting a cause.

learn_more

Well you see those countries out middle east etc are completely backward as a result of being riddled with religion for thousands of years and so on so attacks out there are common and expected.

However the west is far more advanced in every respect than the dreaded middle east which is why bombings are so shocking when they happen here as they are extremely rare.

Simple really, nothing to do with our lives being better than theirs. You appear to be a little bit anti-west MintySaucyFace, would I be right?

donegaLroad

Wesser wrote: »

When it comes to the media.... White rich people matter more that dark poor ones.

This has always been the way that it is reported in the media.

Hundreds and hundreds of people die everyday in Africa of malnutrition and easily treatable infectious diseases and in childbirth but nobody ever reports on that.

I think it's really sad but that is what the media feeds us.

I saw this a while ago...

There are 2 editions of Time Magazine; the US edition, and the rest of the world edition.

here is how they compare

example 2 here

One for the road

Penny Tration

I think it's, as you said, they're not places the average Joe imagines ever going to, whereas we've all been to France or the US, or know many who have been to these places.

Location aside, most people would find it easier to relate to people who live a westernized lifestyle, because that's the lifestyle we lead.


It's easier to empathize with the familiar.

event

Mint Sauce wrote: »

Did you read my post? Attack on western Europe, wall to wall coverage on news and social media. Attack on middle east by the very same terror group, very little mention. Are they any less important?

Western media covers western events? Well that is a revelation, who would have thought it.

I think you're on to something though. Why doesn't the meath chronicle report on what's happening in Kerry? Are Kerry people any less important? Actually don't answer that....

Mint Sauce

event wrote: »

Western media covers western events? Well that is a revelation, who would have thought it.

I think you're on to something though. Why doesn't the meath chronicle report on what's happening in Kerry? Are Kerry people any less important? Actually don't answer that....

So if IS or another Terror Organisation went on the Rampage in say Australia and multiples were killed, The BBC, Sky, et al, would not be covering it. I think not.

I do agree with an earlier point, that its such a daily occurance, or somewhere disconencted to us, that its not covered. I think the saddest one was though recently, was The US drone attack that killed innocents, or was that okay because they were collateral?

Unfortunately the west are in this little bubble, and anything outside it is unimportant.

Samaris

When the West is attacked, "we" are attacked. It's our lifestyle and culture that is attacked. We know these places, we have more connection to the people. We know it could as easily have happened in the UK or even in Dublin.

To an extent, yes, we "expect" it more in Africa or the Middle East. Our information about these regions is mostly war and suffering. It's far away and we don't identify with the culture (and so, the people).

Maybe it's tribalism, maybe it's just that we can only "feel" so much suffering before we're immune to the shocking aspects of it, but it is no surprise that we pay more attention to the suffering in Europe than we do in Africa. Australia and America are enough like us that we can stretch our empathy to the people there too.

It's not so much that no-one cares, more that we accept that awful things happen in the world every day, and we can only mourn so much. It's as much self-preservation as anything.

Harry Palmr

Afghanistan has always been a violent cauldron. And the bomb has been getting coverage - coverage appropriate to a country long way off which is under constant attack from within.

Akrasia

Except that the decades we spend ignoring the simmering cauldren because it's far away and affects brown people inevitably results in it boiling over and spilling out into western countries.

Shenshen

Wesser wrote: »

When it comes to the media.... White rich people matter more that dark poor ones.

This has always been the way that it is reported in the media.

Hundreds and hundreds of people die everyday in Africa of malnutrition and easily treatable infectious diseases and in childbirth but nobody ever reports on that.

I think it's really sad but that is what the media feeds us.

While I fully agree with your point, the death toll in Western coutries each year caused by car accidents is by far higher than that of all terrorist attacks in the West taken together. But we all know that and accept it, so there'e no shock value, and things without shock value don't make headlines.

It's not too dissimilar to the way we accepted that people in poorer and less stable countries die in greater numbers through violence than they do here. Not a shock to anyone any more.

I'm not sure I'd blame the media entirely - they only feed us what we want to eat. What we demand, actually.

Bubbaclaus

There's something weird about responding to religious extremism with religious #prayfor hashtags