It's not a contest!

[gwendally]

It's driving me nuts that people are saying "why only care about France when brown places have explosions too!"  I'd ask, "why care about terrorism when so many children drown?"  Or "why care about gun violence when earthquakes happen?"  Basically, it's NOT A CONTEST

Comments

[purlypuss]

I can see where you're coming from, but I think for me it is more about the fact that I know in my heart that when I hear about a Middle East country sustaining civilian deaths in a bombing or other terrorist attack, I myself do go to a mental place of "That's just kind of happens there a lot, shrug."

Much like North Korea in its sporadic but never-ending aggression towards South Korea. We're used to it.

But when it happens in Paris, which is a place, as you say, I associate with my vacations and my friends studying abroad and interning, I do feel extra outrage.

And I'm questioning why I privilege Paris over even my own location and homeland. Koreans are placing flowers outside the French embassy in Seoul, and on the one hand, I'm really glad they're doing that. I'm glad we feel solidarity with other countries. Innocent victims of terror SHOULD be remembered and grieved. But we don't do it for ALL innocent victims, and that difference seems to depend on their location and especially depends on the wealth and soft power of their country.