What separates a death in Iraq from one in Boston?

What separates a death in Iraq from one in Boston?

www.abc.net.au

In Boston, as you will have seen, three people died after a pair of bombs exploded near the finish line of the city's legendary marathon. More than 100 have been injured, some with life-threatening severity.

In Iraq, around 50 people died in a series of attacks, most of them involving car bombs. About 300 people were injured.

(visit the link for the full news article)

I heard the saddest thing yesterday. It was on a current affair/doco type program called "Don't Tell My Mother". A French journalist goes to the most dangerous countries and gives an alternative look at its problems. He was in the Congo and visiting the area near Goma where the mountain gorillas live. He said 'two silverbacks like these have been shot in the last 9 days by guerrilla groups. They have worked out that if they torture, rape or kill innocent villagers the West takes no notice anymore, but if they do something as outrageous as kill innocent gorillas, then it does'. I cant think about this too much, it just makes me want to vomit.

www.abc.net.au
(visit the link for the full news article)

Because we are told anybody with brown or black skin is a terrorist or a rapist so who gives a crap what those people in the dirty countries do. We must protect the White Americas!!!

or something like that...

I think it's the fact that the closer a death is to "home", the more you feel it. We all see Boston and think it could be us, our children, our friends. Iraq is so distant and foreign to us that we don't think it has a lot to do to with us. We've spent the most recent decades of our lives hearing about death and destruction overseas. We're almost immune to that news. But in America--no.

And I am NOT saying the lives of Americans are more valuable inherently. But I DO feel more outrage over atrocities in America. I'm being honest, here.

reply to post by Cinrad


The only difference is the Iraqi's have been going through it for a decade, not a day.

Originally posted by Agent008
Because we are told anybody with brown or black skin is a terrorist or a rapist so who gives a crap what those people in the dirty countries do. We must protect the White Americas!!!

or something like that...

And to follow up from my previous post, for me it doesn't have anything to do with skin color. Americans are Americans to me.

Just dropped in to answer your question. A bombing in Boston pushes an agenda ("why let a good tragedy go to waste?) and the bombing in Iraq is played out. The people have been there, done that and bought the shirt.....and some ribbons. Hard to use that now to push an agenda.

When your mother dies, you cry for her.

When Bobs mother in Connecticut dies, you say Bob who?

If you don't have priorities in your immediate life, then you may as well weep for the death of the billions of life on planet Nmeria...

It's the same with any tragic event - the closer it is, the more it impacts you.

I see nothing wrong with that, inherently. I certainly don't see the lack of weeping people in far corners of the globe as a lack of empathy towards those who die daily on the planet.

It's just that it has little impact on our immediate lives.

In a world full of constant atrocity you have to sort out what affects you in order to maintain sanity.

The difference is that, it happens often in Iraq, so people assume, "hey it happens everyday, we can't help it"... so it becomes somehow a less important event.

If there was more bombing on a day to day in the west, then each subsequent bombing would seem less and less and lives lost would be less and less meaning full.

Originally posted by Agent008
Because we are told anybody with brown or black skin is a terrorist or a rapist so who gives a crap what those people in the dirty countries do. We must protect the White Americas!!!

or something like that...

Why do you have to make it into a Racial issue? Not only is your response grossly inaccurate, but it also serves to ignite racial tensions.

The answer to the OP is simple: US media tends to report on stuff that directly affects their citizens whereas Iraqi media tends to report more on stuff that directly affects their citizens.

Originally posted by Cinrad


I heard the saddest thing yesterday. It was on a current affair/doco type program called "Don't Tell My Mother". A French journalist goes to the most dangerous countries and gives an alternative look at its problems. He was in the Congo and visiting the area near Goma where the mountain gorillas live. He said 'two silverbacks like these have been shot in the last 9 days by guerrilla groups. They have worked out that if they torture, rape or kill innocent villagers the West takes no notice anymore, but if they do something as outrageous as kill innocent gorillas, then it does'. I cant think about this too much, it just makes me want to vomit.

Sorry but not sure what this has to do with the OP's question
But back to that - our lives are impacted more by disasters closer to home. For example say there is a coach crash elsewhere in Europe, the first thing UK people ask about is 'Were there any Brits hurt'?.
Maybe it's out tribal instincts coming out. Wrong perhaps but natural.

Because people from the West are cowards, They fear death and so when one of them dies the whole world is shaking. The Middle Eastern people don't fear death, It's normal that someone dies either from bombings or buildings falling down. At least that's what I've figured out since living in the West and also living in the East. The West fears death a lot more than the East does, because it's filled with people that do not have belief in afterlife and so the thought of death scares them.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

reply to post by Misbah


You make a valid point. And although I'm American your truth does not insult me.

Originally posted by Misbah
Because people from the West are cowards, They fear death and so when one of them dies the whole world is shaking. The Middle Eastern people don't fear death, It's normal that someone dies either from bombings or buildings falling down. At least that's what I've figured out since living in the West and also living in the East. The West fears death a lot more than the East does, because it's filled with people that do not have belief in afterlife and so the thought of death scares them.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

That's quite a generalisation you are making there that people in the West are cowards. Your reasoning is not very solid either about the whole fear of death because of disbelief in an afterlife thing.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost

Originally posted by Misbah
Because people from the West are cowards, They fear death and so when one of them dies the whole world is shaking. The Middle Eastern people don't fear death, It's normal that someone dies either from bombings or buildings falling down. At least that's what I've figured out since living in the West and also living in the East. The West fears death a lot more than the East does, because it's filled with people that do not have belief in afterlife and so the thought of death scares them.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

That's quite a generalisation you are making there that people in the West are cowards. Your reasoning is not very solid either about the whole fear of death because of disbelief in an afterlife thing.

Originally posted by Dark Ghost

Originally posted by Misbah
Because people from the West are cowards, They fear death and so when one of them dies the whole world is shaking. The Middle Eastern people don't fear death, It's normal that someone dies either from bombings or buildings falling down. At least that's what I've figured out since living in the West and also living in the East. The West fears death a lot more than the East does, because it's filled with people that do not have belief in afterlife and so the thought of death scares them.

Correct me if I'm wrong.

That's quite a generalisation you are making there that people in the West are cowards. Your reasoning is not very solid either about the whole fear of death because of disbelief in an afterlife thing.

I would agree with Misbah as I have seen that same common theme from my travels as well. It's about context they're used to death. Also many people who are godless fear death because they can't take they're riches with them.

7000 miles and a language barrier!

This argument is already getting old. Like a poster above said, locality is what makes it relevant- not skin color. Point of fact- we did not know the skin color of the Boston victims until that information was released- but it was still a tragedy nonetheless.

I said it in another thread in response to this question, and I think it still holds true- " Saying more people died in Iraq today than in Boston is the murder equivalent of saying there are more people starving in Africa."

reply to post by Cinrad


I see your point entirely, and was just thinking the same thing yesterday.

Basically, I think we *expect* bombings and stuff to happen in the Middle East (because it's what's reported so often), but when it happens here we think, "OMG how could that happen here/how could someone do this?" We're far removed in our comfort zone of America and quite naive (and arrogant).

As far as what separates as a death, nothing. BUT, there is a cultural bond that I think explains why American come together for a home tragedy and not for an Iraqi tragedy (unless it involved Americans), and also why we might come together for a, say, British tragedy (they are are "brothers").

Essentially the divide between being either directly (coalition bombs) or indirectly (car bombs due to US create instability) responsible for deaths in a "faraway land" versus closer to home is purposefully created so that we DON'T feel the same for the deaths of innocents during a hostility in which we participate. Otherwise, there would be practically zero support. Dehumanize the other people/culture/etc.

"The problem with these people is their cities have never been bombed and their mothers have never been told to shut up." —Bukowski

the individual deaths are ALL tragedy
imho
the differance?
the us has WMDs, and sells gasses and gasses its own people ( waco)
iraq not so much

the secondary differance?
the US looks like it s about to get a taste of what Iraq has been suffering for years and years

main stream media, nothing else

And some of you are against Agenda 21?


The less Humans the Better. Period.