Human tragedy is sad when it takes place in any location, especially when it is completely senseless and indiscriminate. Any similar act to this one deserves sympathy equally for the victims and their family and friends. This rant was not conceived out of lack of that, but due to the appearance of misdirected anger that often follows such an event.
The world is going nuts over yet another terror attack. This time, Paris was hit. Becoming the usual, the big media is helping to whip people into a frenzy of hateful attitudes.
You’ve got people saying things like “pray4paris”, or “pray4people”, and, on nearly every related post, others are saying “why not [country B, C, or a bunch of D’s]?” The problem with those is the classic assumption that those are intentionally being ignored by people who are actually awake.
I mean, has nobody been paying attention to the real refugee situation? I know I’m not the only one following stories like the Ghost Boat, am I?
That’s never the case, or hope would be lost.
For those feeling useless: you shouldn’t. There’s quite a bit that can be done, even to combat the ignorance and hate-fueled stuff out there. It doesn’t even take money to do so, and, as expected, organizations like the Red Cross has been in need and making calls. Other organizations, such as Doctors Without Borders could also use a hand in the war zones where, coincidentally, refugees are fleeing from, when they can.
Chances are, if you see this post, it’ll have been days or weeks after because, honestly, I thing some heads need to cool down a bit before they consider actual action, beyond knee-jerk reactions to a tragic situation. Bringing awareness is a good thing, but it’s never OK to trample on a fresh tragedy to bring attention to a slightly less fresh one, especially when their root causes are related.
I’ve ranted a bit, so it’s time to balance it with some relaxation and contemplation. Be good to one another. We’re all humans on a pale blue dot, after all.