Over the past 48, there have been some incredibly sad mass casualties that have taken place around the world. Quite honestly, it is one of the scariest, and most heartfelt 48 hours I have experienced in quite some time. There’s violence everywhere, and given the age that we live in today, people use social media to express their fear, disappointment, and condolences for all of the events that happen.
It’s really quite remarkable to see all the outpouring of support that Paris, Beirut and Kenya, among other places. But with that outpour of love and support comes something that is a huge problem – the hidden fight about which tragedy is more important.
Let me lead this off by saying that any innocent life lost in the manner that we’ve seen in the past 48 hours is horrifically sad, no matter which country it took place in, or how. But what is troubling to see is that among the outpouring of love via social media, we are seeing things such as “Sure, change your Facebook profile color to the French flag, but what about Kenya?” Or, “Where is the media attention for the attacks in Beirut?”
Sadly, these attacks have turned into a “what about me” competition. Don’t get me wrong, there is no doubt that the Paris attack has received a lot more attention than any other attack that has happened in the past 48 hours. But what I think people need to realize is that this isn’t a competition. We shouldn’t make it one.
The amount of social media profile pictures or hashtags related to extending condolences does not diminish the significance of any other issue that the world may be going through. Sure, we’d love to see more attention being paid to tragedies that take place every single day in Africa, but turning someone’s condolences into a “they obviously don’t care as much about what I care about” type of issue only adds to the problem.
I keep hearing the words “selective sympathy” today. And that bothers me to no end. Who are we to say what’s important and what’s not important? Who are we to say that Paris is more important than Beirut? Who are we to say that Kenya is more important than Paris? C’mon… we need to stop turning tragedy into right and wrong issue.
Let’s just acknowledge the fact that the past 48 hours on earth sucked. Sick people did sick things and innocent lives were taken from us. Mourn everyone. More the people you care for. Mourn the lives that we lost…
But by God, don’t turn this into a pissing match. If we do, then we all lose.
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