In the wake of the tragedy that befell Virginia Tech on Monday, many people have been making the point that we are paying disproportionate attention to it, that more Iraqi civilians died in Baghdad that same day, 129 to be exact.
The reason the Virginia Tech Shooting is more news-worthy than some mass-killing in Baghdad is because it was much more unexpected and it was closer in proximity. But beyond this, I believe it would be rational to care less about this tragedy if it'd happened in Iraq (or any other country), even if Iraq were a peaceful place where such a tragedy were just as unexpected.
The first reason is that most of the people that Americans know are other Americans, so it is much more likely that any given American would personally know someone who was affected by this, as opposed to if it had happened in another country.
The second reason is that the VT shooting happened within the context of the American way of life. This should be interesting to Americans because it might suggest that life is more dangerous than they had previously thought. If it could happen in Virginia, it could probably happen in any other state in pretty much the same way (which it has.)
If we take the "all lives are equal" statement to its logical extreme, then it is wrong to mourn the death of your sister more than the death of a stranger whom you've never met. This makes no sense. All tragedies are not equal, and using the sheer numbers as a measure is overly simplistic. There are many more variables to consider.
1 comments:
It usually hurts more when it's closer to home, you can apply that sentiment to many situations.
Everyone reacts differently to tragedies some can genuinely feel the pain of the masses and to be honest, if 129 people were killed in Virginia and 129 people were killed in Baghdad I would react the same. They are all strangers to me and while tragic and I acknowledge it is a sad event, and the pain will spread through their families and friends. But it does not move me in a passionate way, I can't help that, it just doesn't make me hurt much, call it desensitization, I do have control to the point of emphasizing or minimizing my emotions in most situations, so it's not to say that I don't feel just that I choose when I wish to and how much as many do. For me the pain is relative to how much I respected or loved a person, and of course some other variables. I conclude sometimes things are just numbers and sometimes they're just not.
--Jon
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