Pure Gonzo Engineering

Wednesday, April 18, 2007

Does this make you 5 X sadder than you were?

Where is the outpouring of grief, prayers, and questions of how could this happen?

Just more dead Iraqis, not pretty white coeds.

My point being, people die all over the world for fucked up reasons and no one cares. So it goes.

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posted by lawryde at 10:31 AM

9 Comments:

  • It's different... it's "over there". And when does it not happen over there. America is supposed to be safe. We just can't handle the reality that it isn't.

    By Blogger Steve, at 12:42 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • So your point is mourn one/mourn all, or don't mourn?

    By Blogger Nick, at 12:43 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • From BBC news:

    "I saw dozens of dead bodies," the man said. "Some people were burned alive inside minibuses. Nobody could reach them after the explosion.

    "There were pieces of flesh all over the place."

    Ahmed Hameed, a shopkeeper in the area said: "The street was transformed into a swimming pool of blood."

    According to John McCain Baghdad is supposed to be just as safe as any American street too, but I digress.

    Yes, if you value human life and don't like seeing it taken away senselessly then you should be upset with all tragic loss of life. Those people who were burning alive in that bus had just as many hopes and dreams as the coeds and profs that got blown away did.

    The media and Joe six-pack will barely mention this happening or not mention/know about it at all.

    By Blogger lawryde, at 1:17 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • I don't think that because most people don't set up vigils and support groups to mark the tragic death of every human being, doesn't mean that they aren't upset by tragic loss of life.

    My guess is you would be a little more supportive if your co-worker lost a family member, than you would of a mother in Sudan who loses a kid in the crossfire of civil war. Doesn't make you a bad person or insensitive to the plight of others IMO.

    I think as Americans, we tend to relate to the "pretty white coeds" a bit more than the average Iraqi being blown up on a bus. Doesn't mean we don't value human life and aren't upset by the loss of it.

    By Blogger Nick, at 2:04 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • I think a lot of this has to do with our media also. I bet it's on the news 24/7 (i don't watch tv so I don't know) and I highly doubt that the war in Iraq especially civilian get that kind of coverage.

    From what I understand there were many multinationals killed or injured in VA, so my first reaction is that the white card can't be played. I think it's more about how can this happen in America...?

    My worry is the backlash towards those that are "different" and what will happen to those of us who are "different" because of that. And I'm not just speaking as far as appearances go but also socially.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 4:07 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • So your point is mourn one/mourn all, or don't mourn?

    That's pretty much my point, but I'm a bad person.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 5:12 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • Now that I have more time I can state my point a little more eloquently. I didn't know those people in Virginia and I didn't know those people on the bus in Iraq. I can't assume that I have more in common with a college student in Virginia than I have with someone riding the bus in Iraq. Yes, I went to college, but I also rode the bus alot. Neither of those things makes someone more worthy of mourning. I'm not saying I wouldn't grieve more if one of my friends children died, but that is something that has a personal impact on my life. Neither of these two cases directly impacts me and so I will mourn them the same. Just because some people were American doesn't mean they deserve a vigil from strangers more than someone who was Iraqi.

    The part that bother's me the most about this is that I read maybe 20 different blogs each day and only a few of them comment on world events. Yesterday every single blog I read commented on what happened in Virginia. What about this case makes it more newsworthy? Just because they were American? How many American's died of drug overdoses that day? Or is it because they were American and unprovoked? How many other American's were senselessly shot in places other than Virginia Tech that day? Is it because it happened all together? It's like hopping on the death band wagon.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 7:42 PM, April 18, 2007  

  • It IS like hopping on the death band wagon, that's what Americans do best

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 3:07 PM, April 19, 2007  

  • I posted a picture for you.

    By Anonymous Anonymous, at 10:59 AM, April 20, 2007  

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