I try to avoid posting about politics and current events, partly because other people do this better than me and partly because I like avoiding controversy. However, some of the online discussion following on from the attacks in Paris on Friday has got me thinking.
I spend a lot of my time online; Twitter is my preferred source of news because it provides me with access to stories that get little coverage in the UK. I follow a number of Africa based journalists and often retweet their stories of conflict or political problems. I’m also fortunate to have friends who have lived and worked in many parts of the world who will post news stories to Facebook that deal with issues that never make it onto the BBC.
I reckon that I’m pretty well informed about what is going on in the world and much of that is to do with social media.
On Friday, Sue and I came home from the cinema (Spectre; a bit of a let down, to be honest) and turned on the TV to catch the news before going to bed. We were immediately gripped by the news from Paris and stayed glued to the TV for a long time. I had my tablet on my knee and followed reports on Twitter and Facebook.
Within minutes I had changed my Facebook status to “Je suis parisien” out of solidarity for the French capital. Many other people did the same and within 24 hours, it seems as though half of the world’s Facebook users had changed their profile picture to reflect some sort of solidarity with France.
And then came the backlash…
I lost count of the number of people who posted things along the lines of “Why are people showing solidarity with the French when they didn’t do the same thing for Beirut or Kenya or…?
Normally, I would be the first to be saying that we need to take an international view of this sort of thing and not just concentrating on Europe, but let me defend (a little) those who were shocked about Paris and but apparently less so about the bombing in Beirut. I think think there are two issues at play.
The first is that we weep more for those who are close to us. Many people in the UK have visited Paris and know people who live there. An attack on the French city touches us more than one in a place we have never visited.
Secondly (and partly because of the first factor), the British media concentrates much more on local events than ones further afield. Our media have been saturated with news about Paris in a way that they would not have been for a similar event in, say, Tashkent.
The problem is that all human lives are equally to be valued and our focus on the relatively local implies that those who die far away matter less. To be honest, I think we will always mourn those who are closest to us. However, the more we understand about people in other parts of the world, the more we will be concerned about them – it is a self reinforcing circle. The answer to people not reacting to a bombing in Beirut is not to complain, but to share the story from Beirut so that they can learn to care.
I started off by mentioning how I follow events around the world through social media. Following a few well chosen people on Twitter will give you a better picture of what is happening around the world than reading the British papers. If you come across news stories that are important; share them on your social media feeds.
Don’t complain if I don’t know a story; tell me the story!
32 replies on “Who Is Important?”
Sara-Jane Stevens liked this on Facebook.
Heather Farrier liked this on Facebook.
Ruth Norbury liked this on Facebook.
Dorothy Walls liked this on Facebook.
Thank you Eddie.
A very balanced post on the reaction to the Paris attacks whilst considering those elsewhere: https://t.co/9IeMSZK4kC via @kouya
Thank you Eddie for sharing such a balanced perspective on this – so true that it is hard to care about events in places we know little about – those that are closer to home do tend to shock us more. Good to be reminded that raising awareness of global concerns is a much better approach than simply complaining about lack of awareness.
Andrew Crozier liked this on Facebook.
James Sweetman liked this on Facebook.
Philip Mounstephen liked this on Facebook.
This is a pretty sensible post Eddie. You are quite right, we mourn for those we ‘know’ better than others.
Thecla Perkins liked this on Facebook.
Who Is Important?: https://t.co/nktJHMPRvr via @kouya
Thanks Eddie. I have been trying to say this, but you say it very well. I am grateful when people pray for any place that is not their own. And my hope is that if one situation does touch them, that they will then be more equipped to pray for other situations. Also, God understands what we are made of and that our minds can’t carry all the grief in the world. If we are praying for others, He honors that – and He honors the ones that everyone else has forgotten.
Mary Pearce liked this on Facebook.
Gerdy Oldham liked this on Facebook.
Betty JoAnne Wilder liked this on Facebook.
Tanvir Sarker Lincoln liked this on Facebook.
RT @kouya: Who Is Important?: Thoughts on Paris. Don’t complain if I don’t know a story; tell me the story! … https://t.co/6psIIIW91u
Thinking the same. I followed it all more or less as it unfolded, and even just the fact that due to the lack of time dfference people were eating or attending gigs at the same time as I and my friends were doing over here, that makes it more relatable than when something equally as horrific takes place but at a time which dosen’t correlate with your daily habits.
It is morally regrettable that we assosicate less as humans in the round and more as people who recognise people who do the same things as us, dress the same way, do the same things at the same time-but I think it’s the default position of the vast majority of the world’s population. Like you say, it’s about broadening our frames of reference so we can look past those artifices and see people like us the world over and understand diversity in a way which is edifiying and comofrting rather than an onstacle or alien aspect.
Larisa Von Schimmelmann liked this on Facebook.
Luke Arthur liked this on Facebook.
Well said Eddie. For me, the Paris attack woke me up to the other stories, and God bless social media for being a channel for sharing those stories, in a way the mainstream press seem not to have done. It also helps put Paris into the context of a regional war that is rapidly becoming global. We stand in solidarity with all those suffering under ISIS, in Paris, Beirut, Cairo, Kenya or Aleppo. If Paris wakes us up to this because we in the UK can identify better with the French, then so be it.
I started a response to a post complaining about people who didn’t care about any of the other countries in war… and gave up because I couldn’t figure out the best way to say it. Thank you for putting into words what I couldn’t! I haven’t changed my picture because I stand in solidarity with all who are targeted by terror, oppression, greed, racism etc and I am *trying* to be as well informed as I possibly can, and I welcome other people sending me information to educate me on the subject x
Nora McNamara liked this on Facebook.
Steve Fouch liked this on Facebook.
Larry Robbins liked this on Facebook.
Judy Short liked this on Facebook.
Faith Spinks liked this on Facebook.
Jane Watkins liked this on Facebook.
Amanda Lannon liked this on Facebook.
Sue Arthur liked this on Facebook.