(Except for me in its blogging)
Fair warning, this blog is will not be fun or funny.
Martin's mother had brain surgery and his sister lost a limb. His father was unharmed.
Couple reunited after explosion in Boston
So uh, Boston happen. 3 dead and hundreds injured. I say hundredths and not a specific number because by the time I post this that number will probably change.
This is Martin Richard. He was eight years old and one of the three to die after the bombs went off. He was at the finish line, hoping to cheer his father on as he finished the marathon. Martin's mother and sister were both with Martin at the time.
Martin's mother had brain surgery and his sister lost a limb. His father was unharmed.
I've been writing this for a few years now and I've never felt so compelled to write about an new event; positive or negative.
I wasn't much of a internet user when 9/11 happen so I don't know what the response was like when that happen. What's really shocked me, has been how some parts of the internet reaction to the bombing.
In Iraq, probably less then about 48 hours before the Boston Marathon, there was a bomb blast. 42 people died there and again, there were hundreds injured.
Some parts of the internet community, has taken to the forums asking why the Boston Marathon was the lead story compared to the bombing in Iraq.
The following was posted on imgur.com with the caption
"Dear Boston: Sorry for your losses. Your losses are ours, too." - Muslim Peacemaker Teams in Najaf, Iraq"
Tragedies, happen around the world every day. Thousands of children die of poverty everyday, soldiers die in wars everyday and there are senseless murders of innocent lives every other day.
We don't get to pick and choose which tragedies we get affected by. I don't know what I felt the need to find every last detail I could on the Boston Marathon.
I don't know why I wanted to google search Martin Richard and find out about his story. Why didn't I do it for the other two victims? Why didn't I do it for the 42 who died in Iraq?
I don't know why I wanted to google search Martin Richard and find out about his story. Why didn't I do it for the other two victims? Why didn't I do it for the 42 who died in Iraq?
Because I didn't hear too much about Iraq? Because Iraq didn't have so much coverage? Maybe.
When I read the news in the morning, do I sometimes scroll pass things I really should be reading? Yes I do.
I don't want to start my morning's on that kind of note.
I don't want to hear about the tragedy that's going on around me every single day.
Every other week is enough.
In an ideal world, should the bombing in Iraq, taken precedence over the Boston Marathon? Yes it should.
I could say that, I thought that this kind of thing doesn't happen in America. Maybe I cared less about Iraq because its more expected, as they are not the most stable country right now.
Ideally, it shouldn't matter. Ideally, regardless of where it happens shouldn't effect what I end up reading about.
Yet it does and I'm sure this happens to a lot of people.
Hell, ideally every new report should read out the names of everyone who dies of poverty everyday.
At the end a tragedy is a tragedy wherever it happens. Whenever anyone dies, we should feel bad.
Yep, it absolutely makes me sad that I have to write this.
Lets end this on a better note, here's a series of links that I think you should have a look at.
http://imgur.com/gallery/PHPBE
The story of one those who ran to the rescue of the victim. Sometimes the back story is more important than the actual story.
http://imgur.com/gallery/PHPBE
The story of one those who ran to the rescue of the victim. Sometimes the back story is more important than the actual story.
Couple reunited after explosion in Boston
That's it
All images are not mine. I do not make profit from this blog post. Statistics have and news story has been taken from CNN and The Age. All images comes from imgur.com with a few screenshots from reddit.com
~Noskcaj~
~Noskcaj~
2 comments:
hey Jackson, I feel this is kind of directed at me. So I want to show what you haven't taken account of. By writing this blog you are condoning your own disregard for the plight of Iraqi people due to extreme tensions between the Sunni and Shia. You've used 2 sources to say that the rest of the community should mourn with America (like the Muslim PeaceMaker Teams have). Yet where is your sympathy for the people killed in Iraq from organised violence? It's all very well to say you've come to expect this violence because Iraq is 'not the most stable country'. But at what point do you value an American's life more than an Iraqi's? You do not need an ideal world to be able to acknowledge that far more terrible attacks are happening in Iraq than in America. Or that the world should take the crisis in the Middle East as their number one priority. We actually do get to 'pick and choose' the tragedies that we are affected by. You have just chosen to not be affected by the bombings in Iraq.
Firstly, I have no idea who this is. I only wrote this in response to the prevailing opinion on reddit and various other forums which I frequent. Throughout, the week I have responded of post on such said forums.
I feel that you have miss the point of the blog. I have stated in multiple places that ideally we should value all lives equal.
And I do.
But, I will not say that I am effected by the deaths of Americans and Iraqi equally, which I understand is not right.
I never said we should mourn with America specifically. I said we should mourn all death. I would go so far as to say that it is acceptable (whilst not ideal) for the news in America and in Australia to report the Boston bombing rather than what happen in Iraq.
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