Imagine 3 or 4 a day
I debated writing this post, but I feel that I need to. I'm not trying to minimize the tragedy that took place this morning in Virginia, but I think that this horror might offer some scale to the daily suffering in Iraq.
What happened this morning was truly tragic, but imagine if it happened two or three or four more times just today.
Imagine if the same happened multiple times tomorrow, and the day after that, and every day for a year.
Literally a thousand of these tragedies in a year with 30,000 dead and untold wounded flooding a country 1/10th the size of ours, leaving no family untouched.
That's what's going on in Iraq.
My thoughts are deeply with the wounded and the families of those involved today, but I thought this needed to be said.
What happened this morning was truly tragic, but imagine if it happened two or three or four more times just today.
Imagine if the same happened multiple times tomorrow, and the day after that, and every day for a year.
Literally a thousand of these tragedies in a year with 30,000 dead and untold wounded flooding a country 1/10th the size of ours, leaving no family untouched.
That's what's going on in Iraq.
My thoughts are deeply with the wounded and the families of those involved today, but I thought this needed to be said.
posted by mikevotes at
2:34 PM
11 Comments:
Mike,
This has already happened in Iraq, and on a larger scale, at Mustansiriyah University in January. A car bomb blew up, then a suicide bomber took out those that were fleeing. 70 dead, more than 170 wounded.
Today is a tragedy, but no less so than what happened in Baghdad. Why didn't we hear about Bush being "horrified and concerned" then?
Taking a step back and looking at a bigger issue, if one man can kill 30 people with (based on preliminary reports) nothing more than two 9mm handguns, what happens when a squad of 5-6 trained terrorists walks into a crowded metropolitan hub like a subway station and opens up with assault weapons?
By
Anonymous, at 3:14 PM
You hit two big points of mine, and again, I don't really feel right discussing them in the wake of this tragedy, but here goes.
1) Brown people are worth less in American society than white people whether you're talking about inner city kids, hispanics or people in the third world.
A terror attack in London gets massive coverage while a terror attack in Bali doesn't get nearly as much, with almost all focus on the Australians who were vacationing there.
Part of that is that the media through which we get our reports are primarily western, however, it's also a matter of selective focus. The killing fields of Rwanda and Congo are unimaginably massive, and yet they receive no coverage.
But even within the US, inner city blacks are valued less by the media. Does a murdered black person get the same coverage as a "missing white woman"?
Even in the coverage of Iraq, the family interviews of soldiers that die overrepresent white families over black and hispanic families.
The only conclusion that can really be drawn is that those human beings are valued less by the media.
...
2) Security is ultimately a myth. We can spend all the money we want on airport security, but in the end, we will never be safe so long as we are "at war."
Schools, daycare, etc are just too numerous to protect. It's just impossible to shield every soft target.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 4:18 PM
Good points above.
You mentioned in the post that this needed to be said, and it did.
I had the exact same thought as soon as I heard about this appalling event. It is very sad for the families of those killed and wounded, as it is for their counterparts in Iraq, everyday.
By
Praguetwin, at 4:47 PM
I posted something similar. It does need to be said.
By
Reality-Based Educator, at 4:55 PM
But, again, I'm very conflicted about doing this, but at the same time, but it's an effective way to emotionally evoke the point.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 5:43 PM
Comparing daily life for and Iraqi to the events at Virginia Tech should not diminish the local tragedy, rather it should make every decent American weep for what we've wrought in Iraq.
----
And remember the al Qedea boming of the US embassy in Kenya and Tanzania? Wall to wall coverage of the 12 Americans. And the 224 Africans? Yawn.
95% of the deaths were Africans working for the US. Put that on a history quiz and see if anyone gets it right.
By
-epm, at 5:49 PM
That's exactly the message I'm trying to send. One of equality, not to diminish the tragedy of today, but to lift up the Iraqi tragedies to attention.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 5:59 PM
I'm watching the new press conference on the "Situation Room." The police chief is getting hounded with some fairly vicious questions.
I hope the members of the White House press corps are taking notes.
By
Anonymous, at 6:59 PM
Yeah, I caught some of that.
I'm also finding this bizarre fetishization of the details of the event pretty creepy.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 9:03 PM
I have intentionally tune out on the reporting of VA Tech shooting. I'm of the opinion that this early and rapid reporting is often specious. I'd rather wait a day and read more thoughtful reporting in the print media.
By
-epm, at 10:05 PM
Yeah. I've hit the tune out point this morning.
Really the details don't matter. The dead are horribly dead. The crazy guy is dead.
The chasing of the details just felt exploitative last night and I decided to turn it off.
I'm not blocking the event, but I am blocking the coverage.
Mike
By
mikevotes, at 8:15 AM
Post a Comment
<< Home