I'm sure everybody has heard about the devastating tragedy that happened in Paris last Friday. I woke up, and like a lot of other modern human beings who cannot stay away from their social medias, checked my FB and stared in horror when i saw the news my friends shared. Another tragedy that shouldn't happened smearing our world. Like most people with feelings, i too mourned for the victims and their loves ones.
I saw this symbol created by Jean Jullien and thought that it's so appropriate for we (the sane ones) are wishing for nothing but peace and harmony.
Now, this is a very fluffy blog-i like to write about things that makes me happy, occasionally i also like to rant and curse to let out my feelings and it always makes me feel better afterwards. But i very seldom delved into deeper, heavier subjects because i don't feel like i can be articulate enough to write about them-and for most cases (like politics), well... I just don't care (wait... I feel a strong case of deja vu for i have written something similar when i wrote this article about Bali Nine...) so there's zero chance for me to write about them anyway.
My heart bleeds for Paris and the people, but what really compels me to write this post is another thing altogether.
Since yesterday, i began seeing profile pictures in my FB changing into ones with France's blue, white and red's flag's colors overlaying the normal photos, i also saw the notification if i'd like to try the application to show my support for Paris. This is purely personal of course, but i don't really do things like that. I prefer to show my support in other ways, but remember-i RESPECT everybody who wants to show their support this way. It's everybody's prerogative to do just that.
Now, what really disturbs me is when i saw various memes and posts popping up afterwards. From the serious and meaningful ones (the ones that got me thinking) like how people dies as tragically and in much bigger scales in Syria on daily basis (or how just the day before, equally devastating tragedy struck Beirut) but the media seems to ignore them-to the downright atrocious ones (for me, at least) circulating locally about how Indonesian changed their profile pictures to support Paris while we did no such thing during our very own haze problem-this one i found to be utterly stupid, sorry to be rude-but if you're entitled to your own opinion, so do i!
While i do AGREE that double standards definitely is so blatant that it's sickening, that it is true that we don't get to see how devastating tragedies happening in some other countries splashing the medias to the scale of Paris' tragedy, i also have a clear enough mind to try to understand why. Is it fair? No. Should we be sadder for Paris than for Beirut or Syria? Definitely not. But i do see that there are factors adding up to this reality, you can read one well-written, informative article explaining why Facebook offers safety checks for Paris but none for Beirut here and maybe it'll give you some explanation like it gave me.
Even before reading the article, i already had a theory in my own mind as to why the different receptions of the two tragedies. One that's very plain to see is the fact that Beirut has been suffering from series of suicide bombing (14 bombings from June 2013 to July 2014) while Paris has been considerably safer from suicide bombings in comparison-so it shouldn't come as a surprise when Paris' attack drew more shocks and disbelief than Beirut's. If i were to be crude, it's like comparing someone who's been sick numerous of times and then died-to someone else who's at the pink of their health suddenly dropped dead. The latter would draw more attention, but that doesn't mean the previous is less important.
Now for the one that says that we're fools if we change our profile pictures to France's flag to show our support because we didn't change it to OUR flag during the haze problem, my God... This one is so.... I dunno who made that meme, but he/she should really be given a slap in the face, with some really dirty sandals (of 10 inches stiletto).
WTF? Why can't we show our sympathy in any way we want/can??? Why should we be ridiculed and embarrassed for having an empathy????? Just because we also have internal problems (which country isn't???), we cannot show our sympathy to another nation? How extremely selfish, narcissistic and shallow! Let me be crude again, it's like you just lost your parents (touch wood), and then your friend lost a parent. Should we not be allowed to offer our condolences to that friend just because we also just have tragedy as well? Isn't it downright ridiculous and stupid if i put it this way?
WHY do we need to compare tragedies? Which one's worse than the other, is this a competition? Can't we be compassionate and care for others without being cornered?
I just don't understand it, i can't. How ugly we can be. How we keep on thinking that we are always right, that we suffer the most, that we're the victim-and others can burn for all we care, we should only care about our own problems and not even allowed to offer our sympathy to others.
I don't always post stuffs about haze, i don't painfully write a long, sympathetic statues for haze victims-but i DO slip them in my prayers at night. Just because i don't write a long ass blog post about it, and i don't yap about it in my social media-does it mean that i don't care? What can I physically do for them other than pray? Do you think i don't bawl my eyes out when i read about babies dying because of the haze? Do i need to record a video crying and post it to Youtube to prove i care?
People in social medias... They (WE) can be total idiots. We condemn those who show their sympathies as being fake/looking for attention/stupid because we have tragedies closer to home-and when they don't, we condemn them for being ignorant, heartless and cruel. It's just tiring to see.
Yes, freedom of speech-i understand. But there's a fine line between saying your opinion to judging others-take a look at that meme that frustrate me the most-it's not an opinion, it's telling people who do certain thing they're stupid for doing it. Tell me, how is that not being judgmental? If you don't agree, don't do it. Don't change your profile pic, do whatever you want to be happy. But if you SEE how your friends change their profile pic and then blatantly share that meme, how is that not like throwing it to their faces and sing "STUPID. YOU ARE STUPID."????
FYI, i like to check my social medias from time to time but i am not glued to it (and i also like to rant/grumble/yap on my statuses)-sometimes people's statuses makes me mad, so i am glad that people informed me that i can unfollow those people with annoying statuses (LOL yeah, i didn't know we can do that before)-but i am me, i am very opinionated and passionate so i can unfollow people who posts/share stupid memes, but you can't stop me from speaking up like this when the subject hits close to heart.
Tell you what, i don't care what you do. Sympathize or not with whatever the world's struggling against, it's your call. Nobody can make you care (or not care), as long as you stop telling people what to do or not to do (when it's not harming anyone anyway), i wouldn't care too.
I, for one, AM praying for Paris. And for other nations too. You don't have to be a Miss Universe contestant to genuinely pray for world's peace.
#Pink
PS : I'm in no mood to debate with bigots, so if you post rude comments just because you don't agree with me-it will be deleted. Or i might reply rudely too. Of course, you can have a different opinion to mine, just be polite about it, capisce?
- 11:15:00 PM
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