Of Train Wrecks and Terrorism
I saw the news in the elevator yesterday morning at work: "118 people die in a train collision in Pakistan." The death toll has now risen to 300 or more, with thousands more injured in the triple train accident. The first thing I thought of was the 52 that died in the London subway bombing. First, let's get this straight -- people died -- 300 and 52 (and counting) -- and that is never a good thing. Families scarred. One an accident, the other a deliberate act to take life. There is a lot of grieving, a lot of suffering, in both cases. The coincidence: trains and Pakistanis. I can't help but think that there are some who would think that the accident in Pakistan was just revenge.
I also can't help but think that the world probably cares less about the Pakistanis that died in the train accident. I discussed this with a few colleagues at work yesterday. The coverage of the London bombing was instantaneous. Governments around the world sent their condolences. The media was plastered with images of the grieving in England. What have we seen of Pakistan? Not much. Even in the media in Pakistan, the news has moved on to other things. Why is this? Why does the deaths in London continue to haunt us in the media? Is it because of our fear in the west that if it happened in London it could also happen here? In our neighbourhoods? Partly, I'm sure. Is it because we place more value on a western life than we do in a Pakistani's? Most definitely. We place more value in the lives of those living in the developed western nations than we do in those who live in the third world nations. If that wasn't true, we do a better job of taking care of those less fortunate than us in the world. What else does the Pakistanis have going against them? They're poor. We don't care for our own poor, so we care even less about those from another country. Not that the Pakistanis that died are necessarily poor -- just by our standards they are.
There is something else though, which is more disturbing -- so disturbing, most of us will not want to acknowledge it. The Pakistanis are not white. They're Asian, they're brown -- and because of that, their lives are just not worth the same as the whites in world. Think about it -- if the 3000+ that died in the World Trade Center bombing were all black -- or if the terrorists had targeted some heavily populated black neighbourhood in the US -- do you really think US soldiers would be in Iraq right now? I don't think so. There would certainly be effort to stamp out terrorism, but it wouldn't involve such long protracted conflicts in far off lands, costing the lives of western soldiers. It's a sad truth about the world we inhabit. Every three seconds a child dies in Africa, but who cares? If you're in the western world and you care, you labeled and marginalized. You're a bleeding heart liberal. You're a socialist. You're left wing. You're ignored.
In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Nick Nolte's character says to Don Cheadle's: “You’re not even niggers, you’re Africans.” That's how we place value in lives. Race. Money. Country. Where your grandfather came from. We're all human, we're all the same -- but our prejudices places us at the point where some are no longer regarded as human -- some are no longer regarded as the same as us. We all do it. Every single one of us -- including me, every time I walk by a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk, beyond despair. We all secretly thank whatever god we believe in that we are who we are and live where we are -- we're all glad that we're not stuck in some third world country, dying in some train wreck -- and move on with our lives without another thought. And we're all terrified that the terrorists will get us like they got the poor Londoners -- because the Londoners are just like us.
Yes, I know I've made generalizations about our prejudices here -- but generalities are just that, generalities. If you don't want them to be, do something about it. Change it so that something else becomes the norm. Change it so that when we think about our place in the world, we're not also ashamed for not doing what we have the power to do.
I also can't help but think that the world probably cares less about the Pakistanis that died in the train accident. I discussed this with a few colleagues at work yesterday. The coverage of the London bombing was instantaneous. Governments around the world sent their condolences. The media was plastered with images of the grieving in England. What have we seen of Pakistan? Not much. Even in the media in Pakistan, the news has moved on to other things. Why is this? Why does the deaths in London continue to haunt us in the media? Is it because of our fear in the west that if it happened in London it could also happen here? In our neighbourhoods? Partly, I'm sure. Is it because we place more value on a western life than we do in a Pakistani's? Most definitely. We place more value in the lives of those living in the developed western nations than we do in those who live in the third world nations. If that wasn't true, we do a better job of taking care of those less fortunate than us in the world. What else does the Pakistanis have going against them? They're poor. We don't care for our own poor, so we care even less about those from another country. Not that the Pakistanis that died are necessarily poor -- just by our standards they are.
There is something else though, which is more disturbing -- so disturbing, most of us will not want to acknowledge it. The Pakistanis are not white. They're Asian, they're brown -- and because of that, their lives are just not worth the same as the whites in world. Think about it -- if the 3000+ that died in the World Trade Center bombing were all black -- or if the terrorists had targeted some heavily populated black neighbourhood in the US -- do you really think US soldiers would be in Iraq right now? I don't think so. There would certainly be effort to stamp out terrorism, but it wouldn't involve such long protracted conflicts in far off lands, costing the lives of western soldiers. It's a sad truth about the world we inhabit. Every three seconds a child dies in Africa, but who cares? If you're in the western world and you care, you labeled and marginalized. You're a bleeding heart liberal. You're a socialist. You're left wing. You're ignored.
In the movie Hotel Rwanda, Nick Nolte's character says to Don Cheadle's: “You’re not even niggers, you’re Africans.” That's how we place value in lives. Race. Money. Country. Where your grandfather came from. We're all human, we're all the same -- but our prejudices places us at the point where some are no longer regarded as human -- some are no longer regarded as the same as us. We all do it. Every single one of us -- including me, every time I walk by a homeless person sitting on the sidewalk, beyond despair. We all secretly thank whatever god we believe in that we are who we are and live where we are -- we're all glad that we're not stuck in some third world country, dying in some train wreck -- and move on with our lives without another thought. And we're all terrified that the terrorists will get us like they got the poor Londoners -- because the Londoners are just like us.
Yes, I know I've made generalizations about our prejudices here -- but generalities are just that, generalities. If you don't want them to be, do something about it. Change it so that something else becomes the norm. Change it so that when we think about our place in the world, we're not also ashamed for not doing what we have the power to do.
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