A few days ago, the social event that shocked the world most was the terrorist attacks staged on the streets of Paris, France. Multiple indiscriminate attacks took place across Paris, resulting in over 500 major casualties. ISIS, far to the southeast of France, has admitted to being the mastermind behind these attacks. What’s worrying is that this series of attacks is essentially an act of war, and it is believed the French military will, next year, coordinate with military powers like the US, Australia, New Zealand, and the UK to launch large-scale military operations in the Middle East.
Following the attacks, Facebook launched an application allowing users to quickly change their profile pictures with a transparent overlay of the French flag (blue, white, and red) to mourn the victims of the tragedy.
However, unsurprisingly, a segment of voices emerged claiming that those who changed their profile pictures were being hypocritical.
How utterly absurd!
Perhaps most of us changed our profile pictures because of the Paris attacks, and perhaps most of us felt deep pain upon hearing about the countless casualties in Paris. This does not mean we only care about France and are indifferent to the human disasters in Lebanon, Syria, Tibet, or Xinjiang.
France, especially Paris, is seen by many as a temple of freedom and democracy, a holy land of peace, stability, and artistic development. “Relative to” regions that have suffered from war for many years, ISIS’s quasi-war act of terrorism naturally creates a larger ripple in people’s hearts.
It’s not that we are indifferent to the Middle Eastern conflicts; rather, while we are geographically closer to the Middle East than France, our knowledge of it is far less than our knowledge of France. Furthermore, we all hope for the early end of wars in the Middle East, yet we also don’t want to see France under attack. How can anyone fail to understand such a simple truth?
The next time you use the latest Taiwanese buzzword “suan” (sneer/mock) to mock others, seriously ask yourself: “Have I always consistently cared about the wars in the Middle East, or am I just showing off a value system that I think is superior to others?” If it’s the latter, I’m sure you’d still want me to give you a “Like.”