The Colour of Mourning

The Colour of Mourning

As war breaks away from its Middle Eastern borders leaking into Europe, large scale terror attacks on Western countries are on the rise, beginning in Paris and most recently Brussels. Aside from the tragic aftermath, the most striking aspect of such events could well be observed in both media and public responses which are more often than not, very closely entwined.

The Paris shootings and suicide bombings appeared to leave the entire world in shock and awe. All major media outlets were involved in its initial and ongoing reporting, alongside swathes of public attention via social media. People from across the globe united through different forms of media in efforts to offer their support and prayers, with Facebook even offering a profile picture filter depicting the Paris flag. I would love to be completely bowled over by humanity but unfortunately my pessimistic side often gets the better of me. I am forced to question whether mass grief displayed in the social media context is always authentic, or perhaps stems from a jump-on-the-bandwagon ideology. In my opinion, our generation’s identity formation is fuelled by the need for specific ways of portrayal, particularly online, which can be so clearly seen in popular or fashionable cases of social justice.

My pessimism is not to say that I do not indeed find the attacks on both Paris and Brussels completely heart breaking. However, I also find recent attacks on Istanbul and Ankara equally as heart breaking. In comparison though, media coverage of these attacks has been completely minimal. There is no Facebook filter to stand in solidarity with the Turkish, or for any other violence stricken countries for that matter. In complete contrast to the thousands including politicians walking the streets to mourn Paris, only 4 men are depicted standing in prayer for Ankara. Do we as individuals care less about the strife of countries deemed non-Western? Or is the media to blame for a lack of reporting?

I would argue that as a general pattern, Western lives are more valuable in the social space reserved for public sympathy. In raising awareness for the plight of those in Palestine, Nigeria and so on, social media campaigners seem forced to shock people into action by plastering pictures of the dead and injured across Facebook and Twitter. Are we ever force fed pictures of dead Westerners? Of course not, that would be completely distasteful and besides, people don’t need to be forced to care anyway.

Clearly, the colour of mourning is white.

Disclaimer: This blog post is perhaps an immediate and emotional reaction to the world’s current affairs, particularly as an individual with both Western and ethnic identity. In order to provide a balanced viewpoint on this issue, I am including a link to an article which asserts that it is natural to feel more for those we are more culturally connected with.

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/mar/25/nothing-wrong-mourning-brussels-not-beirut