In light of Friday’s ISIS terrorist attack in Paris which came in the wake of a bombing in Beirut, Lebanon the following is a good question to ask; “Did the media ignore the Beirut bombings? Or did readers?”
“People start with a narrative they feel is true, and then look for evidence to support that narrative. In this case, people began with the narrative that the world gives lesser weight to the suffering of non-Westerners — absolutely true — and then latched onto a piece of evidence, the supposed lack of media coverage, that supported their narrative.”
“…But unless the victims are either children or Christian, I have never really succeeded in getting readers to care about such bombings that happen outside of the Western world.”
“It’s not just me, of course: My peers throughout the media have dutifully and diligently covered such attacks for years. Local reporters and foreign correspondents out in the field have of course done far more than I have, spending days interviewing victims and painstakingly reconstructing events — despite knowing that readers were all but certain to ignore the stories. “Nobody is going to read this” is a phrase we’ve grown accustomed to hearing.”
A photo taken on November 16, 2015 in Paris shows the Eiffel Tower illuminated with the colors of the French flag in tribute to the victims of the November 13, 2015 Paris attacks (AFP Photo/Alain Jocard)
The Beirut Blast killed nearly 43 people and left more than 239 people wounded. The two explosions were claimed to be done by ISIS. On social media ISIS said that one of the explosions would be in a motorcycle and that it would be in a vest of a suicide bomber. U.S. officials did not respond to these threats of ISIS. Is this because they were made against the city of Beirut and not Boston? or New York? or Washington D.C?
The bombs left damaged shop fronts, the streets stains with blood, and glass all over the streets. There was also another suicide bomber said Lebanon’s Interior Minister Nouhad Machnouk but he was killed off by the motorcycle bombing before he could do the damage. These bombings brought more urgency to Lebanon’s lawmakers since they been in a political crisis for 17 months.
If U.S. officials saw the threats they should have done something more directly to stop ISIS. We need a more global focus and cooperation in fighting this enemy. ISIS should be stopped completely and at any cost; everything they are doing involves the horrible killing of innocent people. Lebanon is vulnerable because they are so close to Syria and Iraq. Stronger countries in the region like Israel, Turkey, Jordan and Saudi Arabia could be doing more as a stronger alliance but they are each paying attention to their own self interests.
To increase your own global awareness of the threats of ISIS go to the following link sponsored by HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH- a global nongovernmental agency made up of 400 staff members around the globe. https://www.hrw.org/
