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All audiences are egocentric. Unless someone sees why it matters to a particular audience, it is unlikely to get the same play. Remember, news today is a business.
That might explain this if people were protesting things happening in their own countries, but I'm talking about people from Europe and America who freak out about **** happening in Israel and Saudi Arabia. We have more dealings with China that we do with either of those countries, yet everyone pretends that China's repressive regime doesn't really exist.
I just don't understand why people care so much about the middle east, to the exclusion of everything else.
A phobia is an irrational fear. No offense to any Muslims here, but it is quite simply a religion based on intolerance and coercive conversion of nonbelievers.It is truly a sad thing. People don't know the atrocities that go on within N. Korea, Sudan, China, and other on Middle Eastern nations. The two reasons we here so much about the Middle East is because of Islamophobia and anti-Israel sentiment. Plus, the UN has this thing for Israel that takes up all of their vision.
Per China - I do care but that means nothing due to the government's view of us.
A
There's certainly something to the argument that because the ME is a hub of business/oil, we pay more attention there, but I would think that that same interest would lead us to concern for places like China or Africa. China provides us with all sorts of cheap labor and Africa is chock full of important natural resources. The only real explanation I can see is this:
A whole bunch of great points here, too many to respond to individually.
Some things that crossed my mind.
There's certainly something to the argument that because the ME is a hub of business/oil, we pay more attention there, but I would think that that same interest would lead us to concern for places like China or Africa. China provides us with all sorts of cheap labor and Africa is chock full of important natural resources. The only real explanation I can see is this:
-The status quo in the ME provides us with all sorts of goods, without our intervention we might lose out
-The status quo in China provides us with all sorts of goods, our intervention would actually risk that
The status quo in Africa provides us with little, we're not willing to intervene just to develop it
There point about ethnic and religious ties to the ME is also a good one, so I wonder if the ever increasing number of immigrants from Africa and SE Asia might cause a shift in the way we see things in the future.
And of course the point about news media coverage is also spot on, so I think one of the first two things will have to happen before the media follows along. You could almost feel it picking up with Rwanda, Aids in Africa, the Taliban, (and I imagine Tienanmen) etc. but none of that really seemed to take hold in the context of human rights.
edit: Hey Simon, good to see you. Hope the family is well.
That might explain this if people were protesting things happening in their own countries, but I'm talking about people from Europe and America who freak out about **** happening in Israel and Saudi Arabia. We have more dealings with China that we do with either of those countries, yet everyone pretends that China's repressive regime doesn't really exist.
I just don't understand why people care so much about the middle east, to the exclusion of everything else.
why does nobody care about North Korea sinking a South Korean boat
yet the whole world is outraged at Jews killing pro-palestinian provocateurs
maybe the fact that the issue is highlighted by Glenn Beck is cause, but why is one more important than the other? SERIOUSLY?
Actually, I thought the NK sinking the SK ship was both outrageous, and more important that the Israel story. What happens though is Israel is always controversial, and so gets more play on the news, and therefore more attention.
allegedly flotilla gets more press because the majority of the world hates the jews
just look back to the early 20th century and how they were treated
what was so special about the killing of a few terrorist supporters as opposed to a South Korean Ship:
UN: Do not overreact to teh sinking of the S Korean ship
UN: Persecute those ****ing Jews
I don't think it was anti Jew sentiment that is making it a story in the US. The rest of the world, I have no idea, but not the US.
I will agree it is not an issue in the US, but it is a serious issue in the Obama Administration. They are clearly anti-Semite
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