Western Life > Eastern Life?

[William the Bastard]

To start this thread I would like to give my condolences to all the families who have lost loved ones in this past horrific week. I hope that you all carry the same sentiments as I do as these were human beings the same as us. No better, No worse, All flesh.

On Monday the worst gun massacre in US history took place with 33 souls perishing. Also as said in Garbarsardars' thread (LINK) upto 200 Iraqis were slaughtered in one day! I know there is a world apart from these separate countries and the motives for these actions will be entirely different. However is not life the same? Are these cases not comparable due to human beings having their lives removed by another?

The question that I am offering for debate is - "Is Western life more important than Eastern life?"(by this I am referring to culture). If you look at past historical battles between East and West there appears to be a slight lopsided affair with more casualties on the Eastern side than the Western (eg Vietnam and the War in the Pacific). Is this an important aspect to the modern world? In Iraq today many, many bodies will likely be buried or even discovered. It is not a pretty life style to be terrified of leaving the house and go to market in case you never return.

The fact is that the Virginia massacre will be remembered (As we Brits remember Dunblane) but the Iraqi bombings continue unabated and will soon be forgotten by the West.

When an American or British soldier is killed it makes headline news. For an Iraqi to get noticed it takes another 100+ to die alongside before we take notice. Is the media perhaps misleading us with propaganda? Or even our governments leading us astray with lies and only manipulating us to know what they want us to know? I have my own ideas but first I would like to hear yours.

There are soo many questions on this matter that I would like answers for (Even though I know we will never really have them). If you have any ideas or concepts on this please do post. As always please be polite

[Tabell]

Youd care more about a family member that died than a stranger. And people of the west are just part of the expanding social circles that centre around ourselves

[Andronicus Comnenus]

Maybe if we had a school shooting every day for the next three years, they would be comparable. The sad thing is that it's got to the point where, realistically, a day without violence is more newsworthy than a day where 30 people are killed by a car bomb.

[danzig]

On Monday the worst gun massacre in US history took place with 33 souls perishing. Also as said in Garbarsardars' thread (LINK) upto 200 Iraqis were slaughtered in one day! I know there is a world apart from these separate countries and the motives for these actions will be entirely different. However is not life the same? Are these cases not comparable due to human beings having their lives removed by another?


The question that I am offering for debate is - "Is Western life more important than Eastern life?"(by this I am referring to culture). If you look at past historical battles between East and West there appears to be a slight lopsided affair with more casualties on the Eastern side than the Western (eg Vietnam and the War in the Pacific). Is this an important aspect to the modern world? In Iraq today many, many bodies will likely be buried or even discovered. It is not a pretty life style to be terrified of leaving the house and go to market in case you never return.

Has little to do with that and more to do with closer to home concept. Its the same reason we gloss over the deaths of 3,000 soldiers over Iraqi deaths...we are far more likely to know one of those 3,000 or members of their family or friends. Same thing with Virgina Tech incident compared to the Iraqi one, its simply closer to home and hence more "painful". If you went to average Iraq and told them about Virgina Tech most likely you would get, tragic but just yesterday a friend/relative/friend of a friend was killed by a bomb and hence their focus and concern would be on their immediate surroundings rather then something in a land far away. Take the London subway bombings, ask an American you'll get again tragic and sad but they wouldn't compare it to say WTC bombing but yet to average London citizen their bombing was much more real and vivid because it happened to them.

So no I dont think eastern life isnt less important than western life its just American lives are more important to Americans, French to France, Iranian to Iran etc and etc simply one is something that happened to someone else and the other is something that happened to you.

[catintheoven]

I Hope This Doesnt Sound Heartless, But I Often Think, In A War Soldiers Are Bound To Die, Look At All The Battles Before 60 Years Ago, How Many People Died In An Hour, They Would Laugh At Us Quibering Over 2 Deaths

Sure Human Lifes Special But They Have Chossen A Soldiers Life, And As For The Iraqi's They Need To Sort Them Selves Out

[Tankbuster]

I Hope This Doesnt Sound Heartless, But I Often Think, In A War Soldiers Are Bound To Die, Look At All The Battles Before 60 Years Ago, How Many People Died In An Hour, They Would Laugh At Us Quibering Over 2 Deaths

Sure Human Lifes Special But They Have Chossen A Soldiers Life, And As For The Iraqi's They Need To Sort Them Selves Out

It's true that millions have died in wars for the last thousands of years, and today we tend to dedicate an entire newsflash for one death.

The difference is, however, that your 2 deaths are probably civilians and not soldiers (like you said, they are soldiers after all...).
The sad thing about wars is that during the last century, percents of civilian casualties are becoming bigger: in WW I, 12% of casualties was civilian, in WW 2, it was 52% and in the Korean War 80% of casualties were civilians.

And I also agree with Danzig about the Americans to Americans, French to French thing

[William the Bastard]

And I also agree with Danzig about the Americans to Americans, French to French thing

It is a fair point (also what I was expecting). Which will be the more important for the future I wonder? The 200 dead or the 33 dead?

If "Globalisation" is truly happening then perhaps this is an example of how our brains are not actually capable of caring for others that are far away. We care for those that look a like, speak our language and have the same culture as our own. Therefore is it a doomed concept until we are all alike?

[Sétanta]

The current western lifestyle is far more modern and civilized than the current eastern lifestyle. Now, before some Muslims come and jump defending their religion, just remember that Christianity is an Eastern religion as well. Religion has nothing to do with it. Politically and economically and...well, socially too, the west is far better than the east.

[Yorkshireman]

It is a fair point (also what I was expecting). Which will be the more important for the future I wonder? The 200 dead or the 33 dead?

If "Globalisation" is truly happening then perhaps this is an example of how our brains are not actually capable of caring for others that are far away. We care for those that look a like, speak our language and have the same culture as our own. Therefore is it a doomed concept until we are all alike?

Yes. I think thats it, it's only natural. We have that saying that it hits hardest when it's "closer to home".

Also, I think that we're just inured to death and suffering to a great extent, we see so much of it in the everyday types of media that it all just blurs into one. I can't ever remember a single period of time when there has'nt been scenes of destruction or conflict beamed through the screen at me daily from terrorist bombs, South African riots, African famines, Balkan wars, African civil wars, N Ireland, earthquakes, tsunamis and the Middle East and it's never ending crisis. It takes a phenominally horrific event for most of us to sit up and take notice.

[RZZZA]

I don't think I care at all when people who I don't know die. Western....Eastern...doesn't matter to me, I feel nothing.

I think I'm a callous prick but empathy is not pleasant so I try not to dwell on the pain of others when theres no real need to. How honest is this? As long as death doesnt affect me directly, why should I care?

[Sétanta]

I think every death is bad, but you know what, the Iraqi's who are dying are at least to blame to some extent. They allow terrorists to work within their borders. Let us see some vigilante action people! If lynching suspected terrorists is what it takes, then I am fine with it, especially if it leads to a drop in terror attacks.

[jankren]

"A single death is a tragedy, a million deaths is a matter of statistic."
--Joseph Stalin

[RZZZA]

Are we really that unique and special that a single death should be a tragedy? I think the sanctity of human life is a myth, I think we're all much more similar to one another than we are unique and special.

If I die, there'll be a thousand others just like me coming up to take my place in no time. I've no doubt there'll be many more agnostic, brown haired, brown eyed people who like the wu tang clan and seinfeld to fill the void.

[catintheoven]

Are we really that unique and special that a single death should be a tragedy? I think the sanctity of human life is a myth, I think we're all much more similar to one another than we are unique and special.

If I die, there'll be a thousand others just like me coming up to take my place in no time. I've no doubt there'll be many more agnostic, brown haired, brown eyed people who like the wu tang clan and seinfeld to fill the void.

HAHAHA Imagine what you will say when your old and senile