to notice that the killings in the USA

[butisthismyname]

Are HUGE NEWS, but the children who are being shot and killed every day in syria, the children who live on the streets and die every day in south america and the children who are dying in third world countries are 'part of the furniture'? I know what has just happened is horrific and sad and awful, but it's just so fucking unfair. It's like the twin towers - OMG the USA is in trouble, lets be outraged ( not negating that but just an example) When will we be as understanding and sympathetic and make what is happening everywhere else in the world as important and newsworthy as this?

bump - no-one is saying it shouldn't be reported, merely that there are many other children dying right now, many of them partly at least the result of American action or inaction. And that there has been a school tragedy today in China which is getting far less attention.

It's not just policies that fail to prevent deaths, it's deliberately causing deaths (e.g. use of drones in Afghanistan/Pakistan that often kill innocent families/ support of Israel when it bombs Palestine, killing children).

Baking, completely agree. Sorry if I have offended anyone. I live very close to Newtown so am not very detached at the moment!

MrsNJE has a point about the stabbings in China today.

Sooooo because these children are American nobody is supposed to care?Nice

I remember Dunblane as I was teaching the same age of children at the time. I think if this kind of thread had been written at that time the country as a whole would have been horrified.

Truely nasty thread. Let the US grieve,grief isn't rationed.An awful lot of Americans feel for mothers losing their children around the world.

The press have many more restrictions in China.
And not many people are fluent in the different Chinese dialects.

I heard about the stabbings in China repeatedly on the news today and its on the BBC website too. I heard about it throughout the day, then I only heard about the American shootings at about 6pm.

Its also a tragedy, but then again there were no fatalities, so even if it had taken place in an American school, it would be natural that it would be overshadowed by the murder of 27 people.

nobody died in China - it's a very minor story in comparison

I think it was a view on the way in which international issues get reported in this country. Tragedies in some countries are seen as more relevant than others.

obviously the time difference accounts for the timings, that I mentioned, but I was just making the point that its not the case that it wasn't covered by the media.

children were murdered.
I don't give a fuck where they live,
children should not be murdered.

op yabu

Also Syria,Palestine are reported well certainly on BBC News 24-continuously particularly when children are hurt-what planet are you living on op?

Any killing of children or other people for that matter is a tragedy and big news to me, no matter where they are from to be honest with you.

I imagine as well as the general 'biggup the USA' that part of the reason we don't see so much about the Syrian deaths is that the police in Syria wont cooperate with our interest, whereas the American police are willing to divulge information.

It is interesting that people feel they can relate to the massacre of one set of children and not others, that have happened at the same time,

It's essential to question why the coverage we are fed on main stream media is so unbalanced, It's very dangerous if we just accept everything we are fed without question, not to mention lazy and irresponsible.

Because we are now globally linked, those members of our society who massacres they relate to which are not covered with the same intensity will question our society values, if we are to be held accountable for our responses then we would be wise to self examine how we respond.

no one is denying that children being killed in the USA isn't horrific, it's just questioning why we are unable to have the same response to other similar atrocities and if that lack of reaction is having effect on world relations.

Spot on Chipping and Chub.

Jesus this thread is grim.

That's exactly what I said to dh earlier when we watched the news! Why on earth are American lives worth more than Syrian/African etc. lives?

I hate these anti US threads they're verging on racism and it's not nice to read.

Who has said American lives are worth more or they relate to American mothers more than Syrian? Who?Where? I've certainly not seen it.

Syria and the fate of its children is daily news. That's a disgrace too, but really dd you need to start a thread comparing the two?

Innocent children are dying daily and it makes me feel Ill. The America shootings are so muh more "real" because we compare ourselves and see a lot of ourselves in our transatlantic cousins. We see our lives in there's and can't understand how they can be at once so similar and so different. It's harder to understand the life of a Middle East family because, on the whole, we don't share the same touchstones.

I don't think anyone is saying the US shouldn't grieve (or tackle gun reform...) but it is also fair enough to question ourselves about why we feel so much compassion for American parents and relatively less for Syrian or Chinese parents.

There was wall to wall news about hurricane Sandy, but barely a peep about Hurriciane Bopha (or about the impacts of Huricaine Sandy on caribean countries.

I am really not getting why people think this shouldn't be said today.

Why not? Why should one atrocity not remind us of the others happening all over the world right now? Why should we not question whether we care about some atrocities more than others?

Some of you seem to have compassion in tightly-rationed packets. Only enough for one tragedy at a time. In my opinion, that would be very worrying and a highly meaningful topic for discussion.

Also "lack or reaction" what utter tosh-speak for yourself.

It is horrific what has happened today in USA and China. It is also horrific what is happening in Palestine, Syria and many many other countries. As a mum, I could not stop crying when I saw the parents in USA looking distraught. I can relate to their anguish. As a parent, I also cannot stop crying when i hear the DAILY killings in Palestine and Syria.

I hate the double standards of our world. I hate USA foreign policy. I do not think this horrendous incident should stifle debate because 'it is too soon'. As far as i am concerned, every day we wait is too late for someone in Palestine, South America or elsewhere in the world.

I understood the tears of Obama, it really does make you think, 'that could have been my child', because it happened in a country like ours. I wish we could all feel that same empathy for the children and their families in every corner of the world regardless of how similar or different they may be.

No one said that we shouldnt care, no one said USA shouldn't grieve. Whilst some have been shouting at the OP for being insensitive to USA, there are many children in other parts of the world dying RIGHT NOW - in part because of USA. Be it collateral damage, capitalism, regrettable incident or due to a tyrant - all the while USA just shrugs its shoulders, pats down its suit and says 'business as usual'.

Again who has said they feel less compassion for Syria-WHO????

I don't think the media coverage is saying that American lives are worth more than Syrian/Palestinian/African lives.

For starters, in practical terms, news coverage of American events must be easier to do, and by default cheaper to cover. There are cameras everywhere, there are news networks who can provide footage. The eye witnesses all speak English, so there is no need for translators. If you're running a 24 hour news channel, its probably an awful lot easier to fill it up with reports on things happening in the US than in some remote part of China.

Ask the media. It is the media who keeps the gates.