Refusing to put French flag overlay on Facebook?

[InTheBox]

I did add the French flag overlay on my FB but many of my friends didn't do so, not because they condone the shootings but due to FB's choosing of the seemingly deserving west and underserving others. Many of my friends queried why there hadn't been a Syrian, Lebanese, Iraqi or Palestinian flag filter.

I can't say I disagree but I admit I hadn't considered this until their posts came up on my feed. Did you choose to change your profile to include the French filter or did you decide against it?

I'm now going to change my profile pic back to normal because in the main I disagree with FB's double standards.

I didn't but it's more because to me it seems like its trivialsing the issue somehow. I didn't change for gay marriage or any of the other things either.

No judgement on people that did though.

Why would that be unreasonable? you can do what you like on your own fb page.

I didn't change it but I didn't "refuse" either - no one asked me to.

Agree with Dawn

Ive changed mine to show my thoughts are with France and the victims of one of Europes biggest terrorist attacks ever known, nothing to do with being 'well thought of' or any other such crap people keep coming up with.

Surely you can do as you please

I didn't partly for the reasons you state, partly because I agree that it trivialises it and also partly because I think the majority of people (I know) that did it, do so for more self serving, attention seeking reasons than anything else and that pisses me off. I don't need to bleat all over Facebook how I feel about people dying in Paris. Also what hugely fucks me off is all the flags over the top of people laughing, getting pissed etc that they have on their profile pics. What the fuck is that all about. Not to mention one exceptionally tastess flag cover over the top of someone's profile pics where they were dressed as zombies for Halloween and covered in blood. I don't know what people are thinking sometimes. Rant over.

Am I one of those "vacuous idiots" Dawn is referring to just because I changed mine then since no-one can know peoples reasons? . Peoples decision to change their picture is just that - a decision to change a profile picture. Some of the views Ive read here over the last few days directed towards people who have changed it horrifies me actually.

Anyway OP whats the AIBU?

Get off your high horsedawn

I wasn't asked either.

I didn't change mine because I wouldn't like the moment when I changed it back. It would feel to me like I was saying: "Oh now those people's deaths happened a while ago; I don't have to think about them now that some time has passed".

Also I don't like national symbols: I think they are divisive and simplistic. I feel we should all identify as living creatures on the earth; then we might not be so destructive to our fellow humans, our fellow mammals, and our shared planet.

What they said ^. I didn't change mine for the same reasons, it seems. Trivial way to commemorate something so horrific. I didn't pronounce "Je suis Charlie" last year either.

It's not because I don't care, but it just felt a bit trite and forced seeing everyone do it like sheep.

For me FB is a place for funny pics and catching up, not politics and heavy going news. I will save my concern for my quiet moments of contemplation rather than publicly declare it in amongst videos of cats doing crazy things.

I changed mine. I used to live in Paris and have many friends still there, who are also on my Facebook. Many of them said they really appreciated the public show of support.
Change it, don't change it, it's up to you. YANBU.

Dawn that subsequent comment isn't going to do you any favours.

I did but with mixed feelings. I really don't think it matters either way - the world won't be changed by Facebook pics so do what feels right to you. I have seen a few Lebanese flag versions to.

Another 'vacuous idiot' here, I changed mine for the three days France had a period of national morning. Have spent a lot of time in France, have French friends, consider myself European with many European family members. It was a horrific terrorist attack and thought showing some solidarity with a country we have close connections with, share much history, is only a few hundred miles away was somehow fitting.

However get that there are awful things happening all over the world that a our media doesn't focus on.

My DH is French, kids half French, a pile of friends and family in France especially Paris. Apologies for not having had the fortune to meet or indeed breed with someone from one of the other countries suffering horrific atrocities this week.
I changed my profile picture to a very personal image of Paris then did the overlay. After the 3 official days of mourning in France I changed mine to an image symbolizing my disgust at war and hope for peace.
However I'll remember not to be a vacuous idiot next time something happens to a country I consider a second home. Or maybe I'll just go have kids with some one from Syria so I can hedge my bets on grief.

I didn't.

I'm absolutely with Referoo, but wouldn't say so to anyone IRL or on Facebook as I reckon people would go mad about it.

I changed mine. I have enough French friends, or non-French friends living in Paris to want to give a small curtesy to them on FB. It is true that FB did not offer me the chance to change my profile after the Beirut attack or Kenyan attack, etc. But, given that I had no Lebanese or Kenyan FB friends to see it, it probably didn't matter in my case. Given my geographic position, it's not surprising that I would have more chances to meet French people.

I appreciate that people wanted to change FB's attitude and make it consider other parts of the world too. That's a good impulse. However, making a point to FB was not as important to me as showing love and support to my French friends.

In fact, all the moral grandstanding as irritated me to the point that I have left the tricolour on still! I had intended to leave it up for just a few days, but I don't want to be mistaken for the crew who had a kind impulse for their friends and neighbours, then were bullied by the tragedy hipsters and scurried to take it down after a few hours or a day.

I didn't. Not because I don't care but because I just didn't see the point.

Do I change my picture every time some shit happens somewhere in the world? What good does it do?

I didn't but it's more because to me it seems like its trivialising the issue somehow.

I feel the same.

I added the overlay for one day. I had my reasons and that is enough justification for why I did it.