Do we care?

I've read so many articles and comments lately following the dual tragedies of MH17 and Gaza, berating people for only caring about "privileged white people" and ignoring the plight of fellow humans. So many articles in relation to the MH17 tragedy seem to go on about other accidents and deaths that have occurred around the same time, citing the lack of media coverage and using this as proof that the majority of people just don't care.

I actually have another reason for this.

The thing is, every human life lost is a tragedy. Whether that life is lost in a war, in a crash, as a result of a sickness, a suicide, or from old age, is irrelevant. Everyone who dies has a mother and a father; everyone (I hope) has someone who values them, who would mourn them. I don't think a lack of coverage about deaths in different circumstances (e.g. road crashes) means that we think that they don't "matter", nor does the lack of coverage or compassion about deaths in Gaza or the persecution of Christians by ISIS.

What is happening in Gaza at the moment is devastating. People dying as a result of famine in Africa is devastating. However, I think the reason that plane crashes and disappearances receive so much coverage (especially as of late) is because it seems more likely that we will be affected by a crash such as this, instead of in a famine in a place we have never visited.

People are (understandably) more concerned with events that affect them, whether directly or indirectly. We're selfish, therefore we're interested in these things because they impact on our lives. However, more than this, we find startling parallels between the lives of those affected, whether they were in the plane or had relatives in the planes, and us. Events that affect people from our community concern us more, because we are close to them - we might live in the same suburb, shop at the same Coles, share a similar life with them.

That's why I think that the story of MH17 has touched and devastated so many people who are impacted by the crash. Aside from the heart wrenching stories of loss and grief, we can't help but think "that could have been me".

We're going to be more affected by the death of someone following a car crash if it occurred on a road we frequently drive on, rather than if it happened on the opposite side of the world. We will be more interested in the journey of our country to a sporting game, because, to some extent, it concerns us. It doesn't mean that we don't think the other countries matter, it doesn't mean that we think other deaths don't matter - they just don't have the same relevance to us.

Turning a the comments section of a well meaning article into "well more people died here, why aren't we talking about them? RIP to EVERYONE who has died NOT JUST THOSE WHO DIED ON MH17" does not help the situation at all. Putting numbers on these stories, at least for me, has the completely opposite effect to what is desired. Comparing the number of people dying in Gaza to the number of people killed in MH17 doesn't make those in Gaza seem more important - it looks as though the writer, or speaker, thinks tragedy is measured by numbers, and I don't think that that is true at all.

Tragedy is measured in lost opportunities, in separated families, and this can occur anywhere in the world.

I'm not denying that people are more drawn to events that are seen as "exciting" and "unusual" - for example, being drawn to a plane crash instead of a car crash. We're also more drawn to events that may seem common, but that affect places or people that they do not normally affect, for example, the Ebola outbreak affecting American citizens.

I'm not saying that I think other devastating events shouldn't receive more press coverage - I think they should. I don't think it's fair that so much more attention is devoted to issues that affect us, however I understand why that is the case. For the majority of people, they're interested in news that can affect them. For me, as an International Relations student, I'm interested in news from around the world, regardless of whether I share any aspects of my life with it. And so, instead of looking at news.com or ninemsn for my news updates, I search further afield. The news you want is out there, it's just not on the websites dedicated to the average Joe who is only looking for news that is relevant to his life.

Instead of downplaying the people killed in tragedies that gain more attention, write about events that you wish had more media coverage. Suggest to media outlets that they focus on these other events, because people like you (their clients) do care, and are interested in them as well. Research those other events, bring them up in conversations.

In sad times like these, it's important to remember that while each death should be grieved, turning tragedy and grief into a game of numbers trivialises the issues and takes away from what is really important - remembering those we have lost, and helping the families who have lost loved ones. As Rin Norris and Anthony Maslin so eloquently said, "pain is not a story".

So let's not turn grief into a competition.