A very prominent discussion on my
social media is that of the November Paris attacks. The Western political views
on this matter are very black- and – white. Some heads of state even went as
far as to label the attacks an attack against the whole of humanity. And although
I do agree with the fact that the act was indeed despicable, what I cannot find
myself aligning with is the view of the West that bombing Syria is somehow an
act of nobility and liberation rather than just plain counter terrorism (this was implied in the comments below the videos).
Objectively viewed Both the Syrian state as the Western states are after the
same thing: ‘freedom’ to live the way they see fit and according to their
beliefs. I am in no way condoning violence, however I believe that we in the
West should not be as naïve as to think that our actions are somehow different
than the actions of our ‘enemies’. I see that in my Facebook friend’s list
there is a lot of support for the Western-centric view on the war in the
Middle-east, and somehow the (social) media also perpetuates this view.
Take for instance the whole Facebook French Flag action. In the same week Beirut saw 2 suicide bombings, and Japan and Mexico had their own natural disasters. Yet the only flag available to put over your profile picture was that of Paris. Yes I understand that physical and economic proximity somewhat fuel the biased view, yet I find that politically, the view of the Middle-east as the ultimate enemy is very much skewed. Herein I definitely see a difference in my own views and the views of people I follow on social media.
Take for instance the whole Facebook French Flag action. In the same week Beirut saw 2 suicide bombings, and Japan and Mexico had their own natural disasters. Yet the only flag available to put over your profile picture was that of Paris. Yes I understand that physical and economic proximity somewhat fuel the biased view, yet I find that politically, the view of the Middle-east as the ultimate enemy is very much skewed. Herein I definitely see a difference in my own views and the views of people I follow on social media.
Connected to that is also the view of
the PVV that the Netherlands should stop accepting Syrian refugees. I
completely disagree with this. I do not believe it is ethical nor politically
just to refuse a human being safety. However, I do agree that stricter rules
must be put into place around refugee camps, since the safety of the country
inhabitants should also be taken into account. In my opinion instead of huge
camps, the government should create smaller more easily manageable camps in
which for the refugees. I believe that this will allow for easier integration
with the local community and less tensions due to overpopulation of the camps.
Objectively speaking, when looking at my timeline I
mostly see political views that resonate with my own personal views. I think
that has to do with 1. The Facebook algorithm and 2. With the human tendency to
attract people with similar views. It was however very interesting to take a
closer conscious look at what exactly I see on social media every day.
