‘Double standards’: Western coverage of Ukraine war criticised | Hacker News Reader

‘Double standards’: Western coverage of Ukraine war criticised

aljazeera.com

17 pointsgeorgecmu8 comments

> “Amazing mainstream Western media gives glowing coverage of people resisting invasion by making molotov cocktails,” one social media user remarked. “If they were brown people in Yemen or Palestine doing the same they would be labeled terrorists deserving US-Israeli or US-Saudi drone bombing.”

Is skin color really the differentiator here? Many in US media called the mostly white Jan. 6th Capitol rioters terrorists. On the other hand, the US provided aid and training to the Arab Mujahideen fighters in their conflict against the largely white Soviets.

What's really going on in this article is cherry-picking, to make it seem like there is something more sinister going on than merely caring more about conflicts that are closer to one's home - a tendency that is not exclusively Western.

Edit: [the 2nd Congo War] 5.4 million dead. Deadliest conflict since WW2. Half the people with support flags in their bio couldn’t name you the capital let alone the bordering countries. Europeans look after their own. The rest of us can, quite literally, drown.

It's interesting to see when a global perspective is used (which conflicts one should care about) vs. when it becomes strictly Eurocentric (which countries should help or accept refugees). Perhaps if the EU were demanding that Algeria (or China, or India, or Brazil, or...) accept Ukrainian refugees, they might have a point.

(I say 'might', because, as is usually the case in articles like these, they dutifully pretend Europe/the West has accepted zero non-white immigrants or refugees so far)

> Many in US media called the mostly white Jan. 6th Capitol rioters terrorists.

Interesting that you use this relatively new incident as an example. The name-calling was primarily by social media left, this is not a mainstream take.

Regardless, this isolated incident does not change the hypocrisy being displayed in the innumerable examples shown in the article.

"Arab mujahdeen"? That word just proves you know nothing and arent interested in learning because a tiny fact check would tell you that you meant Afghan mujhadeen let alone knowing that off the top of your head when making your intellictually dishonest point. Another proof of you lack of knowledge is the racist anti immigrant sentiment. Pakistan and Iran accept the largest number of refugees in the world mostly from Afghanistan. And I am guessing your hostile attitude has nothing to do with the fact that its AlJezera and not Fox News, which btw sided with Putin up until very recently, saying this. I am not sure if you are a right wing grifter or have conditioned into one by the likes of Joe Rogan, Tucker Carlson and CS grad's favourite Nazi, Jordan Peterson but I reccomend you diversify your news sources. Try Some More News, Renagade Cut, or The Damage Report for once if you cant stomach Ari Melbar, Racheal Madow, or John Oliver.

> Arab mujahdeen"? That word just proves you know nothing and arent interested in learning because a tiny fact check would tell you that you meant Afghan mujhadeen

You got me there. I suppose that makes them white, and my point invalid? Despite your lengthy reply, that is the only factual correction you offer (despite your implication otherwise, I never claimed or, I think, even implied, that only the West accepts refugees).

I think the two biggest drivers in this case are that the aggressor is a superpower that is pretty much an arch nemesis at this point, and the internet/social media.

Honestly, without the stream of videos and takes flowing off social media, I don't think people would be so engaged.

To test this thought, I ask myself would it be the same if Russia invaded India, China, or say, Mongolia today under the same circumstances? I personally think so, but obviously can't prove it.

> CBS News senior correspondent in Kyiv Charlie D’Agata said on Friday: “This isn’t a place, with all due respect, like Iraq or Afghanistan that has seen conflict raging for decades. This is a relatively civilised, relatively European – I have to choose those words carefully, too – city where you wouldn’t expect that, or hope that it’s going to happen.”

Like I said yesterday, this is the missing white woman syndrome applied to geopolitical conflicts. Civilized = White.

There is nothing wrong with predominantly white journalists reporting with horror to its audience of predominantly white people about the deaths of predominantly white people in a predominantly white country. People are obviously concerned about other people who look and live like them.

But you should not then claim that this is some unique event that the rest of the world should care about when you never cared about the wars in Africa and Asia between people who are not ... "civilized."

What is unique, is that there is a clear aggressor and it's a US enemy. When the aggressor is backed by the US it's a boring story that wouldn't get good ratings.

> “I have to choose those words carefully, too”

You do realise that these words prove that the reporter was aware of their insensitivity in real-time? And that they apologised afterwards, too.

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