As news of the tragic attacks in Paris filled my newsfeed, the last thing I wanted to see was negativity, ignorance and exploitation.
Complaints like “#PrayforParis, what about the issues within our country? #PrayfortheUSA” or "#Prayfortheworld" — in negative contexts — are statuses I saw in my newsfeed. I can’t help but liken this type of situation to the “Black Lives Matter” controversy. Black Lives Matter is the name of a specific movement. The use of phrases like “All Lives Matter” takes away the power of the name. Using #PrayfortheUSA or #Prayfortheworld is equivalent to “All Lives Matter.”
Others had a problems with the French flag overlay, claiming a picture was not going to change anything. I saw the same comments regarding the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge videos. Those videos not only raised awareness for ALS, but raised millions of dollars for research. Any awareness is positive for a cause. It spreads the word and sometimes benefits financially for organizations.
Social media was bombarded with images from the White House to the Sydney Opera House lighting up red, white and blue to show their support. While I do recognize that it is important to show our advocacy for the French people, I wonder if media contributes to the selective mourning process that is prevalent in U.S. culture. Information regarding the Lebanon and Kenya attacks that killed 41 and 147 people poured in following the Paris attacks. Yet no Lebanese or Kenyan flag overlays were provided by Facebook to show our support. If it is not our selective mourning process, then it is a strong statement about where our support is sent.
Ann Coulter took to twitter to pursue her political agenda following the Paris attacks. Coulter paraded her insensitive anti-Muslim comments across social media this weekend.
Donald Trump responded to the attacks with #Trump2016 related tweets. Only after Trump chose to turn the situation into a political campaign strategy did he sneak in a tweet supporting the French victims and their families.
The 2016 presidential candidate launched right into attacking President Obama following his short-lived sympathy.
The ignorance exploitation surrounding this tragedy leaves me feeling disgusted and angered. Awareness, solidarity and support create change. Negativity, ignorance and exploitation do not. I expected nothing but positivity and support in the wake of such horrible tragedies, but we do not live in an idealistic world because of obvious reasons. Individuals will find reasons — even in the wake of tragedy — to complain and exploit situations to benefit themselves.
Despite these incidents, people across the world must unite to combat these terrorist attacks. The horrific events that unfolded in Paris, Lebanon and Kenya last Friday cannot go unnoticed and the people cannot go unsupported.
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