My outrage and yours
It is a paradox of our times that we seem to have both too much outrage and too little. Internationally, the horrific killing of university students in Garissa by terrorists has once again ignited the debate over selective outrage. The world stood in solidarity with France after Charlie Hebdo. But Kenya seems almost abandoned after an attack that, in scale and ideological framing, seems very significant. Even those who rush to indict terrorism at every turn seem to treat this incident with nonchalant indifference. Why? Is it, as is quite plausible, racism, plain and simple, where African lives simply matter less? Or is it also a reminder that evil is never enough to provoke outrage, and outrage is seldom about sympathy with the victims?
It is a paradox of our times that we seem to have both too much outrage and too little. Internationally, the horrific killing of university students in Garissa by terrorists has once again ignited the debate over selective outrage. The world stood in solidarity with France after Charlie Hebdo. But Kenya seems almost abandoned after an attack that, in scale and ideological framing, seems very significant. Even those who rush to indict terrorism at every turn seem to treat this incident with nonchalant indifference. Why? Is it, as is quite plausible, racism, plain and simple, where African lives simply matter less? Or is it also a reminder that evil is never enough to provoke outrage, and outrage is seldom about sympathy with the victims?
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