The individual presentations on international incidents which were posted this weekend sparked a new thought regarding interests vs. ideas. I started thinking about why it mattered if an event was based on an interest or an idea. Could an event look completely different based on whether it was motivated by interests rather than ideas or vice versa? After thinking about it a bit, I believe an event can take a totally different spin depending on what it was based. This is even more true in today’s 24/7 news culture. I’ll use the US Embassy attack in Libya in 2012 to help illustrate my point. This incident illustrates a situation which was originally thought to be based on an idea but then was reported to be based on interests. Through this tragic event we can see the different reactions based on the underlining motivations of the attack.
When the
news broke on September 11, 2012 that the US Embassy was under attack, I
remember watching most news outlets report it as a violent protest in response
to a YouTube video which mocked Muslims. I think most would characterize an
attack based on a YouTube video to be based on ideas. There wouldn’t be any
clear interests aligned with wanting to take down an embassy based on a few insults
hurled over the internet. Those that believed the news reports of the
spontaneous violent protests seemed to be less upset than had they received
news that the Embassy was attacked by a terrorist organization.
However,
more news started to trickle in over the days to follow, and it eventually
seemed as if a terrorist organization WAS behind the attack and it wasn’t just
some spontaneous riot based on a video. Once the attack was more broadly
accepted to be a terrorist act, the mood overshadowing the event certainly
changed. I remember feeling more of a sense of outrage than was originally felt
when initial reports cited a spontaneous protest as the cause of violence.
The destruction
and number of tragic American deaths will stay the same no matter if the event
was based on a reaction to a video (ideas) or an orchestrated terrorist attack
(interests). But it does matter to people what the true motivations of an event
were. Whether an event was based on an interest or an idea can certainly change
the public’s perspective on it.
Hi David -
ReplyDeleteYour post brings up some interesting ideas. I definitely think one same event being viewed solely based on interests or solely based on ideas can take an entirely different meaning. Also, as you mention, it doesn't matter what the true motivations are depending on how information is presented to us we can view a situation differently.
Also, I wonder if people's reaction became more angry and outraged once the news reported this was a terrorist act because that meant that the attack was unprovoked. I wonder if reports of the YouTube video allowed people a different view of the attackers. Though I agree, it is not rational to attack innocent people in an embassy because of a YouTube video, I can see why people would feel differently about the riots. It is different to have an Anti-American terrorist outburst and a riot in reaction to something attacking them originally. Like you said, either there was significant destruction and loss of lives, but it does show that sometimes a situation is a matter of perspective and that can change whether it is idea or interest based.