THURSDAY, March 28, 2024
nationthailand

Fake outrage trivialises history’s gravest atrocities

Fake outrage trivialises history’s gravest atrocities

Like others, I often feel that mainstream Western media cover news from an American-Israeli perspective and conveniently ignore other atrocities in the world. 

What I really cannot understand is the over-sensitivity to anything that remotely reminds people of the Holocaust. Take as an example the recent furore caused by a Thai girl band member wearing T-shirt adorned with a swastika. It is not the girl’s ignorance, lack of education or cultural knowledge that irks me. What gets on my nerves is that this trivial issue is blown up by everyone, including the media.
We do not see the same uproar from Chinese nationals if they see a glimpse of the Imperial Japanese flag on television, despite atrocities inflicted on China during WWII. We do not see the Chinese government inviting youngsters to their embassy and give them a lecture on Imperial Japanese colonisation. They have better things to do. 
When I visited Ho Chi Minh City, the people there were very eager to learn English and embrace American culture. All memories of the Agent Orange carpet-bombing had been consigned to the recycle bin. 
We do need to remember the dreadful cruelties humans have inflicted on each other. We do not, however, need to be triggered so easily that we make the whole issue frivolous. Remember, the swastika is not kryptonite. Don’t let it make you weak just by seeing it. 
Jeff Chong
Hua Hin

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