Analyzing varying reactions to Boston bombings

It is an odd thing how times like these tell us so much about the way America is viewed by the rest of the world. It seems, despite how "damaged" our image may be on the world stage, other nations still care when our citizens are senselessly killed. These compassionate sentiments have emerged via several channels, both official and otherwise. The official responses to the bombing have been aggrieved and compassionate, with our Western allies voicing their shock and outrage. Even more interesting than the official responses, however, have been the unofficial responses. People from around the world have flocked to the Internet to create memes and image macros expressing their support for the United States. Many of these images poke fun at America’s perceived tendency to overreact to terrorist threats, but also suggest that in this situation, someone has to pay. Even more interesting is the fact that Iran has come out condemning this bombing, in a backhanded sort of way. Of course, some Iranians took to the Internet to express their grief and sympathy, which was nice enough in its own right. But when Iran’s Ayatollah Khamenei released a statement condemning the bombing for killing innocents, he made sure to point out that Iran would condemn any such attack in any country. He also did his best to reinforce his government’s anti-American image by throwing in some rhetoric about Western civilization being on the verge of collapse and railing against America’s drone strikes in the Middle East. This sort of odd mixture of goodwill and condemnation isn’t anything new when it comes to American-Iranian relations. A year ago, Somali pirates captured some Iranian sailors. The U.S. Navy found them and brought the Iranians back home and was met with what can only be described as reluctant gratitude. The funny part is that just days earlier, Iran had complained about the presence of the U.S. Navy in the Persian Gulf. It’s really an odd waltz that the U.S. and Iran are dancing. And while Iran’s leaders like to beat their chests and talk tough about the decadent evils of the west, many Iranians gathered for a candlelight vigil in the wake of 9/11. So, let this be a lesson to anyone who views Iranians as somehow evil or mindlessly opposed to America; it’s not that cut and dried, and it’s too easy to homogenize countries into one faceless group. Another unlikely sympathizer came out of the woodwork: Cuba. For those who aren’t familiar with U.S. policy toward Cuba, it has not been kind over the years. We tried to undermine their government for years during the Cold War via various means, and to this day we still have a trade embargo in place against Cuba preventing U.S. companies from doing business there. So, we aren’t exactly the best neighbors when it comes to Cuba. That’s why Cuba’s overtures of sympathy over the Boston bombing are all the more remarkable. Americans themselves differed greatly in their reactions to the attack. By and large, it’s safe to say that the majority of Americans were mortified and deeply wounded by the events unfolding in Boston. But a contingent of Americans is trying to try to use the bombing as an opportunity to put other such events around the world into perspective. They are arguing that bombings such as this are commonplace in some areas of the world, and that Americans are wrong for not being up in arms over each of those bombings, which are oftentimes more harmful than the ones in Boston. This view really fails to take into account that the more common an event is, the less newsworthy it is. Of course every bombing in Iraq and Afghanistan is horrific; not once has any sane person claimed that the Boston bombing matters more because those peoples’ lives are somehow more valuable. But bombings in some areas of the Middle East are quite commonplace, and as such aren’t the focus of much media attention. A bomb going off in a major U.S. city draws attention from around the world because it’s so rare and shocking that everyone is caught off guard. As much as people tripping over themselves to be politically correct are trying to use this bombing to prove a point, the point they’re making is diminished when we stop and consider what they’re actually saying. Is America the only nation in the world making a big deal out of these bombings? No, countries around the world are reacting to it and treating it as a wake-up call. In all of their arguing, these folks are so keen to blame America for trivializing other bombings that they forget the rest of the world does it, too. Do you see England holding a press conference to denounce each and every bombing taking place in Iraq? Is France up on their bully pulpit condemning every new incident of mob violence in India? A bombing in Boston is different, everyone knows it’s different, and to think otherwise is utterly laughable.