Where is the Russian flag on social media!?! A foreigner's perspective...

[peacetraveler22]

After the tragic attacks in Paris last week, there was an outpouring of grief on social media. Immediately profile pictures on Facebook were changed to display the French flag in a symbol of solidarity and support for Parisians. Of course, this outraged many people on RuNet. I watched closely the outpouring of yellow headlines and anger that flowed over the weekend. So many nasty and angry posts questioning why foreigners didn't display the Russian flag on social media after the Sinai plane bombing. What about Beirut? How about Turkey! Both countries also were victims of terrorist attacks in the last few weeks, though on a much smaller scale. Even more outrage when LiveJournal displayed the French flag on the homepage for several days. As a foreigner and tourist to both France and Russia many times, the reasons for the disparate public reactions are quite obvious to me.

France has consistently ranked as the most visited country by foreign tourists, with the USA in second place. I looked at the tourism figures for 2014, and again France is in first place - 83.7 million tourist arrivals last year. In the USA, there were 74.8 million. Now, let's compare these figures to tourism in Russia. In 2014, only 29.8 million tourist arrivals, a miniscule amount in comparison to the French statistics. So, you must understand that foreigners don't equate the loss of Russian life in the Sinai plane crash to be lesser than the victims of Paris. The difference is that large numbers of tourists from all over the world have visited Paris, have walked its cozy streets, and thus have vibrant memories and connections to the country. And this makes the grief much more tangible and personal. We don't grieve for the loss of a stranger in the same way as we ache when a family member or loved one dies. And to many foreigners, Russia is a stranger, a distant land upon which they have never walked nor explored. Moreover, it was not readily apparent that the plane crash over the Sinai was an act of terrorism. Your officials admitted this only a few days ago, and the Egyptians still refuse to accept it. With the Paris attacks, there was no doubt.

When Russia opens its arms and builds proper tourism infrastructure such that people from all over the world will come to visit and explore, it too will enjoy the widespread outpouring of grief and support that recently fell upon the French. I am certain of it. For me, the reaction and grief for the Metrojet and Paris victims doesn't differ. I have close friends, memories and experiences in both nations, and had actually just returned from France a week before the attacks. So it all seems very real and personal...however, to live in fear is not an option. This will never be me, and it's not in my spirit to doubt the goodness of humanity, which still strongly outweighs the horror. I am drawn to both France and Russia, though for different reasons. Each nation holds a special place in my soul and mind, and neither terrorist attack does anything to change these facts or feelings...

How about you? Were you offended by the display of the French flag all over social media and LiveJournal?

Comments

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

They always threaten the U.S., this is nothing new unfortunately. And yes, we are better protected here for numerous reasons. I think our intelligence agencies and police are excellent and they are not overwhelmed with a huge influx of radical Muslims. For the most part, the U.S. has done a decent job of assimilating Muslims into the fabric of society. They don't experience the same strife and isolation as it seems they do in France. And there are way less Muslims here than in Europe. We're also protected by the ocean. , so it's harder to get here. Finally, the U.S. is the most heavily armed civilian population in the world. So, civilians can more easily defend themselves or make an effort to shoot a terrorist dead during an attack. All of this makes us safer, but all it takes is one extremist. Only one. And I'm sure it will happen again on U.S. soil in the near future. :( Probably a soft target like public transport, or a large public holiday gathering.