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

[logofilka.livejournal.com]

Many Russians did not mourn the plain crash. They did not even try to engage in any form of "slacktivism" to make it look better. They just cannot accept the fact that somebody can mourn their victims sincerely, that's why they are angry at people who publicly display compassion.

Not offended

[(Anonymous)]

Just got a reminder, that for West ~100 French are much more valuable then ~200 Russians. Noted.

Re: Not offended

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

In fact, I said the opposite. Did you read the post?

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Exactly, I have hundreds of Russian friends on Facebook and none of them displayed the Russian flag after the plane crash.They only became offended when people reacted so strongly and emotionally after the French attacks. It's strange that some Russians would doubt that normal humans mourn the loss of the Russian victims. Of course they do.

[(Anonymous)]

>When Russia opens its arms and builds proper tourism infrastructure..

Typical western hypocrisy. Like in G. Orwell's "Animal Farm" - "ALL ANIMALS ARE EQUAL
BUT SOME ANIMALS ARE MORE EQUAL
THAN OTHERS.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Where did I say one life was more valuable than another? No where. You wish to claim that you would mourn the death of a stranger in the same way as a family member you love? If so, then you are the hypocrite. Not me.

Re: Not offended

[stan podolski (from livejournal.com)]

anonymous accounts are not for reading, they are for trolling
And this is what they do to you

[a-nimaida.livejournal.com]

How does this relate to tourism?
I was not offended flag on Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is a US citizen, an ally of France.
And if the owner of the Facebook live in Israel?


I feel sorry for all French students to Kenya, Jews (in Israel every day terrorist attack), Russians, Serbs, which was bombed by the French Air Force, Americans September 11 Lebanese, of all people pity.
How could it be different?
We all live in the same planet

Re: Not offended

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes, I understand. But they are such idiots sometimes that it's necessary to engage them and have them explain the comment. This is reverse trolling. :)

Re: Not offended

[(Anonymous)]

You said a lot.
But the facts are the same: plane was "meh, whatever", france was "omg!111 plaster flags everywhere!"
/m

Re: Not offended

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Why do you write anonymously?

[sergechel.livejournal.com]

all this changing avatars madness is something wrong

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

I did not change to either flag - French or Russian. But many people live solely through social media now. Their identities are tied solely to the virtual world, and it's their main outlet for expression of any kind.

Re: Not offended

[(Anonymous)]

Because I have no account.
/m

[romanklimenko.livejournal.com]

Everybody's looking for the explanation why mourn France but not Russia, Lebanon or others. There was a post on NPR asking the same question. I was trying to explain it from racism that sits in us on genetic level, or may be a derivative of it - xenophobia.
But I think you gave a very precise explanation. We are naturally not very sensitive to others' losses unless the loss related to our friends or a family. And Paris is a part of our family

[qi-tronic.livejournal.com]

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

Yes. There were only Egyptians who did it in a right way.
They displayed three flags on the pyramid.

But anyway all these campaigns are useless.

[beloborodoff.livejournal.com]

Russians not offended by this. Becouse they think this avatar coloring is a BS.

[ggreminder.livejournal.com]

I left a similar post on a forum with participants mostly from Russia. Somebody immediately called me a hypocrite in spite of the fact that I didn't describe my personal reaction but rather tried to explain why such behavior is observed.
I noted that not many people in Russia (and on that forum in particular) can even tell where the Lebanon is, and much bigger amount of people knows where the Paris is. The number of news from Lebanon and France reaching the Russian reader also cannot be compared.

People just think everybody around them is worse than they are so in their understanding if you didn't even hear about Kenya or Beirut incident but left a repost or a note about France - you have no excuse.
Also, many people admitted they have a right to gloat about what happened in France because Charlie Hebdo did the same about MetroJet plane with Russians aboard.

I'm glad that I live in Ukraine and can sincerely say I was equally shocked about *all* these events.

[at-master.livejournal.com]

Ну ты дрянь, еще раз подтверждение американского двуличия и лицемерия , очень жду кармы в ваш адрес.

[at-master.livejournal.com]

ну да, ну да, русские понесли к французкому посольству цветы, французы нарисовали карикатуру, очень искренне и понятно, как в общем-то и с тобой и этой шенон.

[logofilka.livejournal.com]

Have you ever encountered somebody asking you "how much did they pay you for writing this"? Some people simply cannot comprehend that there are humans out there expressing their opinions without being motivated by $$, because those people have never done anything sincere, kind, or human. This is pretty much the same. "We did not put Russian flags over our user picks after OUR tragedy. Why would you put your flag over yours after YOUR tragedy?"

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes! People sometimes accuse me of being a State Dept. agent. I'm still waiting for my check and payment! :))

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

What is hypocritical about this post? Please explain. I said I mourn the victims of Russia and France EQUALLY.

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes, we all live on the same planet. But this does not mean we react to ALL people in the same manner. Clearly you have stronger emotional reactions when tragedies hit relatives or people close to you in comparison to strangers. This was my only point. Probably I did not express it well, sorry. I'm in a distressed state because a family member was just diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. :((

[peacetraveler22.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree they are useless but this is just another form of expression. I did not see the variation that the Egyptians did. I don't know anyone from this country.