Selective Outrage

Another interesting article compliments of Instapundit.

The money point on Abu Gharib - this is selective outrage. These types of abuses happen in prisons across the world, especially in the middle east, and the only time the world feels outraged by it is when there is proof that the American troops did it against Iraqi enemy combatants.

I guess the overall point is, we are being held to a higher standard than the rest of the world - which is fine by me. I just think it is stupid for people to hate us so much BECAUSE they hold us to a higher standard. It doesn't make any sense. Hold us to a higher standard, call us on our mistakes, but recognize that the rest of the world isn't any better.

I wish we could take pictures of North Korean prison camps, or would show images of people jumping from the towers during 9/11, or show the stoning of women in Pakistan, the cutting off of hands in Saudi Arabia, the castration of men in Saddam's prisons. If we did, there would be hurt and fear and sadness, but no outrage. The outrage only occurs when it is US troops - despite the US Army condemning and punishing those responsible. In all those other cases, the torturers are not punished.

Where are the wise French, the ballsy Arabs, the courageous German's or Italians who will say these things?

Why do people applaud Michael Moore for 20 minutes in Canne for criticizing Bush? These same people wouldn't applaud a US soldier for helping to free the Kurds from massacre's by Saddam. They wouldn't applaud a US soldier who stands on the DMZ line facing 1 million North Korean troops, who have been willing and ready to invade and "reunify" the Korean peninsula for the past 50 years into a Stalinist state.

It's so easy to criticise and point out hypocracies in people and countries and ourselves. It so much harder to have the courage to do the right thing in a morally ambiguous situation when you know someone is looking over your shoulder ready to critique you no matter what you do.