[JoshBB]

Originally Posted by Toy Santa

I find it very interesting and telling how quickly the general public have stopped hooting and crowing about these airstrikes now that videos and pictures of the effects on normal civilians in Syria have started going semi-viral, and the politicians have started admitting that collateral damage is inevitable in the "messy business" of war. Turns out people only have a stomach for warmongering when they can pretend it's just Johnny Isis getting blown to bits, or people in full Muslim dress. When it's normal kids in baseball caps and pigtails it's a little harder to start puffing your chest about I guess. Gives me SOME hope for people I suppose. A little.

Unfortunately it's racism deep-rooted in dehumanising these civilians - they're grouped together as usually '****ing muslims' or some other nasty remark of the sort. Then when a story comes along where a civilian is named, and their backstory is learned, people realise that actually they are all individual people with their own lives, only going on with their own business. By then, it's too late though.