Last week, news headlines heralded the disaster of 24 lives lost in Californian wildfires. Yet the same media outlets petered out the news of thousands more being killed by deliberate man-made bombing, starvation and destruction of homes and hospitals by Israel in Gaza.

There’s coverage of very wealthy celebrities who have lost their homes in the LA fires, but less of those who have lost their modest family home, have no insurance and have lost absolutely everything without the chance of dipping into another $50 million or so to rebuild. We have read of giant corporations who have used unreasonable water consumption for gross profit. We remember that Trump pulled out of the Paris climate agreement (formally executed in 2020) as he gave a casual shrug to climate change.

People in other parts of the world haven’t been devastated by a natural disaster but by a man-made one. Putting aside theories of the LA fire being a result of climate change, it is still a natural phenomenon where fire takes off and the wind encourages the devastation. That is completely different to man-made devastation that is deliberate and intended to scorch the earth and rid it of particular humans. Yes, I mean Gaza. Some of the most vociferous defenders of Israel’s actions, coupled with spineless politicians, happened to live in the U.S., and in particular, LA.

Of course, the fire is a very real devastation and I feel for those who do not have a penny to reconstruct their lives, their houses or the contents of their homes. But 24 people have died at the time of writing. Not 46,000…24. It’s a tragedy for family members who have lost loved ones in the fires, but news headlines herald the disaster of 24 lives lost yet peter out the news of thousands more being killed by deliberate man-made bombing, starvation and destruction of homes and hospitals etc., which is completely avoidable – unlike the wind stoked fires.

In the Merchant of Venice, Shylock declared, “If you prick us, do we not bleed?” So why is the bleeding of a Palestinian not as important as anyone in the LA area who suffers. Why has the reporting of the slaughter in Gaza been sidelined for celebrities who lament to the camera that they have lost their second or holiday home. I heard someone say that perhaps the people who have lost their LA homes may need to take shelter in tents. In Gaza taking refuge in a tent is very often bombed and the people killed within. This will not happen to the people in LA but their government will condone and facilitate that happening to other people – just not Americans.

After the natural disaster of the LA fires there will be investigations, enquiries and building legislations forwarded to ensure that this kind of thing does not happen again, or at least, with such savagery. However, the man-made disaster of the bombing of hospitals, schools, homes and facilities in Gaza is seen as a casualty of war and of Israel’s ‘right to defend itself’, even though people under Occupation have the same right to defend themselves against their oppressors. Will there be investigations, enquiries and building legislations to ensure that this kind of thing (the total demolition of an entire city) does not happen again?

At the end of the natural disaster there will be an allocation of responsibility and accountability for just how this happened on such a scale. As a result of which people or corporations will be punished and the new measures will be implemented. In comparison to the deliberate and intentional man-made disasters, particularly Gaza, we do not see much in the way of moral responsibility or accountability for the perpetrators in order to halt this carnage.

Australia knows only too well what fires can do to a nation and its people, collectively we feel for them under such fear and devastation. We know we have fire fighters to save us, community halls to protect the homeless and food and water provided by society, individuals and government. What do the people of Gaza have? Nothing except the daily bombings, starvation, water shortage and doctorless hospitals. Surely history shows us that this is not the way to treat others. Who knows…we could be next, and even if we are not and we remain in our privileged country, it is simply not the right thing to do to rain down terror on other human beings and for governments to appear spineless.

The U.S. government has much to answer for on so many levels, but when they allow water consumption to be garnered for gross profit and climate change to go unchecked and ignored, we have to ask ourselves what that nation is doing to the rest of the world. It is the butterfly effect and until all nations fully comprehend that they are not an island, we will all suffer the damage perpetrated by another; be it fire or war.

Isn’t the U.S. supposed to be the land of the free and the home of the brave? Or is it primarily free from the pesky requirements of ethical treatment of other humans and free from consequences from other nations who are appalled at the lack of humanity meted out to any nation that isn’t America. As for brave…. brave would be doing the right thing which appears to be contrary to successive U.S. governments. There is much good that comes from the U.S., but they are the Jekyll and Hyde of this world and the attributes of Mr. Hyde have such a devastating effect on too many that overshadows any good they may do.

So while the world was being distracted by ‘Will the Oscars, Grammys and Golden Globes still go ahead?’, we were not watching the most egregious display of cruelty, barbarism and savagery taking place in our time. It is so important for the world to focus on the horror of Gaza and the Palestinians because it will determine who can get away with what in the future. Remember South Africa? Pressure was put upon all concerned to stop the horrors of apartheid and to rein in the barbarism. Why did it take so long for world leaders to act and stop the murder of yet more Palestinian children?

Just as LA possibly never thought that fire would tear through their neighbourhood in winter, other regions of the world should not be complacent about the horrors in Gaza because we don’t know who will be the next victims of a deliberate man-made attempt to annihilate others. We perhaps cannot directly blame anyone for natural disasters, but we certainly can call to account those who orchestrate man-made ones.

https://johnmenadue.com/western-media-believe-24-californians-matter-more-than-46000-palestinians/

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