You cannot judge one person’s struggle based on another. Allow me to elaborate. We have all had points in our lives where something was working against us. However, you are not allowed to tell a person that what they went through “wasn’t that bad” because you have absolutely no idea how it is affecting them.
In light of the unfortunate events that took place in Paris, Japan, Mexico, Lebanon, Baghdad and Beirut the week of Friday, Nov. 13, many people began to compare one to another. Regardless of what happened in these countries, it was tragic for everyone. “#PrayForTheWorld” even began trending on Twitter.
While the people that live in these six countries were experiencing one of the most catastrophic events that they would ever see in their lifetimes, some of the most inconsiderate individuals I’ve ever encountered used these situations to downgrade others. Earlier in that same dreadful week, students at the University of Missouri were being victimized to racial abuse and people recognized and were compassionate about their struggles. However, the moment something happened that these same people felt was “more important,” they turned their backs against the tragedy that they felt so strongly about in the first place.
The people of our country were so eager to keep the victims of these other tragedies in their prayers, but when it came to what was going on here at home, the black college students were not actually experiencing “real oppression.” The lack of compassion is just as disgusting as the amount of disrespect that was displayed during this awful time. The irony is amazing. Our American people will shout “ALL LIVES MATTER” from the top of their lungs and still pick and choose which lives they’re going to care about. This is not a competition. No one wants to be oppressed. No one wants to see their loved ones in danger. We are not one-track-minded beings that can only care about one situation at a time. These events are all different from one another. However, that does not mean that any of them are worse than another. Keep everyone’s struggles in your prayers, not just the ones that you feel like matter. Oppression cannot and will not be compared.