‹ BackHN Continuity

Thread

The Escalation of War in Ethiopia

153 points · 167 comments · mooreds

  1. jakozaur · · focus · HN ↗
    So many comments sound apocalyptic when they face inconveniences like inflation. See this recent post by a Polish guy:

    <a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=49905487">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=49905487

    Meanwhile, the Tigray war in Ethiopia may have killed as many as 600k, yet it barely registered in our public conversation. The same goes for Sudan.

    Attention is a weird beast.

    1. bsoqk · · focus · HN ↗
      We give attention to things that deserve our attention, i.e., things that affect us. The war in Ethiopia scores very low on that list, to the point of almost complete irrelevance.
      1. jayGlow · · focus · HN ↗
        other conflicts that to don&#x27;t have any significant effect get plenty of attention like Ukraine or Palestine. the Russian Ukrainian conflict does have some effect on Europe but Israel Palestine has no tangible effect on the West and people talk about it frequently.
        1. lukan · · focus · HN ↗
          Because of history, how it was founded and people from both sides living in europe?

          Germany as an extreme example has the survival of Israel as state doctrin. So that is a hot topic by definition.

          Then there are many jews living in the west who sends weapons en masse to Israel - and there are also many Palestinian&#x2F;Arabs living in the west. All that directly effects us.

          Ethopia on the other hand is one of few african countries that was not (really) colonized. So there are not so much ties. The strongest is probably reggae and Haile Selassi chanting in songs, but most have no idea who that was. So, people are less interested naturally.

          1. HappyPanacea · · focus · HN ↗
            &gt; Then there are many jews living in the west who sends weapons en masse to Israel

            Individuals in the west can&#x27;t buy and send weapons to other countries.

            1. lukan · · focus · HN ↗
              But they can lobby their government to send them (or not to).
              1. pcthrowaway · · focus · HN ↗
                Speaking as a Jew in the West who is very anti-Israel, I think the weapons being sent to Israel are only partially explained by Jewish pro-Israel lobbies. Zionism happens to go beyond Judaism, and American imperialism, which Israel serves a role in, is a larger project than even that.
                1. lukan · · focus · HN ↗
                  Sure, there is still a lot of oil in the middle east.
        2. newspaper1 · · focus · HN ↗
          Israel has more impact on the West than any other country (and not in a good way). The Palestinians have brought light to it, but it&#x27;s Israel&#x27;s own bribing, blackmailing and industry influence in the US (and other Western countries) that people are upset about.
        3. jltsiren · · focus · HN ↗
          Saying that the Ukraine war has no significant effects is like saying that AI has no significant effects.

          Europe started rapid remilitarization as a direct response to the war. The increase in military spending in European countries not participating in the war is comparable to worldwide investments in AI data centers and infrastructure.

          Then there is the fact that a permanent member of the UN Security Council is waging an old-school war of conquest. If we assume that the post-WW2 world order is gone and wars of conquest are legitimate business again, the world will reassess other aspects of that order as well. Including the idea that people have inherent rights beyond those their government is willing to grant and capable of protecting.

Open on Hacker News to reply ↗

Unofficial Hacker News client; not affiliated with Y Combinator.