[volkl48]

Is this a serious question?

Because Iraq is a chaotic mess where we are generally impressed if it isn't literally exploding. It's not that shutting the internet off is acceptable, it's that compared to everything else that happens/has happened in Iraq, that's insignificant.

We hold (supposedly) functional, developed places to a higher standard in what we expect from them, and it takes smaller acts of injustice or violence to be noteworthy.

[yourbandsucks]

So your argument is that all the people spreading the news of that kid in HK being shot were surprised?

They didn't sound surprised to me. They sounded elated and fulfilled that they were right about the 'bad guys'.

News stories spread because people want to click them. Nobody wants to hear about Iraq, it's a bummer and a reminder that they probably supported it.

The other, though? Tell me how bad they are!

[yorwba]

Nobody wants to hear about Iraq? Did you miss https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=21140801 ?

[yourbandsucks]

Yeah, that's my point. That's actually the only place I saw it reported. I checked the WP, NYT and Fox News that day after seeing it here. Nothing. Maybe there was a story hidden in the back that I couldn't find, of course.

Compare to the absolute deluge of HK stories across all media sources.

[wayoutthere]

Americans generally don’t want to hear that our influence globally has been replaced by a combination of deference to autocratic regimes (the whole Russia / Turkey / Syria situation) or direct antagonism of rising powers (China, Iran).

I think Trump’s legacy will be as the symbol of American decline. He represents a hollowing out of core institutions that started long before him, but his presidency will be remembered as the time when the world realized American hegemony was over.