Kaleokualoha
2009-05-25 15:11:01
You will probably find that even the most notable human rights champions, from Mahatma Gandhi and Dr. King to Nelson Mandela and others, devoted more energy to local victims than to foreign victims. This affinity effect usually compels people to care more about their own group than about other groups when setting priorities.
Although they may profess equal concern for everyone’s human rights in the abstract, in practical terms it is unrealistic. Thus, the murder of a neighbor or the massacre of ten people in a neighboring state may be more horrifying than the massacre of ten thousand people in Africa. People respond on an emotional rather than a rational level.
