I feel fatigued by the endless pointless violence in the Middle East and Africa. I am horrified at what happens to real people not much different to me and my family but we are helpless to stop it. We can't send in the gunboats of the British Empire. American attempts to bomb people into democracy don't work. We can just expect tragic cycles of sectarian and tribal violence until the survivors are exhausted and some stronger governments, probably dictatorships, prevail. So I care, but I have to tune it out.

Intermittent, unexpected violence in Europe, in places where I might actually travel, is both shocking and relevant to me for good reason. The fact that I pay more attention doesn't mean I dismiss the value of brown or black lives.