*Trigger warning: violence, death, terror.

As if the world hasn’t had enough of more violence, it gradually escalates in the Middle East as ISIS strikes yet again, this time on Yemen.

What You Need To Know

ISIS launched their latest attack on Yemen, with conservative estimates recording the lost lives of 48 people, and continued counts of 71 and more dead, as well as wounding several others in the process. Most recent news indicate that approximately 60 people have been reported to be hospitalized as a result of this incident. The suicide bomber, disguised as an old man, entered a breakfast party filled with conscripts of allied forces to the former President of Yemen, Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi, who were being prepared to enroll as troops headed to battle in the conflict in the Saudi-Yemeni border. ISIS apparently claimed responsibility for the attack, with social media posts showing the bomber with a rifle at their side, swearing allegiance to the political cause. This is not a unique case given a temporal analysis, as it joins the list of countless bombings around various Middle Eastern countries, with this incident following a previous bombing on Yemen just 8 days prior, on December 10th.

Yet Another Attack, What’s The Difference?

Media coverage plays a large part in the political influence that is allocated to specific issues around the world. The reality is that a large majority of the world population are greatly desensitized to acts of horror around the world in recent times due to the frequency of the attacks. The minimal coverage of this incident is a great marker of that. Due to the event not including the lives of Western superpowers, it was staged as yet another act of terror in the face of war with the political regime of ISIS, or Daesh as so labeled, thus placing it in the background of all other events that are taking place around the world.

This has several dangerous political implications as well as sociopolitical implications. Generalizations of Islamic violence is further proliferated by these subtle acts. People tend to disregard the fact that the largest demographic that the most active terror group in the status quo tends to target are Middle Eastern Muslims, who are dominantly Shia. This type of publicity leads to more antagonism in this sociopolitical atmosphere, which greatly bleeds into the political deliberations that concern politics combating this issue. Political deliberations are influenced by this proliferation of knowledge, as it is more of a psychological phenomenon of advertising information rather than politically divisive tactics.

How Dangerous Is The Future?

The political precedents set by these events bear foresight to an incredibly dangerous future. The constant desensitization gradually leads to the devaluing of these disasters that happen in almost a daily basis, leading to various consequences. One such consequence is the delaying of politics. The lack of care for each unique event that takes place gradually leads to lack of attention to the daily events that are taking place, either resulting in overlooking crucial developments or, the more concerning yet likely outcome, the delaying of politics. If there is an international issue that requires the attention of larger, western powers, the lack of care or consideration may lead to active detachment from the political event without any reason.

Often times, there are political agendas that provide reasonable arguments for why it is not in the best interest of countries to aid any international agents. My fear, however, is when the interests turn to meaningless excuses due to lack of care or incentive. That may be the real dark day that befalls the world.