Subject: Context Please
Driving back from lunch with GF today, I listened to NPR as is my usual preference. The soft spoken NPR interviewer was interviewing various Palestinians about what their experience has been, what they have seen, how they are coping, etc. The responses were what you would expect, fear, tales of hardship, not knowing how to explain this to children, rationing water, deaths of friends and family members, not knowing the fate of others, the sounds of the bombs, and explosions. Truly awful stuff.
After dragging all this emotion out of the interviewee, I wish the reporter would conclude with a couple of contextual questions, like, Did you vote for Hamas?, Do you believe that Israel has a right to exist?, Do you practice Sharia Law? These answers would help me adjust my sympathy response.