American/Anglo countries have an unfortunate binary approach to justice and punishment that says someone is either blameless and deserves nothing to happen to them or someone has responsibility and deserves anything that happens to them. These kids were dumb but they don't deserve to be tortured. It is, however, a clear case of people taking for granted the legal and ethical protections they enjoy under developed democracies, and this is definitely dumb and a case of privilege.
Someone walking into a burning building doesn't deserve being burned, but it is pretty fucking stupid.
I dunno tho. I am going to get in the asshole line here.
Right now Australia has a migrant problem where they are treated like animals, have treated their indigenous population horrendously for hundreds of years since it's founding until now, and is probably the only Western country that can go to toe against the US for it's conservative leaning politics.
They
KNOW that those breaking the rules outside of the dominant culture suffer greatly, its just in their privilege they think that everywhere THEY are the dominant culture and don't have to worry about those others. THAT's the problem. Even the lifestyle they are selling is bullshit, could a monied African travel the way they travel and feel 'as safe'?
A homegirl of mine is born Somali but was raised in the West, huge fun party girl 100% assimilated with no accent. When she took a job in Dubai her ex-pat co-workers could get shitfaced, wear whatever, and break local cultural norms no problem. But her first day there the cab driver recognized immediately she was an African Muslim and basically threatened her in Arabic to behave better or else in front of her unknowing co-workers driving from the airport.
The reason why these stories are so unnerving is that it showcases the indifference to struggle that these people encounter traveling AND in their own countries. It's hard not to see them as bad people because it's hard to buy that they are that unknowingly ignorant when they come from countries that have their own history of oppression.