With Radio Free Asia reporting 4 killed in Korla and the Xinjiang Far West China blog now reviewing comments and photos from Weibo, it appears a good time to wish media outlets the very best in their efforts to make sense of the often insensible. UyghurBiz have provided photos from the scene and an interview with one witness. The dispute seems to be between a group of Uyghurs and a group of Han men over gambling in a video game arcade. It is perfectly plausible that this escalated due to existing tensions between Han and Uyghurs in the city. However, it would be enormously helpful if the world's media focused on finding out what happened here and, ideally, by actually visiting the city. We wish journalists well in resisting the temptation to churn out articles rapidly with cut and paste sections from earlier cut and paste jobs which summarise life in the region through crass essentialisations of "restive region", "ethnic riots", and "Muslim discontent". Let's not ethnicise people's lives without asking them how they understand these incidents first.
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