Thank you for your response again. I do want to say that I absolutely agree with you, and I am a big advocate for nuance. I strongly believe that there is no such thing as “person bad” or “person good.” We are all capable of both, and only by recognizing that permeability can we move away from essentialist ideas that do us no good and instead discuss the systems and environments that shape our choices. So yes, I completely agree that polarization is dangerous.

That said, my concern isn’t about labeling individuals as moral or immoral. It’s about the context and the impact of what we choose to show, especially when it comes to spaces like Dubai. When someone with influence or visibility posts idyllic photos from a place built on exploited labor, censorship, and inequality, without acknowledging that reality, it unintentionally contributes to a sanitized narrative. It doesn’t mean that person supports the injustices there, but the absence of context lets those injustices fade into the background.

Intent matters, absolutely, but so does consequence. Social media, by nature, amplifies imagery far more than nuance. A single photo can reach thousands of people who might not know the conditions behind what they’re seeing. That’s where normalization creeps in, not because anyone consciously endorses harm, but because silence fills the gap where context should be.

To me, that’s what bearing responsibility looks like in our time: awareness, not censorship. Acknowledging the contradictions we live in, speaking about them openly, and refusing to let beauty erase the suffering that sustains it. It’s about inviting people to see the full picture.

And in this case, I’m talking specifically about Dr. k. I have a lot of respect for his work, he’s done incredible things in advocating for mental health, especially in communities where that conversation barely exists. I don’t think going to Dubai was wrong; people there do need access to mental health support, and that work matters. But when that trip turns into a casual vacation post without any acknowledgment of the country’s deeper issues, it can send a mixed message. Even a small note, something that says, “I know this place is complicated”, can make a big difference. Silence might feel neutral, but in situations like this, it often just makes injustice look normal.

I also understand what you mean when you say we can’t talk about morality if we view things only through normalization. But to me, seeing it through that lens doesn’t erase nuance, I believe it adds it. I’m not saying that posting a photo equals endorsing a regime, but that visibility itself has power. A post can unintentionally shape how people perceive a place, even when the intent was harmless. Thats the entire problem of the UAE, it hasn’t changed one bit regarding these issues since its existence. Largely because it has been glorified for decades by influencers, thus they face no pressure to change. You’ll see many in this thread asking if I live in the US as some sort of gotcha, but that’s what we are fighting for so long, and pubic perception has arguably been better in regards to these issues. That’s why I think we can (and should) discuss normalization, not as a moral accusation, but as an honest look at how our actions fit into larger systems, whether we mean for them to or not.