Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami's

It was five people in Oregon, actually. And only one of those five actually died. The others were rescued, but they couldn't find one of them.

 

What makes people believe they are invincible; I've been thinking about our fragility the entire day.

 

Last year we had a Tsunami Alert, it was small (I'd watched Hawaii get away with it), but people in their hundreds were in the water and they even had a surfing competition continue during the time frame.

People are just reckless.

All you need is a few feet of surge and you'll probably drown if you're in it.


Edit

I'm hearing there are problems with one of the nuclear reactors (after they said it was all okay all evening). Sure it'll be fine, but nonetheless.

 

Yes, initially is was believed that the cooling mechanism would remain operational, unless I am thinking about another reactor story.

People and their die hard sports...

 

Japan lies on a seismic fault line. These kind of events are to expected. It is naive to be shocked when nature does what can be expected.
What is it about natural disasters that causes strong sympathetic reactions from the outside world?
5000 people a year die in road accidents in Japan - far more than so far listed as dead due to the recent earthquake. Do our hearts and thoughts go to Japan in sympathy for these road deaths? If not, why not? Do those people count less? Why should we be moved more by a (so far) lesser number of deaths due to an earthquake - or is it merely the economic and collateral damage to buildings and infrastructure that disturbs us? Or are we unsettled by a reminder that despite our engineering and technology, we remain at the whim of natural forces?

Everyday malaria needlessly kills 3,000 children. If we really cared so much about the death of strangers, these preventable deaths would bother us more—they too would be in our thoughts and preys. Humans are impressed by drama. Being swept away by a wave has more dramatic value than quietly passing away in bed. Perhaps it is the drama of these events that prick us more than the suffering?

 

What makes you think we don't care? What makes you think that the pictures of children dying for want of clean water don't affect us as badly? People care about these deaths every day - hence UNICEF, SAVE THE CHILDREN, OXFAM, WATER AID and boundless other smaller charities working each and every day, thanks to people's donations.

And yes - we are unsettled by the power of nature. These things we can do nothing about, no matter how advanced our technology. I, and millions more, feel desperately sorry for the people who were just going about their usual business and were swept away by the power of nature. Life is a gift and can be taken just as easily as it was given. These disasters underline that fact.

I also, every single day, feel for the people who are starving, the children working in sweat shops everywhere, the children sleeping on the streets. There is room in my life, in my wishes, in my prayers for all of them!

 

On a personal level, I have no idea what you care about. It's what makes the news and lingers in the media that gives me a good indication of what people care about collectively: dramatic pictures!

As far as we know, yesterday 1000 people died in an earthquake in Japan, and 3000 people needlessly died of malaria. What makes me think that collectively society cares more about one issue over the other is the predominance of one issue over the other in the media, and the number of postings I see related to each tragedy on discussion boards such as this.
People tend to get all excited in posting, reporting and responding to events with dramatic visuals. There are dramatic visuals to go along with the earthquake, but none to go with the even worse tragedy of malaria…which will claim as more lives tomorrow, the next day, and the next.

I do not mean to belittle or deny anyone’s suffering in Japan. Like the rest of the world, my thoughts go out to the families who lost loved one there in road accidents over the last year – all five thousand of them – oh, to the victims of the earthquake, of course!

"Life is a gift and can be taken just as easily as it was given."
Exactly, yet when that happens, people frequently behave as if it is a shock.

 

Maybe it's events like this, that people actually become more aware of the larger issue. Not just what we saw yesterday.

But to be honest, no i don't really give a **** about one person dying of some disease or a few people in a car crash. Am i heartless, no. If i spend every day thinking of everything, you think I'd get much done.

Its moments like yesterday that do make you ponder our mortality. Not just in that event, but overall.

 

I think the suddenness of ordinary, healthy families like ourselves being wiped out, or their homes being washed away, is what is shocking and makes us identify so much with this terrible human tragedy.

My daughter was devastated to get a post from a friend saying 'Did you know the creator of Pokemon was on one of the bullet trains that was washed away?' but after a bit of Googling it seems Nintendo is saying this is a hoax. I really hope so, this hero of hers was only in his forties.

But still, there are so many who will probably end up never being found.

 

I'm really worried. First and foremost, I have a few friends in Japan, and I'm concerned about their safety.
Secondly, my Japanese teacher has family over there, and I'm worried about them as well.
Thirdly, that nuclear meltdown might pose a serious, far-reaching problem. Let's all hope we don't have another chernobyl on our hands.

Finally, let me say, the world is most definitely NOT coming to an end. 2012 is just another Nostradamus crock. This is just another part of the world's cycle. Remember that, people. We humans are going to be just fine.

 

One of the nuclear reactors is fine. They released some pressure and its running fine now. Not sure about the other.

 

But to be honest, no i don't really give a ****
I think that would be the honest response of many people who fell publically obliged to claim to be saddened by events on queue. When concern and sympathy rapidly rises, it is usually fleeting. I’m sure much of the concern for people in Haiti after their earthquakes was real, but where is that concern now? It’s has faded, even in the Haitians sufferings have not.

Humans don’t have the capacity to care about everyone and everything. Thus I don’t believe the bulk people who claim to be deeply moved by a vast arrive of events. They mouth their altruism, then continue on with their lives just as selfishly as I…

...To be honest, I really don’t lose sleep over strangers dying, and I think that goes for most people. Millions of people die everyday. Such is Life.

Its moments like yesterday that do make you ponder our mortality. Not just in that event, but overall.
Yes. I think when we are impartial bystanders to these events, it is more the possibility of our own death that rattles us, than the actual death of people we dont know.

 

Speak for yourself. I'm an extremely empathetic person and I feel for strangers however they might die. Not as much as I would feel for someone I know, but still it does cause me stress knowing that people starve, suffer through slavery, die from curable diseases, etc. every minute of every day.

I cope through denial and rarely watch the news. Can't always avoid it (as with this horrific disaster) and then it typically hits me pretty hard.

 

I think the media has an effect in some people thinking nthat others don't care about the bigger picture. that of the people we don't see.

It's just my opinion, but i am getting a little sick of the media jumping into these bigger events, using them to make the bad look even worse, then pissing off after they have their stories.

But the media is the media, and i'm sure most people are larger minded.

 

that's how i felt about 9/11, but i knew if i were to say that out loud people were just going to get angry and tell me to go back to china. and if i had a darker-colored skin, i'm pretty sure they were going to accuse me of being a terrorist and report my suspicious behavior to the police, or something along that line.

i'm a lot more tolerant of people than i used to be now, but i still find it irritating when their tweet of "please pray for japan!!! [insert sad face here]" is quickly followed by their random opinions about sex and the city, charlie sheen, and what happened last night at so-and-so's party. i know life goes on and many people have short attention spans and everything, but my GOD. isn't there some sort of unspoken rule that if we want to pretend to care about an established tragedy at all we should do it for at least a day?

i think for a lot people, they (temporarily) care about japan not because the media tell them to but because of things like this. it's sad and i wouldn't want to be in your daughter's shoes, but i personally prefer to mourn over things that aren't already mourned over to death by most of the world.

 

I'd hate to live on the same planet as ojduffelworth, where "millions of people die every day." That must be a truly horrible place. Thankfully, the situation on Earth is much less severe.

With regard to Japan, the estimates on here are likely to prove much too low, sadly. For example, I have just read a report stating that 10,000 people are unaccounted for in one town alone, which makes this a huge disaster, particularly when you consider the billions of dollars of damage to the infrastructure, and the loss of homes, workplaces etc that will affect countless thousands more. Nor is it yet over, with large aftershocks continuing, and the uncertain situation at the nuclear power plant that could yet cause a health risk.

The Japanese are resilient people who are accustomed to the whims of nature. After all, tsunami itself is a Japanese word. They will bounce back from this, but it would take a heart of stone not to feel immense sympathy for what has happened.

 

I also don’t give a hoot about the 3,000 people who died in 9/11, but to say so publicly is frowned upon.
But why should the 9/11 deaths move me more than the same number of people who die of malaria every day?

Clearly society expects us to be horrified by the plight of one set of people over another set of people. I find that inhumane. But alas, we in the West have a habit of pretending to care out of politically correctness.

I think many who race to the gate to declare they care about this and that are often more interested in projecting themselves as a caring people, rather than in offering true, and consequentially, practical sympathy.

Many people in the developed world like to voice their concern for others, but they don’t really mean it...

How much are you prepared to suffer in order to elevate the suffering of others? Are you willing to donate 10% or your income to victims of an earthquake? How about 20%? Have you even thought about it? I doubt most people who rush to say, “I am so sadden by this,” have pondered such questions.

Are you willing to go without a new plasma television and a few meals a week in order to fund a housing project for the homeless? Or do you superficially say you care about strangers, and offer such intangibles as thoughts and Preys?

People seldom give to strangers to the point of impeding on their own comfortable lifestyles. That to me would be a test of someone truly caring about an issue. I suspect most people who give to charities do so feel good about themselves, rather than to do good, and if you are not willing to suffer for others, as far as I am concerned, you don’t really give a hoot. I respect those who admit this.

 

I'd hate to live on the same planet as ojduffelworth, where "millions of people die every day." That must be a truly horrible place. Thankfully, the situation on Earth is much less severe.
Yes, that was a bit of an exaggeration – I believe the figure is around 70,000? Point is, scores of people die every single day, but we tend not to mourn them unless their deaths are associated with dramatic footage.

With regard to Japan, the estimates on here are likely to prove much too low, sadly.Yes indeed, I too would suspect many more thousands, and I shall endeavor to ramp up my sorrow with every new statistic.

nuclear power plant that could yet cause a health risk.
The fact that people would build nuclear power plants on seismic fault lines is a testament to the intelligence of humanity. Doh! Who’s decision was that?

The Japanese are resilient people
Have you ever heard it said after such a disaster, “they are not a resilient people?”


it would take a heart of stone not to feel immense sympathy for what has happened.
Do you also feel immense sympathy for the other tens of thousands of people who die every single day? Are they on your mind daily?
My neighbor three doors down died last week in a needless accident. Are you now riling in immense sympathy for him, or do you have a heart of stone?

 

Something to keep in mind as we discuss all the "nameless, faceless" people suffering in Japan right now is that there are people (on this site, even) who have had loved ones affected by this. I can see where you're coming from, and I'm not disputing your right to feel that way, but that doesn't mean you have to tactlessly post on a thread about how foolish people are for getting upset about it.

 

*Cautiously inserts self into topic once again*

Okay, here are my two $0.02...

I feel bad for those who have suffered during the Tsunami. Though I don't know them, I spare a little thought to them and go about my day.

As for the whole "tens of thousands of people die every day" deal? Well...I've accepted a long time ago that we will all die some day. Sooner or later, we all die. I will die one day. It may not be in twenty years, it may not even be in forty or sixty years, but eventually I'll pass on.

When I hear about someone suffering a misfortune, I spare a little thought for them and go about my day.

Dufflelworth, how would you feel if someone said they wouldn't even spare a thought if you came in here saying a loved one has died? How would you feel if that someone said you were foolish to be upset at a tragedy like that? 'Cause if you ever did come in saying that someone you loved had died, I'll be sure to spare a thought and prayer for your loved one.

 

If we no longer feel the loss of another human being, are we not dead inside?

We die by degrees. Every time we hear of death, we feel it a little less. That includes me. When the initial numbers of dead were in the low hundreds, I felt relief that it wasn't in the thousands like Indonesia or Haiti.

But I am still alive enough that I immediately felt ashamed.

Next thought. The superstitious and those who yearn for obliteration talk of the end of the world. Floods, fires, wars, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, oil disasters, climatic shifts. Could the Earth change so much that all life will end? Very doubtful. All human life? Remotely possible.

The Earth? The Earth will barely notice. Oh, maybe the thin film of atmosphere will have a slightly different composition, and the overall temperature could vary aq few degrees. Maybe the layer of water will cover some of the rocky crust that was previously dry, or expose some that was previously submerged. But the Earth will still orbit the Sun in a little more than 365 rotations, and the Moon will still perform its orbital waltz with the Earth unchanged.

It doesn't mitigate the human tragedy, but it does put it in a - different perspective.

 

I feel bad for the Japanese who have died, and those who are suffering through the recovery. I still feel bad for the 9/11 victims as well. I don't give a damn what society expects of me, it's how I feel. I'm certainly not going to question anyone else's feelings or motivations for expressions of sympathy. It's a tragedy, plain and simple.

 

I don't think many in the West care out of "political correctness". Maybe some, but they're in the very slim majority, if any. I know that I genuinely care, and I'm sure many others do, too.

 

I don't really want to get into this discussion, but there is one point or two I would like to make.

Have you actually seen charities at work in places like Haiti or India or Indonesia after these disasters? Have you actually seen charity money at work?

I have not, but I have a bunch of first-hand reports to fall back on. What happened in the Indian Ocean case was that there was far too much money on hand for relief purposes. Some of the consequences:

- Enormous stocks of medicine were flown in, the bulk of which expired before they could be used. Part of this aid is now toxic waste. Some charities donated stocks that already were expired or that were going to expire within days and weeks.
- While some charities and relief organizations did send only experts and experienced aid workers, many others were so awash with funds that they sent young student volunteers with no skills or experience at all. Upon arrival, they found that they did not know how to drill wells or build houses or do nursing, and consequently did nothing but drink themselves into stupor in a four-week series of beach parties.
- The erratic and unorganized behaviour of some of the charities that actually did do work led to most of the work being quite useless. For example houses built in unsuitable locations, work abandoned before being finished, duplication (or even triplication) of effort in one area (a particular favourite, this one).

Consequently, I never give money to any charity unless I know precisely what they are going to do with it and that they have the appropriate know-how. Such charities do exist, but they are not typically the ones who go "omg! pray for xxx! help us help xxx donate now!"

 

If we no longer feel the loss of another human being, are we not dead inside?
No. Human emotion does not work so simplistically as I assume you are meaning to imply.
By dead inside I presume you mean lacking the capacity to be emotionally moved. Well of course it is possible to be moved by something whilst not being moved by the death of a human being…

When you are saddened by these deaths, are you actually mourning human beings in great numbers, or the concept of humans?

Thousands of people die every day, do you mourn everyone of them? Of course not! You don’t even know them. They are merely a statistic to you. I don’t believe you can’t truly mourn a number. Are you crying from the 23,091th person who died yesterday? Tell me about this person? You can’t. It’s a number to you, not a person…You can’t possibly feel bad for this person – you don’t know who they are, where they lived, or how they died…you can only mourn the concept of this person, not the actual person itself.

But I am still alive enough that I immediately felt ashamed.
Do you feel like that everyday, after all everyday people are dying by the tens of thousands…or is your shame dependent on something beyond the fact that you are alive and others are dead? Dose it depend on the method of their death, or the television footage? Are you also ashamed that malaria has not killed you, as it needlessly kills thousands every day? If not, why not? Don’t you care? Are you choosing to care about one set of people over another set of people?

Humans don’t have the capacity to be moved by everything and everyone. It’s nothing do with being dead inside – and everything to do with being finite animals. Consciously or subconsciously, we choose not to give a damn about countless things and countless people.


that doesn't mean you have to tactlessly post on a thread about how foolish people are for getting upset about it.
I don’t think anyone who has lost loved ones in this event would care less about anything I had to say at this time, why would they? They would be mourning their actual loved ones…If anything I had to say impeded on their capacity to mourn their loved ones, I would question their affections for the person they are mourning…The closer you are to someone, the more you feel their loss…as you move away, you feel less. Finally you get to the point where you feel nothing, or at best mourn the concept of a person rather than the actual person itself. At that point, you may choose which concept(s) you are going to feel bad about (Japanese earthquake victims, Malaria victims, people who have fallen off chairs when changing light bulbs). It becomes an abstract. People die tragically everyday, but we tend to turn on and off our grief for the concept of dying people with in proportion to the drama of the television footage. To me that is a fleeting, hollow grief.
Personally, I don’t mourn the concept of people, but to imply that makes me think people who have lost actual loved one are foolish to mourn their loss would be ridiculous.


Dufflelworth, how would you feel if someone said they wouldn't even spare a thought if you came in here saying a loved one has died? How would you feel if that someone said you were foolish to be upset at a tragedy like that?
I wouldn’t care less. Hell, why would I possibly care if letters on a computer screen were telling me they were not bothered by the loss of a my loved one? The stranger tapping out those words would neither know me, or the person I had lost, and I am mature enough not care if people who don’t know me fail to have thoughts for me.
My sentiments are not dependent on the approval of strangers.
Furthermore, I don’t understand the relevance of your question. Where have I said say people are foolish to get upset over the loss of their loved ones?

'Cause if you ever did come in saying that someone you loved had died, I'll be sure to spare a thought and prayer for your loved one.
And that would be solely for your benefit, and not that of my loved one or me – but if you would like to pay for the funeral, that would be of benefit!


I know that I genuinely care, and I'm sure many others do, too.
How much are you prepared to personally suffer in order to alleviate the suffering of these strangers you care about? It’s all very lovely to say, “I care,” and go about your daily life.
But to me that is not really caring with substance, that is just having a fleeting, reflex emotional reaction. It’s the same sort of thing you get when you empathies with a character at the movie theater…sure you genuinely feel it, but that hasn’t the weight of caring with consequence -if that’s the right word? (Perhaps movies, television and even books have taken away taught us to feel and care without consequence, and to confuse a genuinly caring attitude with a fleeting feeling. Curious thought…)

If you care, and you fail to do anything to help when it is possible to help, I would say your caring is weightless.
How much you do to help (when you can) is proportional to how much you care- within the limits of human capacity.
Of course I don’t know your personal situation, and so can only talk in general…but too many people who are eager to declare how much they care do next to nothing even when they can do a lot. To me that is merely pandering ones own ego.


Have you actually seen charities at work in places like Haiti or India or Indonesia after these disasters? Have you actually seen charity money at work?
yes.

Consequently, I never give money to any charity unless I know precisely what they are going to do with it and that they have the appropriate know-how.
Me too. Any your point is???? I’m sure you are not making that out to be an excuse to do nothing. Send me your money if you wish to donate to peoples in need. I’m serious. I can pass on 100% of what you donate to families/individuals in need, from Asia to Africa. You can have direct contact with these people, to see that your donation has gone to them. PM me if interested, but note I think it takes at least $1000 and closer to $4000US to make any long term difference to these individuals....do you care to that extent? Waiting for PMs from all the caring people here! Thanks!