Sixty-eight thousand people dead, and CNN’s ratings are way up. Sixty-eight thousand people. Dead. That’s it. Boom. Over. Gone.
And we Americans turn on our televisions to hear stories about the 770 tourists who are “feared dead” and to hear the bullshit stories of hope and triumph aired by the local news stations. Oh, and my mom has the audacity to pray for them. I couldn’t help but hum ironically:
He’s got the whole world,
In his hands.
He’s got the whole wide world,
In his hands.
He’s got the whole world,
In his hands.
He’s got the whole world in his hands.
(a sunday-school favorite)
Why the FUCK are you turning on your television? Whence this sadistic obsession with the images of the ruin? It’s it enough to read that 68,000 people have died, and that death toll is expected to rise as the impoverished nations are ravaged by disease, malnutrition, homelessness and starvation? FUCK your televisions. FUCK your god. He’s got the whole world, in his hands. Good for him. He’s got 68,000 corpses in his hands and here’s the best part: HE LOVES US!!
So do something. Don’t just shake your head at the dinner table and say “what a shame. That’s such a tragedy.” Of course it is. Turn off your damned television and make a donation, or get on the next flight to Bangkok and pick up a shovel, or at the very least do something more than ogle at the spectacle of the loss of thousands of lives. Here’s some links to get you started if you’re able to make a donation:
Red Cross Red Crescent
http://www.ifrc.org/helpnow/donate/donate_response.asp
UNICEF
http://www.unicef.org
World Concern
http://www.worldconcern.org/
I obviously don’t know how to deal with this, but I’m sickened and enraged by the people who derive some form of entertainment from this. But here’s what it comes down to: buck up or fuck off.
If you want to turn on your television and revel in the gory spectacle, fine. Just get the fuck away from me.
What if we think that this “tragedy” is a natural form of population control. I mean it cant’ be a conicidence that it happened near some of the most overpopulated countries in the world. Yes, human life is precious, but also human life is destructive. Take whatever religious stance you want but i would file this one under “mother nature defending herself”.
I think there’s one thing we can ALL agree on and that is the severity of this tragedy. Its really hard to take a number like 68,000 and internalize the sorrow and sympathy that comes from such a disaster. Is it even possible for the human brain to really comprehend that many deaths?
Pictures are also worth a thousand words. We’ve all seen the commercials dedicated to “adopting” a child in Somalia and what not where they show pictures of frail bodied children who need food. This is the same situation. While 68,000 is a number we have troubles comprehending the actual quantity of, pictures aid so much better in this. Don’t think of it as a “sadistic” obsession but another way of saying 68,000.
Mark, I am also incredibly appalled about your comment about your mom praying for the victims of the disaster. Your mom honestly believes that by praying there is a possibility that God will lend them a helping hand. She means all good. Whether or it will work or not is a question of religion. But what your mom is doing is applying her beliefs to GOOD. There is nothing wrong with this and you make it look like your mom is doing some sinful thing. Who are you to judge your mother? We all know that people die. We all know that that’s a reality of this life, and its a saddening fact. But there is NOTHING wrong with praying for them.
Doing something is also a good thing to do about all this. We can donate, we can actually go out there and help. Its the truth, but the ONLY way any of that would happen is if we knew about it and that’s what the media provides. Its NEWS. That’s what NEWS is all about. If the media didn’t report this tragedy they wouldn’t be doing their jobs, would they? You know that in non capitalistic societies this story is being told. The stories can easily inspire donations and what not which is really what we need. A person hears about a person giving and says to themselves “I should do the same thing.”
Why don’t you sit back and let people make their own choices. Let your mom choose to pray. Let the masses watch the television. Let each individual choose whether or not they should donate to these companies. Some people can’t afford it. Some people can only afford to pray.
As for population control, I don’t think there’s any way any of us could really know whether or not that’s the case. I don’t even think its a valid thing for considering right now. Because who really cares? The only thing you are doing by discussing population control is dehumanizing. It makes it not seem like people died, but rather there was a rebalance in the species. I don’t think there’s any way you could file this disaster under “mother nature defending herself” because you don’t know mother nature. You cannot deny that innocent people died in this horrible disaster and in fact, if mother nature was smart, she would have probably defended herself against the horrible things being done to her in the UNITED STATES.
Yes, my mom is applying her beliefs for what she believes to be good… but to what avail? None. Rather than actually doing something that will result in some tangible benefit, she pardons herself and cleanses herself of any obligation to the hundreds of thousands of humans suffering by praying for them. It’s useless and it absolves her from any feeling of obligation to aid her fellow humans. So while be believes it to be good, in actuality it’s contrary to the good of things. How dare I judge her? While some non-theists are rushing off to send donations or whatever support they’re able, Christians sit back and pray. Good for them, but a lot of good it does the thousands who will die of disease and malnutrition over the months to come.
I guess it’s the idea of J.C. as a panacea that I object to: J.C. doesn’t solve shit and he sure isn’t doing anything to help anyone in South-east Asia right now. I guess I’m more incensed at her unquestioning faith: she tells me that this disaster must be the work of the devil who comes to “steal, kill and destroy.” It’s blind faith that ANYTHING bad in the world is from Satan himself and praying makes the world better. And I find that sort of intentional blindness repulsive. It’s a shield and protection from the real world and nothing more.
Your mom thinks that by praying she’s asking for God’s help in this situation. She believes that from time to time, God will answer those prayers. You have no way of proving how that is not the case.