« Blog on a Stick | Main | No Cure for Stupidity »
December 29, 2004
Relating to Disaster
So why is it that the death of over 60,000 lives doesn't really hit you until you read the story of the close call of some Asian movie star or European supermodel?
I'm not trying to be trite or sarcastic here: this is, as uncomfortable or ugly as it might seem, the way we are. For those who do not personally know anyone that may be affected, this disaster will never register in certain parts of their minds until it can be put to the face of someone that, in reality, is just as distant as the anonymous drowned child from Sri Lanka or the family washed away in the wee morning hours in Indonesia.
I will not pretend to have some great insight on the nature of we human beings: it is late at night and I am tired, to say the least. I suppose some might suggest that this sort of sentiment is our nihilistic culture run amok, while other would say that mere mortals are probably incapable of contemplating such horror. As the former Soviet tyrant is reputed to have said:
A single death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.
And so it is the same today. In some cases, it is easy to relate, because the tragedy in question originates from the evils of mankind and our sense of morality is shaken. But when a disaster occurs in, for the lack of a better term, an act of God, maybe it's not our way to relate. Unless, that is, the 2003 SI swimsuit edition cover model or the star of the movie Hero is involved.
Then again, you should never be this crass.
Save a prayer, plus some more, for everyone affected by this terrible event, celebrity or not.
Posted by Kelvin at December 29, 2004 3:49 AM
Trackback Pings
TrackBack URL for this entry:
http://www.kelvin-chan.net/mt/mt-tb.cgi/3
Comments
Post a comment
Thanks for signing in, . Now you can comment. (sign out)
(If you haven't left a comment here before, you may need to be approved by the site owner before your comment will appear. Until then, it won't appear on the entry. Thanks for waiting.)