Earthquakes Suck... RIP to all the victims...

[hamilton]

Essentially what I've been saying is that tragedy needs to occur in today's 'global village' for people to snap out of their trance and actually help people.

That's ridiculous. If the tragedy didn't happen in the first place, *fewer* people would need assistance, right?

[SaggyBalls]

"That's ridiculous. If the tragedy didn't happen in the first place, *fewer* people would need assistance, right?"

direct, immediate, distressing assistance? you're right. 30,000 less people would be dead or in dire need of help to stay alive.

but really - there are millions of people that need help right now that will never get the help they deserve. there is no good reason for so many people to die of hunger and starvation, die needlessly of disease...but nobody in the media reminds us that help could be given by the industrialized world.

So much food gets discarded to keep the market prices high, cheap vaccines can be distributed to the 3rd world, we could be sending over construction teams to rebuild instead of just sending money...I see a tragedy like this and i can't help but wonder how much of the money we donate never gets to the victims.

"Essentially what I've been saying is that tragedy needs to occur in today's 'global village' for people to snap out of their trance and actually help people."

it's not ridiculous. there are loads of people at home that need the help. Snowsuit funds, food banks, hospices, and community centres pale in comparison to death and dying - but it seems that unless it's a big catastrophe and it's on the news, people turn a blind eye to atrocity. Social activism's militance has really ruined it for us. if it's a 'cause' people see it as being just for the radicals, in essence turning them into squares. Look at tibet, the wars that get ignored and dismissed cause they're 'over there', the people you ignore on the street because they get in the way...

I hope this catastrophe gets managed properly. I'm sure a lot of people are going to be making money from this tragedy.

sorry to seem like a cold hearted bastard. I've put myself out enough for people around me to know that getting down about something that i'd have no idea about were it not for the media and not being able to do anything about it is a cause for unnecessary initiative and holds me back. not quite like those 'homeless' (read street people) asking for money or to hear their stories getting in my way when i need to catch the bus or do my laundry, they're going to be there this afternoon, tomorrow, and the next day. probably longer than that even. Sure i could care less but at least i'm not moving to the burbs to get away from it.

[SaggyBalls]

but i still have gotta say - what a shitty thing to happen to those undeserving, unsuspecting people. i wouldn't will that on anybody when it comes down to it. By no way am i trying to dismiss this and say that it's alright that happened.

It's just that disasters are great ways to divert our attention from other more pressing world news, taking our attention off the problems at home or adding to our stresses.

think of me how you will - i definitely appreciate your bleeding hearts. you're caring individuals. I just try to take a step back whenever i can. i don't get so worked up. and still i've written more on this thread than in a long while, even pandering down to hamilton's 'you're such a dolt' comment. It's a pretty intense situation. If i had really wished this to happen i'd have stated that these disasters should happen in the countries that destroy the world the most - makes sense but we need more chances before we get smited...smoten?

taken down by god/mother earth.

nostradamus is being proven right by each passing moment.

[Kaidy Mae]

30,000 less people to add to the problem.

What an insensitive and ignorant thing to write! I'm sure the countless victims of global disasters in the past few years were directly contributing to the "problem". *eye rolling* The vast majority lived in drastically disadvantaged conditions in comparison to you. Exactly how were they themselves contributing to the problem? Wait, nevermind. I really don't want you to answer that.

And hoping an outbreak of the Avian Flu hits while you're on vacation?

"Dolt" is a fucking understatement. :thumbdown:

Edited October 11, 2005 by Guest
Beats corrected me. He is not ignorant.

[SaggyBalls]

vacation? i'm on 'vacation' back home. I doubt you'd want that to hit Ottawa.

but vancouver - that's alright?

direct contribution? nope. well...maybe new orleans and texas. perhaps iran. but pakistan? aww...thousands of years of feuding over kashmir and threatening to start a war with india?? not quite a DIRECT contribution, but if you believe in karma you've got to consider it.

and as far as the disadvantaged countries adding to the problem? when these countries slowly build their economies to the point where they can become consumers they do. Look at mexico city. it's the most heavily polluted place on the face of the planet. why? totally lax environmental policy. so these poor sods get cars, or televisions, or other appliances and 'advantages' of a prosperous society and don't learn from our mistakes, impacting the world even more than we are. our impact is through influence, theirs is through ignorance.

so as much as it'd be great for little kids to be able to watch sesame street like the industrialized world, it's not healthy for anybody, even if those kids learn to read.

but who knows...maybe that one kid living in a shack somewhere with a little television will learn to read and become the great scholar to save the world for us. what a stretch.

anyhow, I'm insensitive about many things in the world, but ignorant I'm not. You're just missing my point. if you're going to accuse me of anything marginal you'd better get it right and critcize my writing skills before my character.

Since we don't probably forsee a complete social shift to GENUINE humanitarianism, wouldn't it be more REALISTIC to perhaps admit that our impact is very much connected to a population outbreak?

but then that would liken us to a virus...and we can't be spouting nerdy lines from 'the matrix' cause that's so 4 years ago...

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

but pakistan? aww...thousands of years of feuding over kashmir and threatening to start a war with india??

Not to be a total prat, but I should point out that Pakistan has only existed as a country for slightly over fifty years, and that it was really the British who had stoked the tensions between them in order to maintain control (partition was really the UK's parthian shot as they left in the late 40s). It comes back, in other words, to a question of British colonialism. They've been doing surprisingly well recently working things through, in spite of interference from the superpowers.

[MarcO]

but pakistan? aww...thousands of years of feuding over kashmir and threatening to start a war with india??

Not to be a total prat' date=' but I should point out that Pakistan has only existed as a country for slightly over fifty years, and that it was really the British who had stoked the tensions between them in order to maintain control (partition was really the UK's parthian shot as they left in the late 40s). It comes back, in other words, to a question of British colonialism. They've been doing surprisingly well recently working things through, in spite of interference from the superpowers.

[/quote']

shhhhhhh.... don't let facts get in the way of Beats' meltdown!

(picks up popcorn bag again)

[Kaidy Mae]

...it was really the British who had stoked the tensions between them in order to maintain control (partition was really the UK's parthian shot as they left in the late 40s). It comes back, in other words, to a question of British colonialism.

The British eh? [color:purple]Well at least that explains the rash of bombings in London not too long ago. Time to work on your karma, UK!

[Esau]

Call it what you want Rob,"realism or insensitive" I think its a ignorant thing to say.

Do you believe in karma?

Look at mexico city. it's the most heavily polluted place on the face of the planet. why? totally lax environmental policy. so these poor sods get cars, or televisions, or other appliances and 'advantages' of a prosperous society and don't learn from our mistakes, impacting the world even more than we are. our impact is through influence, theirs is through ignorance.

I guess thats why countries like Canada & USA also like to move numerous manufacturing plants to Mexico,since its their ignornace that allows us to take adavantage of the 'lax environmental policy'.[color:purple]Great influence in my opinion....

[Dr_Evil_Mouse]

The British eh? [color:purple]Well at least that explains the rash of bombings in London not too long ago. Time to work on your karma, UK!

(Ok, I know, purple - still-) It's that history that the bombers draw on, and if you read the literature from Muslims or Hindus in those fringes, they never get tired of rehearsing it (they depend on it). That kind of abstraction - lumping people together as people who "deserve it" - that is exactly the problem I have with the tragedy-is-good line.

[SaggyBalls]

"They've been doing surprisingly well recently working things through, in spite of interference from the superpowers. "

my bad Dr. Mouse...I'd forgotten about that truce.

"I guess thats why countries like Canada & USA also like to move numerous manufacturing plants to Mexico,since its their ignornace that allows us to take adavantage of the 'lax environmental policy'"

you got it, greg! it's coming time for significant change unless we actually want to see the world collapse before our eyes. I'm looking forward to the next election. other than boycotting big business, voting is our only way to make change in our leaders. Even then it'll be a slight change but it's at least something i can help out with.

I dont' have the means to donate to charity and I dont' have the means to fly over there to actually help out if i were so inclined so voting is all I can do.

As far as my take on the 'tragedy is good' line - it's all about learning from our mistakes. something we as a society haven't seem to have done at all. Individuals have been trying to make a difference. Perhaps the world isn't as hopelessly bleak as it could possibly be.

thanks to all you skanks for passing around your positivity and empathy.

[Deeps]

As far as my take on the 'tragedy is good' line - it's all about learning from our mistakes. something we as a society haven't seem to have done at all. Individuals have been trying to make a difference. Perhaps the world isn't as hopelessly bleak as it could possibly be.

What mistake has gone on with regard to a fucking earthquake that we can learn from dude?

thanks to all you skanks for passing around your positivity and empathy.

Thanks for the encouragement, how 'bout getting on board and not spouting ill-timed rhetoric about why 30,000 deaths of INNOCENT people is good.

I find your line of logic fucked up and insensitive and am unsure if you even buy into it. Then I wonder why someone would throw themselves to the wolves the way you have, by saying some of these things. Stupified :crazy:

[Esau]

you got it, greg! it's coming time for significant change unless we actually want to see the world collapse before our eyes. I'm looking forward to the next election. other than boycotting big business, voting is our only way to make change in our leaders. Even then it'll be a slight change but it's at least something i can help out with.

Huh? I see you conviently miss the purple font eh?

So which is it Rob,do we make the impact through influence or do we take advantage of this so called ignorance you speak of,which would be contradictory to making an impact through influence wouldn't it?

Unless of course you were originally speaking of our (Canada's) "impact through influence" as being a negative one.(Although from your post,I don't think you did)

For a "realist" you sure seem out there.

[meggo]

there are lots of comments in this thread which made me wince a little bit, and i certainly do not want to make light of the earthquake which happened and the chaos it wrought. but this i enjoyed, thoroughly:

Not to be a total prat

good word!

[SaggyBalls]

As usual i'd gotten off-topic and wasn't just talking about earthquakes.

i bit off a bit much and now i have to chew even more.

"Unless of course you were originally speaking of our (Canada's) "impact through influence" as being a negative one.(Although from your post,I don't think you did)" - I really believe it's nagative from both sides, the 3rd world wanting more consumerism and the industrialized world taking advantage of that. greed is on both sides of the fence.

i never meant to imply i thought the victims deserve their suffering, but what i wrote i wrote - i just wish i could get back into the mindsets i was in when i wrote those posts late at night. I'd like to be able to explain what I meant and how this misunderstanding has occurred.

"30,000 less people to add to the problem" I guess that may have been the first key comment that set people off...i think it was a bit harsh, but I didn't mean 'yay they're dead'...as I wrote on (and on...yikes) i got to the sentiment I was getting at, and it's that 'economy' is destroying our world - our environment and society...anyhow, I don't really think what I've said has been of particular interest to much of anybody and for that I'm sorry. I think i could've left this thread easily with my first comment.

[popo weenie]

Speak for yourself gimpy. Mother Nature picked up her skirt and gave up her ass to me just last night[color:red]

my god your not screwing the ground, thats getting down as low as you can get