M6.8 Earthquake in Japan

[eleanor]

[quote name='Retribution][size=1']I'm not really saying we should only pay attention to the hugest catastrophes, or that what happens is some how lessened because something larger has happened. At the heart of it, what I meant to say was that we should never forget human suffering just because it falls off the front page. I also urge people to constantly understand the scope of it all, and I know that's basically impossible, but we should at least try to know that humans all over the world feel the exact feeling of loss.[/size][/quote]

[font="trebuchet ms"] Like most things, my position on this is in the middle. We shouldn't forget about things when it falls off the front page, and it would be great if people could always consider the scope of tragedies in the world, but it's an unreachable goal.

I'll use 9/11 as an example. You wrote earlier that the number of people who died during 9/11 doesn't come close to the civilian casualties in the Middle East, and that's true. But empathy and compassion are two very different things. While most people strive to be compassionate when it comes to things like 9/11 or the tsunami, it is impossible for them to really understand it unless they've gone through it, and therefore they can't force themselves to care about it forever.

Whenever someone is observing from a distant third party, it's easy to take into consideration the greater disasters that have taken place. But when one really experiences any form of disaster, like an earthquake in Japan, it is very hard for them to be open-minded about it. People are ego-centric, and when something bad happens to them, it's all they think about. There are few people are truly empathetic, and of those fewer can actually view close events in consideration.

When I tell myself there are children starving in Africa when I get aggravated over something, it helps for a few seconds, and then I forget about it. It's because I've never really gone through starvation, and I can't relate to it at all.[/font]

[Horendithas]

[COLOR="Indigo"][quote name='Lunox'][font="trebuchet ms"] Wow, could everyone stop incessantly [i]wanking[/i] over everything on OB? [/font][/QUOTE]How about you follow that example by also letting it go yourself? That comment was completely unnecessary as well as 100% off topic. Especially since both Rachmaninoff and Retribution have already settled their differences on it by virtue of agreeing to not discuss it anymore, so how about the rest of you do that as well and [U]stop bringing it back up please[/U] and let the thread get back on track. And by back on track I mean no slamming anyone for having a difference of opinion that has already been settled. Thanks.

And speaking of being on track, I sincerely hope everything gets worked out for those who lost loved ones as well as those who lost their homes or were otherwise put out by the earthquake.[/COLOR]

[Kenshin DX]

Remeber people

Internet = Extremely Serious Buisness ;)

Sad news it doesnt matter how many were killed thats like comparing lives to ants. Each person is someone important to someone whether it be 9 or 50,000. So it wasn't a huge amount but it still doesnt make it any easier on the families.