160 responses to “300,000! What’s it mean to me…to us?”
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I think this question can go in many directions and could be looked at it many different ways. I don’t think that Sam or Ian, whoever made this statement, meant it to mean that people think tests are more important than helping others or anything of the sort. Yes, many people, myself included, get very stressed and caught up in grades and what the transcripts say. In some sense, this is important. In todays world you cannot get too far without having qualifications that make you “more attractive” than others who are competing for the same position. Sometimes the transcripts do matter, but I think from a larger picture…who you are as a person is much more important. What this video is saying is partly true in a sense, and yes I do think that there probably should be a lot more people helping out in Haiti than there are, but then it just comes back to the problem that was discussed in class – some of the people that are helping are not doing the right thing and are actually making the Haitian economy worse off. Obviously this is not the intention of those who want to help but if one person dropped what they were doing for every individual who was killed, there would be 300 thousand MORE people in Haiti…causing more problems. So maybe 1 helping hand for each death is an extreme but even if 150,000 individuals were sent, it is hard to tell if the economy would thrive or not. I am not at all saying that Haiti does not need help or anything of that sort, they most definitely do, but they need the RIGHT help and sometimes not all individuals are qualified for that and therefore they do continue to just live their own lives and do what they need to do. Another way to look at it then is what about the other countries who are struggling in other ways. If we go all in and help out as much as we can for one country, in a sense we are leaving behind and forgetting about others. Some may say none of it is our responsibility and that Haiti is worse off but in a sense you can never please everyone. Someone will always need help, every economy will always be struggling and someone will let every world issue pass them by and not have a care in the world but their own. In the end I think it comes down to the following, the girl is completely right that if one of my family members died, I would most definitely take time off and do anything I could to help with the situation. However, I also can be placed under the category to just take my test and move on because I may not be the most qualified in skills to be the right kind of help in a place such as Haiti.
It think it is really difficult for Americans to feel something about people that are not close to them. It hits home when it is someone you know or even when it occurs in your own country. But when disasters happen to other people all over the world it is difficult to mourn someone you feel you have no connection to. I am not saying this is fair or ok, but it is the way it works. In a country of such fast paced lives it is difficult to just stop for a minute and think about the other people in the world, even if something as terrible as the earthquake in Haiti happens.
I do agree with this girl, it is hard to see why, most of the time, we escape devastation and a lot of the pain that exists in the world is thrust upon other people. A few years ago I would have completely agreed with this statement regarding the affect of a natural disaster or any other attack; if it affected me personally it would have had a much bigger effect on my life than just being aware of another disaster that took place somewhere around the world.
This is not the first time in the history of my life, at a time when I have been aware of what goes on in the world that 300,000 people have died. People have heard about and talked about all those suffering in Darfur and in other areas of the world where people are constantly dying. It is true that these issues come to the surface now and again, but most of the time they are of unimportance to us and the things that affect us directly, like a test or a quiz, become more important than the lives of others.
Currently, where I stand in life, I feel that I am lucky enough to empathize with all people, not only those who are closely connected with me. I think it is safe to assume that many people, especially those wrapped in the college lifestyle, are still in the position of life to feel and think in a more selfish matter, which is perfectly acceptable. It takes time and learning, about yourself and others, to know that you can empathize and feel for people other than yourself or those closely connected to you. I, luckily, have had the influence of many knowledgeable people to grow in a way that I could not have without their influence.
I feel that most people will sit through Sam’s class and think that they need to do something because they have that ability. The sad thing that will come of this is that most of these people won’t do anything. They will feel some sort of way about something, but that is all it will become; they will never do anything with those feelings.
In regards to the others, the ones who don’t move on, the ones that have situations affect our lives; it is not so easy to get out there and save the world; believe me I have tried. I have been accepted to a long term volunteer program at an orphanage in South Africa with disadvantaged children, but because I do not have the funds, I cannot make the trip and help others. Sometimes people want to help, but sometimes they just can’t.
I understand where the girl is coming from in this question, of why don’t we care when a huge number of people die, yet if someone close to us dies we stop whatever we are doing. I just feel as if people are never really going to care about something if it doesn’t touch home with them or they have no personal connection with it. If one person dies, and that person had a huge impact on your life of course you are going to feel some type of way. However if 300,000 people who you never met before die, it probably won’t make a difference to you, because it doesn’t hit home with you, they had nothing to do with anything I have done in my life why should I care about them.
I wish people did not think this way, but that lack of a personal connection is what truly keeps people who are away from a natural disaster from truly feeling the pain of those experiencing or directly affected by these disasters. However it is completely understandable for someone who has no true connection with the situation.
For me personally when I first found about 9/11 I was like that’s terrible, and I did not realize that my aunt worked at the World Trade Centers, so I was just like wow that sucks, but once I found out that my aunt worked there it hit home with me and I was immediately put onto a completely higher level of worry about the situation. I found out that she wasn’t at work when it happened, but that situation right there was a time when the personal part of something truly showed me how much more I care when it touches me personally.
Also with the tragedy in Haiti I remember at the beginning of the semester I felt terrible about it, and wanted to donate and do what I could to help, but seeing it on CNN and understanding the destruction was what really made me want to help, however I know If I had family or close friends down there when it happened I would have done so much more to help out with it. CNN and other channels showed the destruction and pain that people were in, which helped to personalize it to me and made me willing to give more money to the cause, and also see what I can do to help with the devastation.
The main point I have been trying to make is just that things will always matter more if you are personally affected, whether it is that one person that you know and love or those 300,000 innocent bystanders you never met, you will most likely care more about that 1 person and not the 300,000 other people.
I think the fact that human beings are able to deal with the knowledge that we will all die and that our deaths may follow that of our loved ones is an amazing feat. How does one get up every morning just knowing that parents, children, spouses and friends are all dying? We just do not know the timing. When we do suffer the inevitable loss we take time off school or work to deal with the emotional turmoil. Eventually, we get back to our normal lives. It is incredible that people have the ability to revitalize their emotions, when at the time we face our personal losses we feel we will never recover. When we hear of natural disasters and the loss of many lives I think we all suffer but are able to segregate those feelings from the more intense feelings that concern those who are more personal to us. This is probably a good thing. Otherwise we would be mourning every day and we would never actually have the opportunity to live.
She brings up an intriguing point in how if it affected us personally, we would help out or try to do something to relieve the pain. 300,000 people are a lot of people and this is something that needs to be taken in by everyone. If I had family over there, I would be more in touch with this tragedy than I am right now. I knew it was something big when I saw the devastation and the amount of people affected by this earthquake. After this lecture, this Haiti tragedy really hit me and made me think that no matter how distant something like this happens, anything that you can do to help out, you should do it.
Yeah I totally agree with you. People die everyday for a lot of reasons, and we just don't care about it. I mean, we do care about it. At least we sigh at some point, or we chatted with our friends about it just as some news. We seldomly shake our hearts for that. We seldomly have some sort of connection in heart with those families who lost members in the wars, in earthquakes, in floods…etc. I think it is our responsibility to help those who have lost families. We should share our hearts with them. We should do something, instead of just watch TV and talk about it as if it is just yesterday's movie show. .
I think there are two ways to answer this question. First of all, yes it is a tragedy when so many people in the world get killed, and yes they may be far away, but I do not agree with the idea that there is nothing we can do. I think the outlook that people have that there is nothing that we can do is the problem and main reason as to why many people do not do anything. We all know from history that whether good or bad, one person can make a huge difference, Hitler is a great example for that.
Personally, in a situation like this, specifically for our class I believe that the best way to help is to do whatever we can, meaning given the opportunity to donate money to a trustworthy person, we should do it. If you really do care, when Sam offers you the opportunity to help out by donating money, you should take it. In another sense, you can use your expertise or even just volunteer. When the tsunami hit, my sister, a dentist went over to one of the tragedy sites and helped to identify bodies using teeth records. My father, who works in wholesale, went to dedicate his time and effort into just cleaning up the area and helping to distribute aid. I do not believe that people are unable to help out if they are not experts in medical fields. Every hand makes a difference.
Now the other side of this clearly is, what can you do if you're so far away? If a tragedy struck in Indonesia, would people from England be of any use if they travelled there? Would they be able to even afford it? In situations like this I believe that one person can start to make a difference but must gather an entire group to actually carry out anything worthwhile. If that one person chose to gather a group of volunteer medical staff I am sure that he or she would have no trouble getting a group of 4-5 willing people. All he or she would have to do is organize the trip and maybe fundraise for the trip, and honestly that is already making a difference.
Overall, I just believe that to make the world a better place, a positive outlook is the first thing we each all need to have.
I think the main reason that I am less affected by the tragedy in Haiti is basically because it is so distant from my own reality. I have never experienced a third world country or anything significantly different from my comfortable, suburban hometown. My life has been pretty free of tragedy and hardship so, for myself, it’s hard to understand the magnitude of what has happened in Haiti. I, like most other people, have only seen images on TV and the Internet but clearly that does not what is actually going on any justice. I think it is really unfortunate that more people can’t experience the situation first hand because then I think people would get it. People would be directly affected and more likely to care about what is still going on there. That’s not to say that people who haven’t traveled to Haiti don’t care. I mean I think I care about the people there but obviously not as much as some other people. For me personally, it’s difficult to take myself out of the moment and focus on other people. Honestly, it’s hard for me to think about Haiti when I have a huge Stat exam in the morning. I feel like it’s that way for a lot of college students. We are self-centered people and tend to think of what is best for ourselves and not what is best for those around us. That being said, I know that if there was a natural disaster or tragedy that happened in American we would all be willing to get on the plane and help our fellow Americans. We would do this because one, the disaster would be hitting closer to home and two, we are fiercely patriotic people who tend to jump to other Americans aide when needed. Look at how people responded after September 11 or Hurricane Katrina. We aren’t used to seeing one another suffer on such a large scale and I think that is why people are so quick to lend a hand to those in America. I wish there was a way to allow everyone to experience the devastation that would have more impact. It is definitely important to continue to have speakers and presentation on Haiti because even though it happened several months ago, the destruction is going to last a long time. People need to keep Haiti in their minds and even if it didn’t happen in their backyard it still happened. America is so much better off then countries like Haiti and I think that we need to use this to help others. I hope that in the future I will be able to make a difference in someone’s life directly but for now I will have to settle for indirect impacts like donating money.
I understand what you are saying. It really is awful that something so massive can happen and everyone just goes on with their lives. But what would be the right thing to do? And how much time do we commit to doing the right thing? You proposed taking a year off if someone in your family died, but is that appropriate for someone you have never met? Where do we draw the line? I spent a couple of minutes each day reflecting about what happened any time I heard a mention of it. I donated some money. I wish I could have gone down there to help, but how can I leave my $40,000 education behind? I don’t think that it’s a bad thing to go on with your life if you’re unaffected by the tragedy. Sure, we are all one world and we should feel something when someone suffers, but when do you think it’s okay to stop feeling that sorrow?
So let’s say that you just found out your best friend’s cousin’s wife’s brother just died in a really tragic event. You’ve never met the guy before and don’t know a thing about him, other than what’s in the news and what your friend says about him. Would you really be as affected by his death as you would be if he were your own brother? Most people would feel some sort of sadness, but they are not going to take off a week and mourn for someone they don’t know. I think a lot of people do feel terrible about what happened in Haiti, but how can they stop their lives for people they don’t know? The best and most they can do is to make a few donations, think about what happened, and feel sorrowful. So although 300,000 people is a lot of people, if your life wasn’t personally changed by any one of them, then it’s doubtful that your life will change a whole lot when they are gone. It is a really sad way to think about it, but I don’t think that there is much more that people would want to do if they don’t have a direct association to the event.
College students have a harder time involving themselves in events such as Haiti, which is acceptable. It is a little selfish, but at this stage in our growth we are allowed to be selfish. We are trying to build our own lives, so it is hard to be affected by something we are unfamiliar with. Additionally, we don’t have many resources to effectively help out. Of course we all donate a few dollars, or maybe our time to a significant cause. We help the best we can. Taking a year off, or even a week off is really out of the question. We have invested time and thousands of dollars into our education, so how could we just leave for a week to mourn for people we don’t know?
I think that it’s sad that so many people, myself included, are so consumed with our own lives, that we give something like an earthquake that killed 300,000 so little of our time and thought. Yet, at the same time, I understand that in life, death and destruction is always all around us, on the news, in the newspapers, and just in life, that I feel like people become so use to hearing it that we've become less affected by these horrific events. However, I don't think that means it’s a good thing. I think that hearing lectures like the one about Haiti are good reminder of why it's so important to stop and think, and help, when something this awful happens to so many people. It’s easy to get sucked into our own lives, I completely understand that myself, yet I like being reminded that it’s not a good thing, so I can see why I do need to step out of the small bubble of my life and see and hear what else is going on.
What this girl said was very interesting and eye opening. She states that during the tragic earthquake in Haiti, 300,000 people died and unfortunately we as a country recognize and see there hardships, but really just continue on with our daily lives. She was saying we still go to class, we take our tests, and we go on with our day to day function without a care in the world since it did not hit us personally or affect anything around us. I am not sure if this is the same with other countries or just the U.S…But I definitely see what she is explaining. She then goes on to mention though, the different actions we would take had this happened in our country or had affected our family or friend. For example, if my entire family lived in Haiti and I was unable to get to the right away to see them, my daily routine would inherently be stopped. I would not be able to think about anything else besides the fact that my family was hurt or killed and helpless. And I think the feeling of helplessness would drive my life to stop the most. Being in a different country where it is expensive and hard to get to where your family may be provides a feeling of helplessness which I can’t imagine being faced with. I feel like if we do not have personal ties to a tragic event it often goes, not unnoticed, but it doesn’t really affect anything we do. Like we address the fact that Haiti is in a lot of despair and need, we will donate a few dollars to help them, but when it comes down to it, we’re okay because it doesn’t really have anything to do with us…It’s pretty sick if you think about it. In some defense, I would honestly love to go and help people in Haiti and I am know I am more financially set than they are, but I do not have the money or the means to do so. In class we were talking about how often times people like to volunteer in third world countries or places that really need the help because you can see immediate results. Often times people don’t want to volunteer for example, back in America when they can be getting noticed and see real change when they volunteer in Haiti. It is such a weird balance I guess that must happen. You must have empathy for people who are suffering even though they are worlds apart. I feel like if you are unable to go to these other countries then donating a few dollars here or volunteering a few hours there will help the cause and allow you to slowing chip in at making a difference.
I think that this girl who asks this question has a very strong point. Why do we not care about these big tragedies when they directly dont affect us? I think that people in this world should make more of an effort to feel for others when they are going through hard and sad times. People are so caught up in their everyday life that they dont even realize how others are affected and are feeling. And if the roles were reversed, we would want to take off time to grieve and morn, but others handle their situations accordingly. I just believe that we as people living should feel for others more who are going through a much harder time, and not wait until it directly affects us.
For me the whole problem seems to big and to serious to handle. I know that seems like I don't care but I just can't fathom the vast loss of life or how that would affect my life if that happened here. I remember 9/11 and that was 3,000 people but we rose in a united outrage yes it was an attack but still we should have the same horrified reaction to the loss whether it's natural or man made. I just can't wrap my mind around the number and feel like it has an impact on my day, I feel sorry and sad for the people who lost loved ones and the dead but I think if I truly felt anything outside of pity it would be at least it wasn't here or anyone I know. that may sound like I'm cold hearted and evil but I really don't think that I'm really all that different from anyone else I hate the idea of death and destruction man made or not but I can't feel like the worlds problems are all mine to deal with. so if I could I would go and help with the worlds problems but I can't even help with donations right now. I think we could all take a few days to give back but for now I don't see any way the deaths of so many could affect me on a personal level, if that makes me a bad person then I'm sorry.
You bring up a good point. It doesn’t make sense. How can people go on with their normal, care-free lives when 300,000+ people were just killed or displaced in Haiti. Thinking about that to me is like thinking about the concept of death, or the concept of an infinite universe. The more I think about it and the more I try to make sense of it, the more I just don’t get it and the more frustrated I become. It is so easy – too easy – for people to care for a few moments, maybe send a $10 text to the Red Cross, and then wake up the next day and not let the thought of 300,000 people cross their mind once. It’s just easier on the human psyche to not think about it because no one wants to deal with it.
Disasters happen each and every year, almost on a monthly basis. Although they are not usually of the magnitude of the earthquake in Haiti, they still happen. How many people remember the tsunami that hit American Samoa, the Minneapolis bridge collapse, or the major tsunami that hit Indonesia in 2004 (which interestingly enough killed more people than the Haitian earthquake according to up to date estimates)? There is a very good chance many people did not even know an earthquake occurred in Chile just over a month after the one in Haiti. I believe there are two reasons that people seem to not care about events such as these.
The first reason is our cultural focus on instant gratification. People in today's world, not limited to America alone, want things as quickly as they can get them. Consider the realm of social networking. MySpace came onto the scene some time before Facebook. It allowed users to view pictures of their friends and look up information about things they might currently be involved in. Facebook came next, providing users "real-time" updates with Facebook statuses. Facebook gives its users the capability to upload pictures from their phones or change their status from their mobile device, almost in real time. Following the pattern of condensing information came Twitter. Twitter is the most abbreviated form of social networking that exists. In simple, 140 character "tweets", users can glean information about what another individual is currently doing nearly at that moment. This instant gratification is not exclusive to social networking, look at everything in the world today; fast food, microwaveable meals, Penn State's ANGEL, 10 minute meals, 6 second abs (LOLZ). All of these things are examples of people getting things that they want, as fast as possible.
Ultimately, this desire has penetrated our news media. People want to hear the latest story. If it happened more than 24 hours ago, it's old news, time to bring on something more interesting. Within days of its occurrence, the Haitian earthquake took a backseat to domestic policy, ealthcare, and all sorts of other "breaking" news.
The second reason is because people actually do not care. Our culture as a collective is a very self-centered culture. This is a characteristic even I am guilty of, -especially- when living in the bubble that is Penn State. Many people in our country today think in a way such that if something does not directly affect them, they will likely pay it no mind. Unfortunately, there is no direct cure for this behavior. Only encouraging people to inform themselves about the world around them will eventually stop the problem. This is similar to the goal of Sam's class. By getting people to think about and be aware of these issues, they may one day be solved.
Immigration should not even be considered a "problem". Our country was founded for people just like those crossing the borders everyday looking for a better, safer life where they earn a decent wage to support their families. What people don't seem to get is that we are a species amongst millions on a planet in space amongst millions and that we are biodegradable- doomed to the carbon cycle. We will literally become dust of the earth when it's all said and done. So where do we get off thinking we can claim, and then put a price on, pieces of a planet that we had no part in creating –and then, on top of it all, decide that only certain people are allowed on it. Sure, if they are murderers or rapists then lets discriminate the shit out of them, but if they're not, if they're just good people trying to find a better place to live, how can we not let them in. How can we do that. We continually allow these ego maniacs to decide everything for everybody. Fuck them, lets kick them out and let these other people, who appreciate every little thing ten times as much into this land that we inhabit. It's just the right thing to do, the difference between going to hell or going to heaven. The white mans so spoiled and so greedy it disgraces me to be one. I want no part in it at all ever, and furthermore, if you make decisions on my behalf that I don't agree with at all, then you are not only failing as a politician, your failing as a human being. If you don't pick the right thing to do over the state of the economy than i'm embarrassed to be of the same species. And if the higher power judges one of based on what the rest of the species does, we're all fucked. Let me bring James Bond in again to come break down some freaking border walls and kick the shit out of border police. Let's grant these people the freedom the deserve just like the rest of us.
All people are not the same. there are some people who are diagnosed with clinical depression because they feed into all the mishaps in the world. people dying, killing each other etc. lets not forget all the natural disasters that are occurring all over the worlds. It seem abnormal for someone to be so concerned about what is going on in the world today to the point they are depressed.
Most people are only concerned when it effects he/she directly. If your mother/father/sister/brother/aunt/grandfather, etc were killed in Iraq or the world trade center bombing, your reaction would be different. it is okay to feel sad for a while and thoughts of it happening to you, one of your family members or friends will occur but there is only so much time you can spend thinking about people you do not know.
I experienced this same feeling when the earthquake happened in Haiti or seeing documentaries about the genocide in Dalfur. I could not really understand if I was just being selfish or just plain ignorant. Thoughts of my people in my country of birth ( Liberia) suddenly rushed into my head. and i start thinking "what about my people in Liberia?" We have been recovering from a 14 year war and a corrupt political system, why are people not sending us money? And what are these funds to Haiti are receiving doing for them? thoughts kept going..running through my head. I could not shake this feeling of complete ignorance. i felt sorry for Haiti, being that they were the poorest country in the world, and now to add insult to injury they have to rebuild their country all over again. It bothered me, but not to the same extent as it would if my country was in the same position.
When you loose somebody you are close to , a part of your life is missing. you must go everyday without seeing that person and feel a sense of resentment. otherwise..we do not care. Thats the real problem. If something isn't effecting us, we are far more likely to not care about it as much as we should. I think that when we hear about 300,000 people dieing and compare that to the 3,000 that died on September 11, we really need to consider the extent of this crisis. If a crisis like what happened in Haiti, happened in New York City, how different would it be. The entire state, and everyone who has relatives that live in New York would be working to help, because it effects them. People from other states would help because it is fellow Americans, but not to the extent that people who are personally by the tragedy would.
I think it is hard to say that people “don’t care” about what happened in Haiti, because you do not know the thoughts that go through people’s minds. Of course I care that these people’s lives have been absolutely turned upside by this terrible natural disaster, but short of flying to Haiti to lend a helping hand, I do not believe there is all that much that I could do that would actually make a difference. Yeah, I could donate money, and I did put in some money when Sam was collecting it, but do we really know where the money is going? Of course I know Sam would not steal our money, I am not trying to imply that, but is the money that anyone donates really making a huge difference in the relief effort? I obviously have not been to Haiti so I am just pulling this stuff out of the air, so call me naïve. If you are a student at Penn State, chances are you have had a pretty damn good life. That being said, it is hard for many people to open their eyes to what is actually going on down there. Most of us have not seen extreme poverty, we have not lived it, we have not experienced it. We cannot relate in any way, shape or form to what is going on in Haiti so it is hard to emotionally grieve. Of course, anyone with any human compassion will stare at the television while thinking how terrible things are and how horrendous those conditions are and how tragic it is that so many people are displaced, lost, or dead, but then the program ends and the news coverage is halted. Then we go do our homework, cook dinner, call our parents and we forget what those Haitians can never forget. I cannot mourn someone who I never knew, but I can mourn the situation. And I have done that, as I am sure many others did as well, but considering my life was not altered by the earthquake, I will inevitably forget because in my little world, I have other things to do. That sounds really harsh and ignorant, but my life goes on, and believe me I know how lucky I am that my life goes on happily.
Now if a family member died, like one of my parents, then I would mourn and my every thought would be consumed with that. My mother, in particular, is my best friend, she is someone I can count on no matter what, and if I did not have her my life would be 100% different. That would impact me, that would change my everyday routine, that would change my life. I think that is a main reason why people do not seem to “care” about over 300,000 people dying, because our lives go on unchanged.
Our society conditions us to be a self-centered country and only care about our own lives and how we can benefit our lives for the better. If we do not feel any personal connection to a disaster or death then we do not take the time to mourn. I honestly believe that, especially in college, people are not educated on what happened in Haiti. They do not know how many people died, who died or what has happened to them since the disaster. Especially since this disaster did not occur in our own country, it is difficult for people to try to connect and take time away from their “busy lives” to help other people who they have never even met before. I live in New York and know many people who were affected by 9/11 and we still discuss it on a regular basis, yet I do not know anybody affected by the New Orleans hurricane and never talk about that. Within our own country we cannot even have enough compassion to care, so how are we expected to care about other countries.
Dealing and coping with death is a reality of life that everyone has to go through at some point. The tragedy in Haiti was absolutely devastating and 300,000 people lost is a tremendous number. But do I really need to answer the question of why it is acceptable to take some time off if an immediate family member died as opposed to all of these people abroad? Unless you personally knew someone, or multiple people, who died in Haiti, this tragedy will simply not have the same emotional toll it will bear on you if say, your mother or father died.
Please keep in mind that I am not at all saying that the lives in Haiti mean less than someone’s loved one here in the United States. But it is pretty obvious that we will be much more affected by a family member dying than thousands, or even hundreds of thousands, of people dying overseas who we have never made contact with. Any help that you feel necessary to provide is very grateful. But we absolutely need to move on with our lives and not mourn these deaths by “taking off” for days or even weeks at a time. This practice, though, would be acceptable if an immediate family member were to die.
As I have said, death is a part of life that happens every second. According to the U.S. Census in 2010, a little over 150,000 people die a day worldwide. So in just two days, 300,000 people die worldwide, which is the equivalent of the Haiti death toll. And yet we do not sit around, mourning the loss of all of these lives each and every day. The Haiti earthquake was indeed more tragic due to the massive loss of people of all ages in such a small area. The point I am making is that it is, and should be, perfectly acceptable to move on with our daily lives after tragedies occur. If you feel the need to provide help, that is great. But not everyone feels that need, and it should be up to each individual whether or not they want to put the time and resources into helping those people abroad.
As for what we should do to help, this is really a personal choice. Some give just a little bit of money toward a nonprofit on site. Others feel the need to travel to Haiti and see what they can do to help. Whatever the amount of help someone gives, if any at all, is something each person should deal with on their own personal level. This also implies that no one should ridicule others for not doing anything to reach out and help these people. If you want to do something to help, go for it, but please do not yell at others if they choose to do nothing. They may be spending their time and money helping others closer to them or feeding their own family.
I think this is an interesting question and one that should be asked about many tragedies, not just the one in Haiti. I was actually thinking about this when September 11th was brought up in lecture. Although we paid much more attention to September 11th than we did to the tragedy in Haiti, I felt that many parts of America forgot about September 11th soon after it happened. I don't know if forgot is the right word.. it's just that it was put on the back burner and lost it's intense focus in people's lives and conversations. I think it is just too easy to get caught up in our own lives and stop caring about something that we are not directly seeing. Although I was in Pennsylvania at the time the towers were hit, which is fairly close compared to other areas of our country, I didn't feel the direct affects of the event. No one that I knew was involved or even near any of the crashes, so it was easy for me to remove it from my thoughts. I think the only thing that kept September 11th in the minds of a lot of American's was the fear that something like that could happen here and that it may happen again. I guess I'm just saying that yes, I agree, we focused our attention much more intensely on September 11th than we did on the earthquake in Haiti, but I think September 11th escaped the minds of the majority of American's soon after it happened. I also thought that little attention was on Hurricane Katrina and the tragedy in New Orleans. It was in the news for a few weeks after it happened, but many families suffered the affects for a substantial amount of time after that.. long after it was constantly broadcasted in the news. And since this didn't affect the majority of American's and was far from where we live, we quickly forgot. And that happened to "our" people. This isn't an issue just about Haiti or "other countries" either. It is the same situation when it come to racism and simply not understanding other people. There are tragedies everyday, all around the world, and sometimes even next door. It is easy to push it out of our minds because it is difficult to think about. It is important to acknowledge that there are people everywhere that are worse off than us.. but it is also more efficient to find a tragedy that means something to you enough that you want to create change and do something about it. I understand what this girl is saying and I agree that it is tragic that we don't pay attention to this event more and want to help.. but it is just so easy to get caught up in our lives and it's very intimidating when you don't know how to help or where to even start.
This girl brings up a very interesting point. Definitely something I have thought about but have not directly responded to. I feel like tests will always be the most important thing, which is kind of messed up. A test will never be cancelled for any reason. At least as far as I know. But that is beside the point. We all react to things differently. If something huge in this country happened and 300,000 people died. I don’t know how I would react. I couldn’t tell you. If it were someone close tome… who knows. But I do not think it is that we don’t care…
I think that most people naturally feel that those types of things do not affect them because they are unable to see the connections clearly. That makes everything less personal and with humans being selfish instinctively, it is not always someone’s best interest to help out a cause as far away as Haiti. Of course if it is our own family members or people that we are close to we will act upon it differently. If people felt like they would actually make a difference or be significant in some way, then more people would take action. Due to feelings of unimportance, it is crucial for people like Ian from class to come and talk to us about how you can actually make a difference. Otherwise, people—especially students and others who are very involved in their surroundings (i.e. very engaged in their careers) do not see the need or find the time to help with larger issues. People pretty much take on an “Oh, they will handle that; they don’t need me too” mentality. Until people feel needed, they won’t really respond. It might make us feel like we are “bad people” or extremely selfish when we realize that we turn our backs on these issues on a daily basis, but only momentarily. Then, we go right back to what we were doing as if nothing happened. The guilt doesn’t last long until we talk about it. And when we stop talking about it, it vanishes again.
I don’t think that people should just move on. I just think that people don’t care as much because it does not affect people directly. It is crazy though. Just because it doesn’t affect us directly people act like nothing ever happened. Some people do not even think about it. It is crazy how some people do not even know about it. I remember talking to my friend and being like “Did you heard about what happened in Haiti?” and they responded with “No, what happened?” I could not believe that some people did not even know what happened. It is a perfect example of egocentrism. People in this country are so oblivious to what happens around us. And to be honest I used to be one of them. Before I took Sam’s class I was oblivious to pretty much everything that he brought up in class. I am so happy that I took his class because I am so much more knowledgeable about what is going on around me. Before I took this class I did not even know what the war was fought about. I did not know the hardships that native Americans go through day to day. I did not know about the Haitians and what they go through. This class has truly opened my eyes and I am thankful that I took this class.
About what is going on in Haiti. I feel very bad for what they have to live with and what they have to go through. Every chance I get to help them I donate money. I wish that I could go there and do something. But in cases like this I feel helpless. Even with problems with racism I do not know what I can do. I want to help and I want to make a change but how can I make a change when everyone around me does not want to change the way that they think. People do not care. People are okay with being racist. In fact some people like being racist and they like the fact that they are white and they do not care that other people are discriminated against. I want to be able to change the views of other people but sometimes I feel like one person can not do anything to change any thing.
I grew up in a very diverse environment and I wish that people could see the way that I see and feel the way that I feel. However it is not that easy and it will never be that easy. I hope that one day everyone will be equal and everyone will be happy. I hope this will happen someday.
I have to admit that I am one of those people who don’t really feel affected by news of natural disasters in other parts of the world. Problems somewhere else don’t seem real and don’t put speed bumps in my everyday life. I know I shouldn’t be self-absorbed, especially considering the fact that my parents adopted six of my brothers and sisters when they were orphans in the Philippines. There are ten of us total, and we all grew up thinking our family was normal. My parents in fact have said they did not plan to adopt, but when they were overseas and saw the huge need, they had an “aha moment” and went with it. They experienced a social issue up close and personal and chose a way to do what they could about it. People come face-to-face with social issues at different times and in unexpected ways. Not everyone adopts six kids just because they want to make life better for orphans, and not everyone sends money to Haiti or builds houses for Habitat for Humanity. But plenty of people do, and that’s a good thing.
I’d like to think part of me is changing, and after paying attention to what is going on in the world and what is happening to others, I can start doing something, big or small, to help somebody else. Just like the girl in the video said, if somebody in my family or anybody close to me died, or if a terrible accident happened to them, I would not be able to focus on something like school. Compared to the health and safety of my loved ones, school or my part-time job would be pretty meaningless.
Even if I wanted to, though, I couldn’t help every time someone needed it. Preparing myself to sort out the issues and needs and ways I can help will take more time and education than I have right now. That doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything when there’s news of a disaster like the one in Haiti. It means I can’t stop, do a 180-degree turn, and figure out what more I can or should do besides contribute a few dollars.
I completely agree that we should be helping, no question about it, but why is there so much pressure to do so? There are too many causes and disasters and people who are young, old, sick, or hurt, and it’s overwhelming to think about helping every time someone asks. We can only do what we can do, and it isn't possible to join every effort to save the whales or send school supplies to young girls in Afghanistan or buy mosquito nets for kids in Africa. I can’t do it all. But I will pay attention more to what’s going on, try to put things in some kind of perspective, and do what I can.
I feel as though it is in human nature to react more to something personally touching to us rather than for others. My mom always tells me that I could have the best of friends, but nobody but my parents would be there for me until the very end no matter what. She tells me that others will care about you to an extent, but in the end, it comes down to my parents who will truly be there for me. I can see that applying for all of us. We feel for others deeply, but we cannot embrace their problems as our own very easily.
I had the same question to and I'm glad someone spoke up about this issue. I really believe that us as Americans don't really care about what is happening in other places around the world. I know that sounds really terrible but I really feel this way about this subject. The first thing that came to my mind when this tragedy occurred was how did this happen? The country was already struggling and now they have to deal with this. Going back to the original question, If this were to happen on our soil we as Americans would be in a state of confusion and despair. 300,000 is a lot of people and if that amount were to all die due to a earthquake, this country which we believe is the best in the world wouldn't know what to do from there. Imagine a country like Haiti, very poor and not much power. An earthquake is a natural cause but in a way it seems like this country had been kicked when they were already down.
I do feel as Americans we kind of turned our shoulders to the world. That is why people outside of the United States view us as arrogant. The average American would see this on the news and say it was a shame that happened but go along with there day. When I heard the news I wanted to help but I didn't know what I could do to contribute. If every American would just give one dollar then it would help greatly but it seems like we are to selfish to help some stranger who lost everyone they know but if that happened here it would be completely different. I did do this and its really sad how selfish I can be and other people. So many people are suffering around the world with issues I don't even think about like eating and taking a shower. I've taken so much for granted and people are actually dying around the world and most of the deaths could have been easily prevented. To most of us its survival of the fittest and if we have to stab someone in the back to help ourselves get to the destination we desire is pretty common. As humans though I rarely see compassion, we are so caught up in our own problems, we lose sight of what really matters. People are struggling and we just don't care, we believe it's not our problem because its not on our land. We hope that they will carry themselves out of the hole that there in. But being as powerful as our nation is, we need to use that power to help others who really need the help.
I total agree with you about how a lot of people dont seem to care about this devastating catastrophe and continue their lives like nothing has happened to me. I think one of the factors that makes people more ignorant or be careless to this tragic disaster is that people cant find any relationship with their lives. To people, this is just an incident that happened in different country and they think they are not related in anyways. I think this is true for everybody. We are prone to not remember what is happening out there unless we see, feel and experience. We always think that there are other things that be have to worry about to make my life better. We worry about what is around us and what seems to be connected and what would affect my life. So for some of us, just looking what is on the media might touch our emotions and feels for couple of minutes but its very hard for us to think about this incident and do something for the people, who are suffering now.
I agree with how the student in the video clip feels about mourning people dying and how we are all one world and we should care more about other people. But she said it herself, that if someone in her family died then she might take some time off from school to mourn. She didn’t say if 300,000 Americans died she would take time off to mourn. So she is basically contradicting herself when she says if something isn’t directly affecting us we just move on with our lives. Because by saying if someone in her family died, it would be directly affecting her. I would like to know that if 300,000 people who wouldn’t be affecting her life died, would she still take the time off to mourn?
I think for me the answer to the question is that I cannot help and affect every terrible thing that occurs across the planet. Like what was said in class, there is an earthquake and it is on the front page and everyone is sending aid and money. But then the next week there is a different disaster and the earthquake is forgotten. How are we supposed to stop our lives and mourn for a day or a week or a year every time a disaster and deaths occur? We would never lift our heads up from morning. I think this particular situation in Haiti is different just because the immense amount of destruction and death. So it would be plausible to stop and mourn and help or at least take time out of your day to think of the families in need and ones who lost loved ones. But overall maybe just pick a few causes to stop your days for and help.
While the fact is really sad, I do believe that most Americans will not respond if some big tragedy occurs somewhere else in the world. People do not bring it into perspective, and they do not respond to it in such a way like we all did on September 11, 2001. We forget what it is like to have that gut-wrenching feeling. I think people need to take a step back and start realizing how much this affects people in our world. Like the girl said, we are all one world and it all should affect us. Whether or not it is in our own state or across the world in Morocco, we should pay attention- because if it were us that lost someone close to us, we would want others to care.
My views are a little conflicted about this video. I agree that maybe people should take more time to think about the reality of 300,000 people dying, and yea try to find ways to help, but then we have to look at this realistically; even though 300,000 people is a huge number of people to die at one time, but people die every day. We cannot really stop to mourn every time someone dies, it is a part of life. I do not mean to sound cynical or make people think that I do not care, but I just think that there are other things that we can do besides mourn, like try to find ways to help, and I feel like even just recognizing that fact that 300,000 is huge number. Like Sam has said before, we do not need to feel guilty about this kind of stuff, we just need to start thinking about it and we cannot ignore it.
I agree with what someone else said on the blog, about how when September 11th happened people mourned because it was mainly 3,000 white people or middle- to upper class minorities who died. When the earthquake in Haiti occurred, sure for a few weeks we could call or text to donate money and celebrities were having fundraisers, but then life went on. On one hand, I feel like the world can not just stand still every time a tragedy happens but on the other hand, when people are mourning a tragic event, when is it too soon to start moving on?
I feel like there were a lot of people with really good intentions about helping the people of Haiti right after the earthquake struck and at first I thought that was a really good idea, like of course, donating food and water and supplies would be a good idea; that was until I listened to Ian talk on Tuesday and realized how important it is for people to start helping the people of Haiti form businesses and trying slowly to rebuild their economy. I am not saying that the world should just completely stop donating and supplying things to Haiti, I am just realizing that a lot of people probably do not even realize how they should be going about properly helping the people of Haiti so that they will be able to help themselves and help rebuild their lives in the future.
So I guess to sum up my thoughts, I believe it is okay for people to mourn, but we need to realize that life moves on. Instead of spending too much time mourning, people should realize the right ways to help and help people get their lives started again.
I cannot picture 300,000 people dead. It does not seem possible to me, when I consider that more died than all of the students at penn state. It would be the same as multiplying the population by 7.5 and then having everyone die. The thought gives me chills, and I cannot imagine living around that much death. I do not know how the people in Haiti are surviving, as many have lost so many loved ones and everything they own. I think that many Americans feel a need to help Haiti by donating food, money, clothing, and other necessities. I also know many churches that are down in Haiti trying to help the refugees. However, I understand the questioner’s point when she asks what that number means to us. Most of the population did donate some material good and then went back to their normal everyday life. However, on one hand we have to question what else can we do? We cannot send the entire world population directly into Haiti and yet is harmful to keep donating material goods directly to the people since it turns them into beggars. In order to rebuild Haiti, people outside of the situation must help take control since the people in Haiti are not emotionally ready to right now. When I think about the World Trade Center I remember the tears in everyone’s eyes and so many people knew someone who worked there. I believe I felt much closer to that disaster as it is honestly because I felt much closer to them. I have been to New York City and I have seen the people living there. I have interacted and talked with them. These were the people who were dying in my dreams. I feel very much removed from Haiti. I understand the need to help a population so poor and so depressed, yet I shamefully admit that I feel a stronger connection to the people living an hour and a half from me. I pictures the people who dies as people who were my like my parents, aunts, uncles, and neighbors. I could relate to so many. I would like to make it clear that I am not suggesting that Americans are better or deserve more than Haitians. That is obviously not the case. I am just pointing out that I feel more connected to Americans because I am one.
The second point I would like to make is about the time the questioner would need for an emotional break if someone in her family died. If one of my sisters or father died I would no doubt take time off to heal emotionally. However, I have never met anyone living in Haiti and I may have a connection to them as a caring human, but I do not have the same emotionally connection that I would for a close friend or family member. I agree in that we cannot forget about Haiti, yet I do not believe that the solution is to stop living our lives.
I think that students can just go on because it does not affect them directly, and to us college is the most important thing in our lives right now. Of course that would be important. The rest of the world however, may feel that its not important because it’s a dark country. This is the same thing that’s goes on in Africa everyday millions of people die because a small fraction of people want to kill a lot of people. I think that its sad, and I think we should help. How could we stand by and watch 300,000 people and do nothing about it? How could we watch young child not be able to find their parents, and parents unable to find their children and not be affected by it? I think we should want to help, but everyone thinks his or her situation is more important than the next that is the problem. We are so consumed by our selfishness that we are unable to see the real problems in this world. So to us 300,000 is not us, or we think that could never be us; however, just as fast as it was the Haitians it could have been someone in our family who was killed and buried under rubble. Our parents, our children, our friends could have been killed and it would have been the end of the world, but because it was no one that we knew we do not care. Just last week when Red Cross was hosting a blood drive for the people in Haiti I heard someone utter, “oh my god all of our blood is going to the people in Haiti.” I think that if we can donate over 1,000 pints of blood to defeat Michigan why can’t we donate some to help people who desperately need it? This to me is sad because people have not only lost their families; they have also lost their homes and their livelihood. How could we wake up each morning, and not think about it? I admit at first I was a little annoyed of hearing about Haiti, but this actually hit close to home because my niece’s family are Haitian. I thank God that none of her relatives were hurt in the earthquake, but they could have been one of the unlucky people who it did affect. For people in the media to look at them and say it’s their fault because they signed a treaty with the devil is outrageous. How could anyone’s death be the fault of something they did not do something you concocted to explain why they the people who won their freedom from France are doing so badly? If we all thought about just one of the children, one of the parents, one of the friends as our own I highly doubt that we would ignore the situation. Just think it could have been you!
This question really does have a lot of answers I think. The first thing I would like to say is that three hundred thousand is a lot of people who died and that is some thing very serious that I honestly feel that a lot of people do not really understand. I also remember that guy in class who really summed it up when he put it in the perspective that 300,000 people died and hour flight trip away from Miami. That really mad me think that this type of natural disaster could really happen anywhere that there is the tectonic plates that move underground. Its just crazy that, this happened and I understand what this young lady is talking about how Haitians are just going on with their life and to say if someone loses a loved one its devastating and you take off a week or two just to get your head straight. In Haiti’s case a great part of the population has losed somebody and I wouldn’t even begin to describe the feelings that the people of Haiti have to get through emotionally.
The fact that I feel that a lot of people form the united states and people from all across the would can just move on after a couple of weeks is that fact that when some one loses a loved one and takes weeks off is because that actually does effect someone directly. Its sad to say but don’t think that a lot of Americans and people from across the world really have direct ties to Haiti that would make them grieve for so long. I don’t think its that fact that people don’t care I just think that it is different for people that didn’t know anyone there and some people would say that this is just life process.
I would also like to believe that we really all in it together and yes it is one world, but you have to remember that this would is split in so many ways that people are not going to just wake up one day and say hey everyone is going to love each other and care about each other, I believe that most human beings as a species are very me centered and tend to just say when natural disasters like something like this happens that most people would just say that yea that terrible what happened and in some type of way they are happy that did not happen to them.
Another thing that I would like to say its always going to be easier for someone to say that we should just move on to someone when its not them who has been affected. They don’t know just like I don’t know about those 300,000 people I don’t know I cant really understand their situation because im not n it and that why people would say we need to move on but yeah people will dwell when they lose their family, life, and way of understanding how the world works.
I understand what this girl is saying about how people really are not taking this number into consideration. Yes this was a horrible thing that happened and yes there were many deaths, but so many people die every day in the United States. If we stopped to think about all of the people that died in the world and make such a huge deal about it then we would not have time for anything. By saying this I do not want to seem like I don’t care about the deaths, but that there is really nothing we can do about it but try to find ways to help.
I completely agree with this post. Whose to say one life is more valuable than another life. I wonder this sometimes when I walk by Old Main and see the American flag at half mast. I wonder what famous person died or if there was a recent catastrophic event. We only put that flag at half mast when something like that happens. But in reality, everyday hundreds of thousands of people starve to death. Civilians are murdered due from the ongoing Genocide in Darfur. American soldiers die fighting for this country. There are tragedies everyday. So why are some deemed more "important" than others? Shouldn't the flag be at half mast all the time?
I do feel like a lot of people did help out in the beginning. This only really happened because there was so much news coverage and so many groups were getting involved. However, this eventually changed when the news coverage slowed down and people began to forget about what happened. I have to admit I even forgot about it, too. One of my friends is actually involved with Project Haiti and she tries to do as much as she can. This is something that I feel like I should have done.
I thought that the girl in the video made a very interesting point. I feel like when something big happens like 300,000 people die I would not have the same reaction is if someone in my family or entire family died. I think that if my family members were included in those 300,000 people then it would impact me but it definitely wouldn’t as much if they were not a part of the group of 300,000. When 9/11 happened and all of those innocent citizens died I was shocked, sad, angry, etc. I did not understand how something like this could happen. However, when all of those people died I did not know one person in all of those people. What I’m saying is, yes the tragic event made me think and feel depressed it did NOT impact me in a way that it impacted others. Now if one of my family members died in the 9/11 terrorist attacks it would have been a whole other story. I would have mourned for a really long time and would have been involved with the whole situation a lot more.
This situation has made me think a lot about the way I am. The way I am selfish and only think about myself and my close ones when it comes to something like 300,000 people dying. I am not saying that when 300,000 people die that I do not try to help them out or mourn over it but it is not the same when it is directly affecting me.
I also think that when people hear of a big tragic event that effects many of people and tons of people die that at first they help with the situation but then after they feel as if they have done their duty and just go on with their lives. Take Haiti for example, after the earthquake struck many of people donated money, helped with food, and helped with building new houses. Yet, after they gave their part then they just stopped and feel like they do not have to help out anymore. The people in Haiti are still in need. I think that for us this is kind of selfish. We help out because yes we feel bad but also to make ourselves feel more worthy and feel better about ourselves.
I do not think that when 300,000 people die its not that we "don’t" care. It is a situation that is too big for us and we feel that we cannot do anything about it. When a close family member does you go into a different mindset. If a person died that I didn’t know in that 300,000 group of people or if my mom died this weekend, of course I would be affected more if my mom died. I think it is just
In this world people do not know what they have until they lose it. People cannot care about others if those 'others' are not directly in their lives, we can sympathize but that's pretty much it. Unfortunately that is how some people work in this world. Maybe those have lost loved ones in 9/11 or in some other accident know and understand those pains. Maybe those who have worried about having enough food on the table could understand their pain. But if people put themselves in the shoes of those Haitians who have lost loved ones and have no money to feed their children or themselves, they would not continue eating their dinners after hearing about this tragedy they would probably try looking for the next flight to Haiti.
However not everyone in the world is like this, for example I would love to go down to Haiti and lend a helping hand however helping costs money and I do not have the money to buy a ticket to Haiti and have enough money to maintain myself for however long I would like to stay. In Tuesday's lecture we were asked that if we wanted to help, we could put our name and email address down for more information. So I guess I just have to wait and see what they tell me. Until then I just hear about all the stuff that is going on down there, feel compassion and then go about my daily life.
part 3: But is it really selfish to say that I care more about my own family than others. Family comes first, or at least it should to most people; even though it doesn’t. Every creature on the earth shows compassion, dogs cry, and animals know when they’ve lost something dear to them. But when a lion is walking through the plains of Africa and sees 5 dead lions, he won’t do a double take. Human beings are more complex, but still; people save their sadness emotion for their own personal use with people in their own lives. That’s the way it should be. Getting over a loss of a loved one is one of the hardest things to do in the world, and if everyone in the world got THAT upset about everything bad that happens in the world; this would be one sad depressing planet.
I had the same question to and I'm glad someone spoke up about this issue. I really believe that us as Americans don't really care about what is happening in other places around the world. I know that sounds really terrible but I really feel this way about this subject. The first thing that came to my mind when this tragedy occurred was how did this happen? The country was already struggling and now they have to deal with this. Going back to the original question, If this were to happen on our soil we as Americans would be in a state of confusion and despair. 300,000 is a lot of people and if that amount were to all die due to a earthquake, this country which we believe is the best in the world wouldn't know what to do from there. Imagine a country like Haiti, very poor and not much power. An earthquake is a natural cause but in a way it seems like this country had been kicked when they were already down.
I total agree with you about how a lot of people do not seem to care about this devastating catastrophe and continue their lives like nothing has happened to me. I think one of the factors that makes people more ignorant or be careless to this tragic disaster is that people cannot find any relationship with their lives. To people, this is just an incident that happened in different country and they think they are not related in anyways. I think this is true for everybody. We are prone to not remember what is happening out there unless we see, feel and experience. We always think that there are other things that be have to worry about to make my life better. We worry about what is around us and what seems to be connected and what would affect my life. So for some of us, just looking what is on the media might touch our emotions and feels for couple of minutes but its very hard for us to think about this incident and do something for the people, who are suffering now.
Sometimes we have a hard time accepting these data and statistic. Come on, 300,000 people died from this single incident. That’s like having all the people from this campus get killed. Sometimes these statistics are numbers are so massive that it is so hard to believe this to be true. Personally I do not even know how to react to this incident. I mean, I know that there are many people killed and suffering from this but it’s really hard to put myself in their situation. If we understood and felt what is it to be like the people suffering, we would not be sitting here worrying about our tests. We would be running around to do something to help Haitians.
This is same for every other topic. When we had a lecture about the slaves and coco planting, Most of us felt guilty to eat chocolates for that moment. I was even disgust to see some people eating the second piece of chocolate. But few days later I have found myself enjoying chocolate without even remembering how I felt before. I think it is really hard to share other’s suffering or even remember how they feel. In all, it is almost impossible to put ourselves in their shoes. Then, what are we suppose to do? Do we simply ignore what is happening out there and carry on with our lives? Or do we simply struggle from the guilt everyday? I think very best thing we could do is living our lives up to the full values and use whatever we are given to the people, who are less fortunate than us.
I believe that the impact that's left of an individual is based on whether or not they have lost someone close to them. The closer someone is to you, the more impact it has on your life if they died. The world we live in is so big but so small at the same time. Personally, I forget about how many different countries there are in the world and how many people are affected when it comes to natural disasters or violence. Until it happens to someone though, does a person really feel the impact; emotionally, spiritually, etc. . . If I lost my mother to some outburst of violence or something along the lines of a September 11th attack, I don't know what I'd do. I'd be so deeply disturbed. Unfortunately, the most one can do is empathize with someone else who has gone through a traumatic experience like that. Unless you experience it yourself, I don't think anyone can truly grasp what it means or what it feels like to loose someone close to you in a mass murder.
This blog certainly pertains to events that have occurred in my life, so I chose to respond to it. Last fall, particularly the week of September 20th was a week that the world stopped, well at least it seemed that way for my best friends and me. I am quite close with the Dado family, and when Joey passed away, nothing else really seemed important except for being there for the Dados. My friends and I missed classes, work, and other important events that we were all involved in to take time to be together. A lot of our parents came to visit us, made us meals, and just hugged us – showing how grateful they were to be able to still hold their children. Together, we all packed up our cars the Friday night before the Iowa game to go to Joey’s viewing. Together, we went to Joey’s funeral Saturday morning, and by Saturday evening, we were back in State College, together. Now, I am not trying to minimize the significance of Joey’s death, but after viewing the blog, it made me think about one thing the speaker said to listeners and viewers, “because it doesn’t affect us directly.” This made me stop and think how true this statement can be about certain societies and even certain species regarding death. In the United States, many can move on and show their resilient ways after devastating events occur that takes the lives of Americans, people in other nations, or even animals. Hurricane Katrina, for example, was one tragedy our nation faced. Thousands and thousands of people traveled down to Mississippi, Louisiana, etc. to help and restore the damaged areas and support the families that were affected. I personally went down to Mississippi during spring break one year to help build houses, but this was three years after the hurricane hit. Looking back, why did it take me three years to put forth a sincere effort towards helping people that lost so much when it took me no time at all to help the Dados and my friends with the mourning process? Then, however, I look at these situations from yet another perspective. A friend of mine who I used to work with knew he really wanted to help the Haitian people after the earthquake. He also knew that he did not have the financial resources to get himself there, so he went on a mission to find a sponsor to send him to Haiti. With success, he secured a sponsor and lived in Haiti for a month this past summer doing whatever type of work he was needed to do. However, without his sponsor, he would not have been able to spend those thirty days volunteering. My point is that it seems we are all willing and able to stop what we’re doing when something goes wrong in which we have emotional investments or ties. I would like to think that many if not most people’s thoughts and internal concerns focus on those struggling around us despite if “it doesn’t affect us directly.”
In her response I felt like she made a very valid point. We as U.S. citizens and as a generation going back to at least our parents’ generation are so desensitized. We live in a consumerist and self-absorbed country. The proof of how big of a bubble we live in is so apparent in our everyday society. If you look at the media there are only certain messages and images that are presented to us as being right or wrong. We are shown what issues to be sympathetic towards and what issues weigh higher. For example if a middle class white child gets shot accidently on the street one day, we as a society pay attention to that loss and we feel for the parents. But let’s say a Hispanic child gets shot on that same street it’s almost seen as another drive by shooting or something that could only happen in a “ghetto”.
We pick and choose what is considered tragic or not. Even are citizens themselves are so unaware of the world around us. Just like in class so many people probably couldn’t tell you what is the condition in Haiti after the earthquake or could they answer the question does Paris, France have ghettos, something that could be so easily found out if people just stepped outside their comfort zone. Back to her point in the video, I think she’s right that when someone close to us dies or someone we knew we whole-heartedly feel that loss in some shape or form. We mourn and ask the question why, why did that happen to my loved one? It’s an understandable reaction because our emotions are such big parts of us as human beings and we can’t help but feel more sorrow or connection to a family member or friends death than we would 300,000 people who died in an earthquake
I myself know that when I hear of huge numbers of people dying due to a tragedy or outbreak of disease I don’t even flinch, the number doesn’t bother me. But what I and a lot of us fail to realize is that that number is not just a number. It’s a mother, father, sister etc., they are someone’s loved one or friend even if the person was essentially no one to no one we should still mourn the loss of another human life. So from my perspective is the reason why we as American’s and our generation as a whole only sees numbers when it comes to deaths outside our inner circle is because of how desensitized we are.
We watch movies and see mass murders and watch people fight in bars and we stand around it and watch it with amusement. We as a country have no real respect for all human life, whether we discriminate against race, gender, economic class, we do not see each other for what we are, humans. So it is only natural that we selfishly only feel hurt or mourn for the death of a loved one because we have no love for our fellow man.