Does anyone else not feel bad?

[SunnyD]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: archiloco

Originally posted by: SampSon
10,000 out of 1.3 billion people is nothing.
China could lose 1 million and not even bat an eye.

i totally disagree with that 1 person is too much, now think of what's happening there in china plus Burma, we have a word wide crisis of over 120,000 dead and the number rising because they are getting hit by another cyclone.......

the world is over populated
mother nature is striking back

honestly if i woke up tomorrow and found out that 2 billion people were now dead in asia i wouldent even blink an eye, id make my coffee and go to work like i always do

Same here. Though I'd probably go "holy shit" first... then make sure none of my kids were that 2 billion.

 

[bonkers325]

you're a tool and this thread is obviously flamebait

 

[Feldenak]

I'll be honest and say I don't give a rat's ass about the quake in China or the cyclone that hit Myanmar. Sure, it may make me an insensitive prick but I also realize that outside of my friends and family nobody would give a flying fuck if I dropped off the planet.

 

[Nitemare]

I hate China, communism & what not, but yeah I still feel sorry for them

Their government has brainwashed them and censored all outside media so most are naive and don't know any better.

That being said the Myanmar cyclone was a greater tragedy simply because they want freedom.

 

[krunchykrome]

nm

 

[Ruptga]

Originally posted by: cubby1223
There's just too much that happens in the world for anyone to be capable of caring about everything.

That's basically my line of thought, I keep up with events that effect the people I know, and with events that I can actually do something about. Beyond that I don't really care, and why should I, I can't do anything about it.

I apply the same logic to carnage on the highways btw, I hate gawkers more than I can even describe. Either pull your car over and help out or get the heck out of my way before you cause another accident!

 

[Asharus]

Same here, I don't care either.

 

[z0mb13]

wow i can believe the things people say in this thread.. maybe this is exactly why americans are thought to be selfish and egoistical? You guys just dont care until the tragedy hits home?

 

[edro]

This morning on the news, there was a man and his son, who were digging out the rubble of a school.
His wife worked there and his daughter went to school there.
Both died.
He was digging to find their bodies.
He couldn't answer questions from the reporter because he was crying.

Yes, I feel bad for them.

 

[KeithTalent]

I care because I know people over there and one of them is a very close friend of mine that just got there a couple of weeks ago to do some work. I was pretty freaked out when I heard it on the news actually.

KT

 

[PHiuR]

Cultural Superiority FTL.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
wow i can believe the things people say in this thread.. maybe this is exactly why americans are thought to be selfish and egoistical? You guys just dont care until the tragedy hits home?

You're deluding yourself if you think this is an American phenomena.

 

[Fritzo]

Death tolls could be close to 100000+...how can you not feel for them??? There are kids that were crushed to death, some were burried alive and died over several days, they lost everything they had- family and possessions.

Amazing.

 

[Feldenak]

Originally posted by: Fritzo
Death tolls could be close to 100000+...how can you not feel for them??? There are kids that were crushed to death, some were burried alive and died over several days, they lost everything they had- family and possessions.

Amazing.

I'm not dancing in the street celebrating the tragedy; I just don't care. I didn't care about Katrina either. Mama Nature can be cruel...such is life.

 

[skace]

Originally posted by: SampSon
I find it hilarious how posters react on this forum.
They will take whatever stance is necessary, as long as it fits into the status quo.

How many of you really, honestly, deeply care about what the OP is talking about? Do you spend more than 2 minutes a day thinking about it?
Have you done anything more than just 'feel bad' or 'feel for thoes people', for more than is minimally required by your fickle conscience?
The resounding answer is NO.

This false, bleeding heart talk is little more than feel good bullshit. You people don't really care. You know why you don't really care?
Because it doesn't directly affect you. If some other tragedy happened right now (like they do every fucking day but no one (media) pays attention), you would quickly forget about this quake in China and think about how terrible that new situation is. Then 10 minutes after it leaves your direct line of sight you would forget about it and go on with your life. The reality is that if it's not right in front of your face, you simply don't give a shit.

The horrors that go on in this world on a daily basis are amazing. The reality is that if you are not directly affected by it, it really doesn't matter to you. Believe as much as you want that you're a compassionate human being, looking at pictures of dead children and broken families while you mabey shed a tear. Deep down inside you simply don't care. If you did care so deeply, you would be paralyzed by constant mourning.

So for the love of god would you people fess up to your feigned concern and get along with your lives. For once be honest with yourselves and realize how selfish you actually are. If your significant other, or closest family member fell fatally ill tomorrow, half of the entire population of China or India or whereever could die and you really honestly would not give a shit.

Personally I think it's a tragedy, but that's all it is. Yes it's sad, yes many lives will be changed forever, but mine isn't one of them, and most likely neither is yours. Today I went the entire day without spending one second thinking about the quake in China, until I clicked on this thread. Does that make it any less tragic? No. It does mean that in my life that quake in China means very little, which is why I devote very little time to thinking about it.

I've typed that out so many times but deleted it every time. Props to actually posting it. I wouldn't necessarily have posted it in this scenario but we usually see 2 or 3 threads about the most random deaths, like joe schmuckatelly kills his pet in an inhumane manner in east bumfuck and everyone has to shed a tear for it.

 

[Regs]

Originally posted by: Feldenak

Originally posted by: z0mb13
wow i can believe the things people say in this thread.. maybe this is exactly why americans are thought to be selfish and egoistical? You guys just dont care until the tragedy hits home?

You're deluding yourself if you think this is an American phenomena.

Agreed. And feeling bad about something just for the sake of karma is just as hypocritical. Yes, what had happened in China was traggic, though life goes on. I have no stake in China, and no family or friends. I have nobody to comfort or do I have any way possible to lend a hand. It's really none of my business, however like every other watching TV, I find myself drawn to it like it's a made for TV soap opera.

 

[DisgruntledVirus]

Originally posted by: EGGO
Too many people alive in the world, not enough dying.

I agree. Even at 50,000 between the quake and Burma, that's a drop in the bucket of the world population. If you look at it from a numbers game, we will recover from that really quick. It won't even be noticed by the global population.

Is it a tragedy? Sure. Does it personally affect me? No. If I let every tragedy get to me, I would never be doing anything but mourning for people I don't know and have no personal interactions with. Would I feel bad if it were Americans? I might feel something more then I do, just because they are citizens of my country, but I wouldn't be much more affected then I am now.

Is it "wrong" of me to not really care? Maybe. But at least I don't blindly jump on the bandwagon of feeing bad for the people or something. I would much rather have my own thoughts that are "wrong", then just go along with the norm because it's the socially acceptable thing to do.

 

[IAteYourMother]

Originally posted by: alien42
"them"

you are an idiot, the quake is a natural disaster and HUMAN tragedy. politics, race and religion are not involved.

politics, race, and religion are always involved.

 

[hiromizu]

We should have a 10 hour moment of complete postless silence at ATOT for this tragic, tragedy.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: z0mb13
wow i can believe the things people say in this thread.. maybe this is exactly why americans are thought to be selfish and egoistical? You guys just dont care until the tragedy hits home?

i didnt care about Katrina either

 

[OhSnap688]

OP if YOU die in a fire, I wouldn't care.

 

[Anubis]

Originally posted by: OhSnap688
OP if YOU die in a fire, I wouldn't care.

i would not expect a complete stranger to care if i died in a fire, im sure the OP feels the same way

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: BoomerD

Originally posted by: m0mentary

Originally posted by: Xylitol

Originally posted by: PolymerTim
Hmmm, I would think that the vast majority of those killed had nothing to do with the running of their government or the decision to make low quality products (as opposed to just working in a factory and just doing what they are told to make a living).

I think it is a shame when anyone stops caring for human death and suffering, whatever the circumstances. But hey, if those excuses make you feel better about not caring...

For the suffering in China and many other places around the world.

They're just the possible reasons that could have made me callous to this. I don't know what

I think its just being selfish. If it doesn't affect/benefit you directly, you don't care.

OP, this doesn't have much impact on me either. I think part of the cause of the high death toll is the shoddy construction practices and corrupt building inspectors in China, combined with low quality materials, nearly non-existant building codes or enforcement of the ones they do have.
I built bridges for much of my working career. Almost every government entity we worked for forbid the use of foreign steel. In part to support American steel producers, but more, because of low quality products that came with falsified certifications.
For example: one major SF bridge retrofit I worked on 10 years ago bought bolts for the steel erection/connections from a contractor who ended up buying them from a Chinese company.
They came in with certifications that met Cal-Trans specs, every bucket of bolts & nuts had a similar cert attached to it, but when Cal-Trans set up their field test for the bolts, over 90% of them failed to meet shear tests, torque tests, and several others. Why?
Because they were poorly made, of sub-standard materials, and came with fraudulent certifications.
Needless to say, the company had to put in a rush order for replacement bolts, and it took them a couple of months to fill the order, causing delays in the construction process. This was not a small order of bolts/nuts BTW, it was basically for a full 40 foot semi load of specialized structural steel connectors...not the kind of thing you could run down to Home Depot and buy...oh wait, those would be Chinese made too...
They were going to sue the supplier but I never did hear how the lawsuit ended up.

Chinese companies have EARNED the reputation for turning out sub-standard, cheap quality junk. It wasn't given to them by the media, nor by the unions who represented displaced workers, they earned it by turning out sub-standard quality, cheap JUNK, some of it poisonous to the very consumers it was meant for.

There's a thread in P&N on the subject of the Chinese quake, and I opined much the same thing about building quality being at least a part of the cause of the high death toll, and got the following in my PM box:

"Hey buddy..your american buildings fare no better...what happened in that bridge a while a ago? Did it suddenly collapse..hmm..oh how about the 9.11? The so called superior american engineering and construction can't even withstand two little plane strike? Good grief and now you are saying Chinese building collapse at a 7.9 earthquake. So please STFU. "

Sounds like I struck a nerve.

I'm much older than most of the people here. I was raised to hate and distrust Communists. (Better Dead than Red, Kill a Commie for your Mommie, that sort of thing) and went to war against the evil Communists in Vietnam. We were also taught that the Chicoms were behind the North Vietnam aggression against the Republic of South Vietnam, and were our sworn enemy as well.
While I'm glad to see the Chinese government making some changes for the better, as with Tianamen Square, we're reminded that they are still the Evil Red Menace.

Enough P&N rambling

OP, like you, I'm somewhat surprised that I don't care more about this tragedy nor the one in Burma, nor the big Iranian earthquake a while back. I don't think it's a hate or dislike for their people, nearly as much as it is a hate and dislike for their government.

I usually don't read long posts like this, but this was a very good read. :thumbsup:

 

[buck]

Originally posted by: Anubis

Originally posted by: z0mb13
wow i can believe the things people say in this thread.. maybe this is exactly why americans are thought to be selfish and egoistical? You guys just dont care until the tragedy hits home?

i didnt care about Katrina either

I can't believe I am admitting this, but I think I might at least partly agree with you and the OP.

I do care that kids were killed, and maybe feel a little bad hearing some of the stories. The fact is though, I will forget about this in an hour and like most people in this thread, I will not donate any money toward this cause.

People die by the thousands every day in separate events; most people including myself start to be desensitized. Don't even get me started on some of the idiots that chose to stay instead of evacuating during katrina.

 

[maddogchen]

i don't feel as bad for them as I do the victims of the cyclone in Myanmar. China's government has taken huge measures in providing aid, relief, recovery while Myanmar's government does little.

When I heard about the devastation in Myanmar I donated to a charity to help. Not sure how much of it will get through though. When I heard about the quake in China I was gonna donate to that too. But after reading about the differences in aid provided to the victims in the two situations I decided to donate again to Myanmar. Of course there still is the question of whether or not the donations will help those in need there or just go into a warehouse for the military.