Quakes Not as "Cool" as Floods

Published on October 8, 2005 By Gideon MacLeish In Current Events

The story's out on the news wire that there are thousands dead in an Asian quake. As I have been following it, it leads me to ponder our responses to quakes, in comparison with our responses to hurricanes or floods.

Quakes don't seem to generate the outpouring of response that flooding and hurricanes do. Although we mourn the dead, quakes are merely regarded in the "act of God" category as something tragic, but outside our ability to control. Floods, on the other hand, stir up emotion and sympathy in the way that a quake never could.

As I wonder about this, I wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the fact that flood stories are common to every mythological culture ever known. And usually as an act of God or Gods against human arrogance and self assuredness. Maybe our own subconscious assigns floods a greater level of concern for this reason.

My sympathies are with the victims of this quake. But I wonder if it will produce the sheer numbers of celebrity beggars that the tsunami and Hurrican Katrina seemed to generate.

Comments

Moderateman

on Oct 08, 2005

we here in California have a very calm attitude about quakes, I call anything under a 6, a coffee stirrer. heh.

Californian

on Oct 08, 2005

What you say is true in California except the local media goes nuts over a small 4.0 earthquake.

Moderateman

on Oct 08, 2005

Reply By: Californian(Anonymous User)Posted: Saturday, October 08, 2005What you say is true in California except the local media goes nuts over a small 4.0 earthquake.

only when it's a slow news day.

Dr Guy

on Oct 08, 2005

I disagree Gid. I think the magnitude of the Tsunami made it so terrible. WHile this quake, and all the others are bad, they just dont (usually) measure up.

And the Hurricane was on our soil, so hence it got a lot more press and response from America.

Brad

on Oct 08, 2005

It clearly has nothing to do with the type of disaster, it's the location. Americans, on the whole, don't give a damn about lives lost in any other country, hell, they barely cared about lives lost here. I would bet 95 percent of Americans couldn't find Pakistan on a map, why on earth would they care about dead people there?

Dr Guy

on Oct 08, 2005

YOur ignorance is very telling. I am surprised you can spell Pakistan.

lifehappens

on Oct 09, 2005

Actually, as much as I hate to admit it....I think Brad may be on to something here. i dont' think people in the US (as a whole) feel the same way about disasters on foriegn soil as they do here. The Sudan is a good example.....until it became a "popular crusade". most people had no clue. We see it repeated over and over. If someone doesnt' have a vested interest in something, they gloss over the details and move on.

Moderateman

on Oct 09, 2005

Time for america to stop helping other countries and help ourselves, our infra structure needs repair big time.

Besides no one appreciates the help we give and corruption of other countries make sure the poor get nothing anyways.

Gideon MacLeish

on Oct 09, 2005

I disagree Gid. I think the magnitude of the Tsunami made it so terrible. WHile this quake, and all the others are bad, they just dont (usually) measure up.

I dunno...the estimates are climbing to the 20,000 plus range. It's definitely a doozy.

I just don't specifically remember any rock star benefit concerts for a quake. Feel free to prove me wrong on this, though.

Dr Guy

on Oct 09, 2005

dunno...the estimates are climbing to the 20,000 plus range. It's definitely a doozy.
I just don't specifically remember any rock star benefit concerts for a quake. Feel free to prove me wrong on this, though.

Yea, I saw the headlines this am (and they were at 18k). Ok, for the celebs, yes, I agree. Double standard. For real people, I think we care and share just as much.

Demosthenes Locke

on Oct 10, 2005

I think that we certainly do care; it'd be pretty inhuman to be fully unaffected. It's just that we're not all that concerned. And I don't think that's an American trait, but a human one. People, in general, will only be thoroughly concerned with the difficulties experienced by others if they have a real impact on their own lives. So for an American, it made more sense to be concerned about events in the Gulf, as that had extensive impacts on shipping and energy infrastructure. A quake in Pakistan, however, has less ripple effect on me.

While I care, and feel for others' suffering, it's not the main thought in my head throughout the day. My day will still be focused around personal productivity, since that is how I am most useful to myself and everyone else, although the latter is clearly of less concern to me.

foreverserenity

on Oct 10, 2005

I agree with Demosthenes, we do care and we would be inhumane to not care. I wonder if perhaps because the quake in Pakistan hasn't generated as much news as all the other disasters that has happened thus far? It hasn't been on to coin a phrase 24/7 (i.e., since it happened all day non stop). I wasn't aware of it until I saw the news online email report this morning. Because I was busy with family and other person stuff and hadn't watched the news all weekend. Now if while Channel surfing I had seen a report about it, I would have stopped and watched. So perhaps even the news media has conditioned themselves to react in the same manner, it's sad news, terrible for those folks, but since it has no real impact.....etc.

Gid, you did make one interesting observation though "wonder if it doesn't have something to do with the fact that flood stories are common to every mythological culture ever known. And usually as an act of God or Gods against human arrogance and self assuredness. Maybe our own subconscious assigns floods a greater level of concern for this reason." You have a good point here and perhaps this is so.

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