Sonny, I can understand where you're comin from. However, I care deeply for anyone and everyone involved in human disaster of any kind or making. So deeply I have to back away and attempt to turn it off. Praying albeit to Universe and Gaia instead of a diety or entity is about all I can do.
Does anyone else not really care about Katrina?
by sonnyboy 64 Replies latest jw friends
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Sara Annie
I've read all your posts in this thread, and I'm trying to find some common ground on which to sympathize with you. I'm having a very hard time doing so.
I really don't care about the hurricane victims. I highly doubt that the people walking through Walmart with shopping carts full of clothing and electronics would send me one f'ing red cent if I was in need (and I AM in need, by the way).
The people you see looting Wal-Mart and the legions of people trapped in the city this last week represent a very small percentage of those who have been affected by Katrina. The vast majority of those who lost EVERYTHING THEY OWN were the several hundred thousand other inhabitants of New Orleans and every other city and town along the gulf coast that has seen itself effectively erased from the map. These people lost their jobs, and their homes and every single material possession they couldn't carry with them when they left. They are facing months and possibly even years with not a single thing to their names, with the impossible task of rebuilding a life that simply does not exist anymore.
Perhaps you're having a hard time getting your mind around that idea, I know I still am. But what might help you to find the barest amount of compassion for those in situations far and away more pitiable than yours is to remember that while you sit and feel sorry for yourself and the sad condition of your life, you are doing it with a roof over your head, with water readily available from the tap, with a shower to in which to clean yourself, with a bed to sleep in, with food in the cupboards, with a roomate to help pick up the slack, with a television to watch the destruction on, with a computer and internet access that allows you a place to tell your sad story, and a job that gives you $21,000 a year in which to fund this miserable, terrible life you lead. Why, given the squalid conditions you must exist in, should you be expected to have empathy for anyone else?
Life is tough all over, sonnyboy. You lost your job and took a big pay cut, and you lost the house that you could no longer afford. It sucks, big time. But you didn't lose everything, did you? You might not have the comfortable life you became accustomed to, but $21,000 a year hardly puts you out on the streets either. There are families of four out there who are making the same money you do who fell less sorry for themselves. So you sit and lament the condition of your life all you want, but any sympathy I might have felt at your plight disappeared with the attitude of entitlement that accompanied your relaying it.
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Billygoat
It's just that I don't see this as much more tragic than things that go on every day which are overlooked because they're commonplace. I don't understand why people's 'suddenly give a shit' buttons are pushed because an event is larger in scope.
I do see your point here. But two things...
One, you are assuming that their give a shit buttons aren't pushed at other times of Life. It may not be in your direction, but there are times when people help that we just don't know about. Assisting one in need not be on the front page for all to see.
Two, if it takes something of this magnitude to change people's perspectives of their own lives and how maybe they should contribute more to others in need...what is bad about that?
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sonnyboy
Can the nearest mod please close this thread?
I feel like an asshole now.
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sonnyboy
So you sit and lament the condition of your life all you want, but any sympathy I might have felt at your plight disappeared with the attitude of entitlement that accompanied your relaying it.
That's exactly what I mean. People lose their homes and their lives every day and few people care, regardless of their world view. I care more about the people who've been struggling to survive for years as people walk over them. At least the hurricane victims are getting support.
I'm not asking for sympathy, but making a point. At least I was trying to, but I wish this thread would go away now.
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talesin
So when someone posted on a thread last spring that talesin was in desperate need and would anyone help her, and not one poster replied, does that mean they didn't realize I needed their help?
No, sonny, I get your point ,,, you are not being an asshole, just honest about how you are feeling.
When this is over, I doubt that few here will take 20 bux a month out of their pockets and help out someone needy in their own sphere.
tal
* feeling a bit cynical this past week * class
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Undecided
I just followed God's example and didn't do a thing to help them, Jesus didn't care much either. He could have taken one loaf of bread and one boloney and fed them all. After all, we were created in God's image and must follow Jesus' example.
Ken P.
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Billygoat
When this is over, I doubt that few here will take 20 bux a month out of their pockets and help out someone needy in their own sphere.
That's not true. There have been MANY MANY people here this week who've given out of sacrificing their own needs. For someone they don't know. To me that says a lot. But sometimes it does take a lot of "coverage" to get the word out.
Tale,
So when someone posted on a thread last spring that talesin was in desperate need and would anyone help her, and not one poster replied, does that mean they didn't realize I needed their help?
I didn't see this thread. I'm sorry I missed it.
Sonnyboy,
I do understand your point. I don't agree with everything, but I understand it and why you feel cynical. There are a lot of people on this earth that truly don't give a crap. Please don't let yourself get jaded on things because of them.
Andi
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talesin
Please don't let yourself get jaded on things because of them.
KEY, Andi. That is what we must do. S*** happens, and we can't let it make us feel like no one cares.
t
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Finally-Free
Sonnyboy, I understand where you're coming from. I lost my home three times in my life - twice because of injuries that temporarily prevented me from working and once more when my marriage ended. I remember trying to move my belongings out of my apartment while on crutches by myself because my JW "brothers", whom I had helped to move many times in the past, found it more important to get their "time" for the month. I had to leave most of what I owned behind. Some of them actually laughed in my face at my predicament in the kingdom hall - it took all of my self control to keep myself from beating them half to death with my crutches. I still regret not taking a swipe at a few of them, particularly those "brothers" who regarded my incapacity as an opportunity to go out and undercut my prices to take away more than half my business. So much for helping a fellow pioneer™, eh?
I think you have a good heart - but you've just gone through some bad shit, as I have. Some day things will get better, and you'll find it easier to open your heart to help others again and try to spare them some of the painful experiences you've had to endure.
W