Hurricane:

[wednes]

As you may know, I'm in Michigan. Despite being surrounded by water, our fair state doesn't have much to fear from hurricanes. I have the luxury of sitting in my apartment, reading about it online and feeling terrible for all the people who have lost thier homes. And from what I read, it's horrible.

However, this comment made me hopping mad:

"I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour after touring the destruction by air Tuesday.

That's just ridiculous. No one did this to New Orleans on purpose, there was no hate involved. The people of Hiroshima also did not have days to evacuate because they knew what was coming. They did not have neighboring states rushing in to help, nor did they have a Superdome to congregate at. Certainly, I'm not trying to minimize what's actually happening there. But nuclear devastation is not the same as a flood. It really smacks of the recent trend of calling everyone we don't like "Hitler".

That said, if anyone is going down south to help out, let me know and I'll come with.

Comments

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

Nor are the people of mississippi going to have to contend with decades of radioactive after-effects.

I heard someone compare it to the Tsunami this morning. Same thing, the death tole isn't even over 1000 yet!!!

[groovesinorbit]

The same guy said that. What a maroon!

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

It's not over a thousand but they know that there's a lot more dead than they know of.

It doesn't matter how many people died, it matters that these people they love are being fucking swiped away from their loved ones by sewage infested water. A body count doesn't matter.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

The body count does matter when you compare the devastation to other events.

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

Yes, because the hurricane is just an event that doesn't effect us because we still have the internet.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

That makes no sense at all. Please be clear on what you mean.

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

Whatever, just be happy you can sit here and bitch about it on the internet instead of sitting on your roof hoping someone will come help you and your family.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

Do you feel that way every time there is a disaster? Did you feel that way for the Tsunami? How about the mass killings going on in the world right now? Do you really feel empathy for every single person who has fallen on hard times in the past, hold on a moment, 22 years? When you see a news story about a missing child, do you feel the same empathy for that child that you do for every single victim of the hurricane? Did you feel the same for every victime of 9-11?

Unless you can answer yes to all of those questions you can kiss my ass.

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

So because I'm 22 years old I do not understand empathy?

Way to be jealous that you're old.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

You totally missed the point of that. If you were 50 I would have put 50.

My point is that everyone picks and chooses who to feel empathy for, and who not to. Unless you feel empathy for every single person on the planet then you are in no better position to criticize my choices. What makes your choices of empathy so much better than mine?

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

Bleeding Liberals have empathy for even child molestors, so I suggest having this conversation with one of them.

I'm just saying, I know a lot of people who live down south as opposed to not knowing ANYONE who lives in Asia.

It hits home more when people you love could be in danger.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

So what you are saying is that I should feel more empathy for a thousand americans than for a million asians. You are such a racist! No one group of people is more important than another. Love them all if you want, but until you can then, as I said, kiss my ass. Your method of deciding on how much empathy to offer, is no more or less valid than mine.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Dude, what the fuck? Please stop coming over to my journal and picking fights with people. People are allowed to disagree with you without you jumping down their throats. What's more, you could try to understand that seeing something differently does not mean your values are being personally challenged. And finally, I would think you of all people would know how absurd it is to slap a "rascist" label on someone you hardly know.

Now please, either drop this bullshit or take it to your own journal.

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

I simply replied to the comments as they were posted. I am once again accused of being argumentative for replying.

As for racist. What would you say if I said who cares about

Nevermind.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Like "fuck you", "Kiss my ass" is not really an acceptable reply to I disagree.

Not really sure what you're getting at with the rest of that, but as usual...if you've something to say then by all means be out with it.

My point was that you didn't like being called a rascist by someone you hardly know; so I'm surprised you would in turn call someone you've never met a rascist based on one comment (that was not, BTW, rascist in nature)

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

I wouldn't want to kiss your ass, you might be asian.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Dude, can you ever disagree with someone without being a vulgar jerk about it?

[nate101000.livejournal.com]

Did you read the posts? I wasn't the first person to use profanity. And

Nevermind.

[hollie-horror.livejournal.com]

And what?

Wuss.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Simply using profanity to make ones point is different thatn swearing "at" someone. "people are fucking dying" is not the same as "kiss my ass". I'm just saying that it is possible (for everyone but you, it seems) to disagree without making it totally personal.

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Come on Nate, this is absurd. Do you really think it's hypocritical to feel devastation at home or where people you know are more acutely than devastation on the other side of the world? If the house next to your caught fire, that would affect you more than some Detroit Devil's Night fire, and that's normal. You seem to be asserting that body count is the most important factor when totaling the "devastation" while Hollie appears to feel that body count is not as important as emotional and visceral impact. Both arguments are valid and there's no reason to make it a big, ugly deal.

No one wants to read that when they get home from therapy...

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Yeah, as usual nothing compares to good ol' fashioned American Stupidity.

[vjsmom.livejournal.com]

I heard the tsunami reference on the radio this morning, and thought that while the huuricane's devastation is horrible, it's pretty fucking obnoxious to compare it to the Asian disaster. The Hiroshima reference is even more obnoxious and stupid. How do these idiots get elected?

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Um...I think they tamper with the voting machines.

[groovesinorbit]

Good answer. : )

[eroslane.livejournal.com]

Hmmmmmmmmmmmm, appears we are sharing a brain:

http://www.livejournal.com/users/eroslane/171772.html

[wednes.livejournal.com]

Very nice.

Yeah, calling a flood Hiroshima just illustrates that they don't have the slightest fucking idea what nuclear weapons do.