bunnyjadwiga (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
bunnyjadwiga) wrote2005-01-04 12:43 am
bunnyjadwiga) wrote2005-01-04 12:43 am
Stupid Americans rant
Ok, it finally happened. Someone I knew complained about being asked to supply aid for the tsunami victims when 'there are still homeless people in Florida,' and added a complaint about 9-11 aid. Look, it made me somewhat sick when 9-11 happened that people who didn't give a darn about, say, the Mexican earthquakes (20,000 dead), or other world disasters ran out screaming to give money and blood. Dead is dead, people. Dead people in Mexico or Thailand are just as dead and it's just as awful as if they died in Florida or NYC. Except... if you are a survivor in Mexico or Thailand, you are probably worrying about keeping the rest of your family alive, if you can, about how you are going to live, about getting shelter and safe water and food. Not about insurance adjusters and funeral arrangements.
All over the world, people gave money and effort to help with the 9-11 aftermath. People from other countries came over to move rubble, to search for the dead.
Now those same generous people, like the ones in Sweden, Japan, and other countries (among the largest contributors to the tsunami relief effort) are helping with the tsunami relief. Red Cross and Red Crescent workers are out there trying to keep people alive. They figure that in addition to the 150,000 already dead, they will lose another 50,000 at least from dysentery and other nasty ways to die. Many of those will be children.
By the scale of human suffering, the disasters outside of America in the last 5 years have trumped American 'disasters' over and over again. Yet we recieve help from other countries when we need it for human aid. Why the heck are people complaining that we are asked to ante up humanitarian aid in a disaster bigger than many of our cities?
All over the world, people gave money and effort to help with the 9-11 aftermath. People from other countries came over to move rubble, to search for the dead.
Now those same generous people, like the ones in Sweden, Japan, and other countries (among the largest contributors to the tsunami relief effort) are helping with the tsunami relief. Red Cross and Red Crescent workers are out there trying to keep people alive. They figure that in addition to the 150,000 already dead, they will lose another 50,000 at least from dysentery and other nasty ways to die. Many of those will be children.
By the scale of human suffering, the disasters outside of America in the last 5 years have trumped American 'disasters' over and over again. Yet we recieve help from other countries when we need it for human aid. Why the heck are people complaining that we are asked to ante up humanitarian aid in a disaster bigger than many of our cities?