Oh, the Humanity...

[leelastarsky]

Paul was found by his uncles today, sadly, dead. I guess there is some small comfort in the fact that they did find him; that they at least won't have to go through the anguish of 'not knowing'. But... it is a small comfort.
And the death toll is... incomprehensible.



I found it interesting, and not a little scary, to hear that the force of the quake was such that the planet actually wobbled on it's axis. Surely this will have repercussions?

Can I just say here how much I hate the media? Watching the news tonight (and yesterday for that matter), I just wanted to climb into the TV and throttle the TWAT behind the desk. Not to mention the idiots 'on the spot' in Phuket and SriLanka. Like ghoulish vultures, desperately prying all the gory details out of the survivors. When one of the survivors - a man - was obviously getting teary discussing it, the reporter proceeds to literally feast on him! "You look upset, mate. Can you tell us why?" FUCK! FUCK! FUCK!

Last night the 6 o'clock news spent at least 10minutes on the tragedy (which is a significant amount for them), but the next news item was - to my horror - people being trampled at the opening of the post xmas sales! Seriously take-them-away-in-an-ambulance trampled. As if the subject wasn't sickening enough, the contrast of putting it back to back with the earthquake/tsunami disaster... Story 1- thousands dead, thousands more suffering and fighting for their lives. Story 2- hundreds fighting over getting the cheapest fucking television?!
Then, of course, we moved onto SPORT, which is the major religion here in Australia. *sigh*

There are days when I believe the human race deserves itself.

Comments

[chanel19.livejournal.com]

Wow. I always thought we had the most tasteless media here in the US. Guess it's not just us.

[kateanguapotter.livejournal.com]

I strongly dislike the media, especially the commercial media.

The earth wobbled on it's axis?!!! Wow... *is trying furiously not to think of the scale of this disaster*

[morgaine-nicely.livejournal.com]

wow...yeah i read that too....wonder what'll happen next? will the whole 2012 happen in 2006? lol
(http://www.2012.com

[kizmet-42.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the update, as sad as it is.

I continue to pray for the family, and your son.

[angylinni.livejournal.com]

That's par for the course in the states, the media rushes to find the next of kin of whatever disaster strikes so they can be the first with the exclusive. It's positively revolting. We had a terrible accident on I-95 on Christmas Eve here, the pictures were horrifying, broken open presents scattered all over the highway, cars mangled beyond recognition and a ten year old girl lost both parents and her older sister. The media, in their convoluted wisdom, interviewed the father of the man responsible. He'd been drinking and his car veered into the other side of the highway and hit them head on. The poor man was nearly incoherent with grief and the reporter kept shoving his damn mike in his face. I wanted to smack the shit out of him. It's bad enough to know that your son caused that and ended up dead as well, you don't need your grief splashed across the evening news.

[ivylore.livejournal.com]

I can't stand the main media coverage either. (CBC has been much better than the U.S. stations.)

[kaalee.livejournal.com]

I have no words, hun.

Just know that my thoughts are with you.

[miss-rina.livejournal.com]

Leela, I am so sorry to hear about the boy. How is your son taking it?

The thing I find so distasteful about the media coverage is that the emphasis is on all those poor tourists who were in the right place at the wrong time, and the huge death toll of Asians seems like nothing more than a mere consequence.

[badonkatonks.livejournal.com]

My thoughts are with you and your family. My prayers will be with your son.

I like getting my news off National Public Radio here in the U.S. They are much less sensational and more to the point.

The Earth wobbled on its axis? *shudders*

That one fact reminds me of a lyric from a Paul Simon song, 'Born at the Right Time'.

"Too many people on the bus from the airport
Too many holes in the crust of the earth
The planet groans
Every time it registers another birth"

Hang on, there is still good in this world...

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

I'm so sorry to hear about Paul. How is your son taking the news?

Oh man ... I just feel sick when I think about it. They said last night that because of all the people un-accounted for that the death toll very well could reach 50,000. I just can't even find some sort of reference to "get" that. It would be like if someone completely knocked out a suburb here or something ... and even that I can't comprehend.

You know I agree with you 100% about the news media. *sighs*

[ixchelmala.livejournal.com]

You and yours have my sympathies. (I'm don't know who Paul is, other than he shares a name with my baby brother.) You are the second person on my flist that has been closely affected by the quake and the tsunami.

As for the news, I'm staying away from it, and instead just listening to National Public Radio (NPR), BBC, and Public Radio International (PRI), because here in Los Angeles, I fear they'd do the same kind of things you're describing, even if this *is* earthquake land.

[hhhellcat.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry to hear about Paul's passing, and if there is any small comfort for his family and yours, it is that you know that he's gone. Not knowing is a hole that will eat you from the inside out. At least in this way, there is some sort of closure.

The tragedy that has rocked Asia is horrible, but is not something that really could have been prevented. Tsunamis in the Indian Ocean were unheard of, so there was no reason to have a warning system instituted. As you know, the Pacific is vigilant about this sort of thing because earthquakes and tsunamis are much more common. I know that there isn't much I can do aside from pray for those souls lost, and for those who survived and will need to move on. It's a very sad day indeed.

As for the media, I've pretty much quit watching the news on television, and instead try to get my information from online sites. I can't stand watching these horrible, blood-suckers try to leech a 'sensational' story at the expense of someone else's dignity. Also, the news about folks being trampled by crowds trying to get in on the cheapest deals ... I've dealt with stuff like this first hand, working in retail as I do, and it's horrifying what single-minded, greedy monsters people become.

I agree with you that sometimes the human race deserves itself, and then something like the outpouring of support that my friend received after her flat burned down helps to remind me that there are still good folks out there as well.

[redblaze.livejournal.com]

Babe, I'm soooo sorry. . . I was just reading about how when all is said and done, there will be many Australians included in the death toll and I thought about you and my other Aussie friends. Then, I read this. . .I'm soo sorry for your loss, and for the friends and family of the boy who passed away.

This tragedy is just more than I can imagine. . .My brain can't even wrap around it.

Hug your family. . .You know I love you!

Kele

[aquarius-1977.livejournal.com]

Leela, I am so sorry to hear this. I've been thinking about it all day and I was hoping to come home to a miraculous update. My thoughts will continue to be with the family.

The U.S. media sucks, too. I remember when 9-11 happened, I actually switched on BBC News, just to hear something that wasn't the same old crap, same tragic footage.

[lissannej.livejournal.com]

I'm really sorry about Paul; I hope your boy's okay. *hugs*