Japanese Earthquake and Tsunami

[JustMe]

This is not really anything to do with the rights and wrongs of donation to any appeal for help following the Japanese earthquake and the following tsunami but a comment on the world media. The site I use to get most of my news from is the BBC News website and I notice that Japan has slipped from the top spot to be replaced by Libya. And I am left wondering if it were not for the remote (I hope) possibility of a nuclear catastrophe would Japan have completely faded from the news.

 

As for those who wonder about my donations to charity I mainly try to help by donating goods I could otherwise sell to the charity shops in Lerwick and by buying things from those shops. Sadly my income is not high enough to make the sort of donations that the Red Cross site at the top of this thread suggested.

[as]

£18 is not the minimum donation, you can specify a lower amount under "Other". Infact, the Red Cross will be more than happy to receive what ever you feel you want to give. Just like any other charity. But that is entirely up to you, of course.

 

I think it is important to bear in mind that this money is not going to be spent on the actual rebuilding of devasted areas of Japan, but on the very immediate needs of people affected by events. Medical supplies, water purifying tablets and equipment, tents, blankets, food supplies, clothing and the like. I agree with you saying that the country will most likely be able to rebuild without much outside help, but right now Japan is struggling to look after all the victims entirely on its own. I don't have a TV, so rely on all sorts of different news sites for info and this seems to be the universal message in the last week. Nobody ever anticipated a disaster on this scale and I don't think any country could really be expected to have all the resources horded, in place and cope with so many victims entirely without outside help. It is just not possible and the Japanese are acknowledging this.

 

Even the old enemies chip in: South Korea diverted liquid gas supplies, China is sending aid. Russia is helping out. Over 100 countries have offered help. Even the Afghan city of Khandahar scraped tohether £30000, and they can ill afford it. I remember reading their Mayor said :"We know it is not much by Japan's standards, but it is all we can give and you are most welcome to it." I think it was on the Scotsman website.

 

And than there's the medical teams (Doctors without Borders and so many others) and Fire Crews, Rescue Workers, DogHandlers with their sniffer dogs from all over the world. They all need to be funded and if a small donation on my part goes a little towards their expenses than at least that's something. The snifferdogs and Rescue Crews are pulling out now, because all hope of finding survivers is gone, but the thousands of victims will remain stranded in emergency shelters and tents for a long time yet. They still need help and supplies. They have nowhere else to go.

[zebbidy]

.......................must refrain from any jokes...................... as everyone seemed to loose their sense of humor

[number 7]

carefull zeb , u caused a quake the last time you commented on here !

[Njugle]

.......................must refrain from any jokes...................... as everyone seemed to loose their sense of humor

There is nothing funny about watching people die.

[number 7]

and theres more to come ! , when will mans quest to harness nuclear power end ! this planet is in for another dusting !

 

http://www.redcross.org.uk/

[tlady]

.......................must refrain from any jokes...................... as everyone seemed to loose their sense of humor

 

How the hell can you find anything remotely funny about this situation !!

[Guest CyprusPluto]

.......................must refrain from any jokes...................... as everyone seemed to loose their sense of humor

 

I'm sorry Zebbidy. We didn't lose our sense of humour, but perhaps you should.

You clearly are not ashamed of your sick comments from last time and I was one of those advocating second chances when others were calling for you to be banned.

 

It seems they were right!

[paulb]

does it really matter how rich or not the country is. the people are suffering and it really does not matter where they are from its still suffering.

i gave to the boxing day and haiti and i was unimpressed at how some of the money has been spent. i have not noticed the disasters emergency lot asking for aid this time.

i will donate when i have some spare cash. but things are tighter this time around.

[Para Handy]

And use some of the money that is ear marked for windmills

to send some help to Japan instead

[MuckleJoannie]

There is analysis of why people joke about disasters here, prompted by some other tasteless comments on the internet

 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-12775389

 

Any fan of Peter Cook or Bill Hicks will attest that dark humour predated the internet, however, and none other than Sigmund Freud addressed the topic in his 1927 essay Humour (Der Humor).

 

In it, the father of psychoanalysis argued that sick jokes were the mechanism by which the ego "insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world".

[KOYAANISQATSI]

There's a difference between sick jokes and dark humour, although sick jokes may be called a type of dark humour; dark humour does not have to present itself as a sick joke, any more than any individual has to.

 

I could be wrong but I don't think Bill Hicks ever mocked the tragedy of others, except perhaps the tragedy of the stupidity of some.

 

 

sick jokes were the mechanism by which the ego "insists that it cannot be affected by the traumas of the external world".

 

I think to Hicks, the traumas of the external world were more of the driving force behind his humour, rather than the target of it.

 

Big up the Hickster; rrrrrrrrrrrrrespect!!

Get well soon.

[Ghostrider]

^^ Humour though is an individual thing, what is amusing dark humour to one person, is seen as a sick joke and in extremely poor taste by someone else.

 

The problem with posting any kind of "joke" on a site such as this, is that its an everything to everybody kind of place, and while whatever "joke" someone posts probably appeals to some of the people some of the time (even if that "some of the people" is just one person - the poster), I very much doubt any "joke" appeals to all of the people all of the time.

[Njugle]

It's a contextual thing too GR. Gallows humour amongst those involved in a situation is a coping mechanism and I can honestly say I have both used it and favoured it in it's place, in an emergency services scenario.

 

Making jokes about the death, pain and suffering of people you have no connection to from a position of comfort is fairly despicable though, in most instances. I'll never forget the day I sat a works canteen table and made a joke about Lockerbie, followed instantly by the work colleague across from me retorting that his aunt had died at Lockerbie. Lesson learned.

 

Even more so, because he hadn't lost his aunt, he was merely pulling me up on this very issue by illustrating the point and I thank him for it and will always remember that moment and try to share that lesson with others.

[Ghostrider]

^^ Agreed. You need to be very sure in your knowledge of your audience before you can hope to pull off a bad taste "joke", and its usually not worth the bother.

 

Its not just "jokes" though, any sort of cheap point scoring from a disaster situation, especially an ongoing one (as a certain Bigton VE supporter did elsewhere re Japan and has been called on), IMHO is equally unacceptable.