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Re: Attempt at Understanding of "Emotional Calousness"



There are many ways people respond to tragedy. Some feel it in their guts
and cry.  Others intellectualize it... Both are legitimate forms of
response, one more widely accepted than another. 

While I strongly agree that srj?s posts have been unnecessarily
inflammatory, callous, and lack any kind of (mature) judgment, they point
to a truth, and one that many people here (and some of those in the more
intellectual, white, middle-upper class) feel:  

There is a large organization, the largest in the world, that directly
and indirectly causes untold suffering around the world.  The people who
are associated with this org. do not see, hear, feel, or care about the
enormous suffering that the org. with which they are associated inflicts.
 All of a sudden, the harvest that has been sown by this org. has been
reaped, and much of that suffering has come back to haunt it, and more
importantly, the innocent people associated with it. Period. 

There are many possible responses to this.  One response that we are
seeing here at m.sound is that people have been angry, very angry about
the actions this organization, the US, does.  They see, from
international media and other sources, the families and individual lives
that are wrecked all over the world: innocent people.  And they see
absolutely no remorse from the US or those people associated with it. 
Now, this here tragedy hits; and to many, it almost feels something like
justice IS being served.  Of course, innocent people should NEVER die.
Never, and there is never a justification or justice in innocent people
dying.  But it is a worldwide reality, and one that is commonly
experienced by our brothers in Palestine, Iraq, Iran, Colombia, Cuba,
Afghanistan, Libya, and so on?

And so many of us are angry that innocent people in these countries are
dying as a direct or indirect result of the US.  We feel their sorrow and
read about their tragedy (in my case, the situations in Iraq and
Palestine cause my a lot of grief and suffering).  We don?t feel or care
that these people are from a different country ? what?s the difference??
Americans, Palestinians, Iraqis ? we are all the same!  But those in the
US do not see this; they just don?t care. 

I think many of us don?t identify as Americans so much as people.  And so
if this attack had taken place somewhere in Africa or the middle east, we
all know it couldn?t compete with the Shandra Levy media coverage in the
American collective consciousness.  But because it happened ?here?, it?s
suddenly as if the world had ended.  Now, 500,000 Tutsis died in three
months some 6 years ago, which really didn?t register within the American
consciousness: this event times 33, assuming 15,000 dead.

I think you see where I am going with this.  My point of this post is to
try to shed some light on what might be and seem like complete emotional
callousness.  This isn?t about politics as someone had suggested; it?s
more about a national callousness toward ?others? and ?those over there?
and those of us who feel angry, hurt, and irritated about...

"all i've heard is,  more gov't spending, bigger military budget, cops on
planes, first hijacking attempt in 10 years, remove habeus corpus, will
hunt
down the aggressors and MAKE THEM PAY ...
i haven't heard one intelligent comment on TV and only a select few in
day
to day affairs ...." (Jonah Dempcy)

.... this callousness.

best,
joe


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"Consumption is a treatable disease."
                              
                                          Tibor Kalman

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