Tuesday, November 08, 2005
The earthquake
IDS is on the radio saying that the lack of much giving to the earthquake appeal is because the coverage isn’t making it look like people like us are suffering, and that it has occurring now rather than when we’re all at home with our families for the tsunami. So much everyone else has said, though I’ve not heard the Christmas point before.
It seems to me though that there’s a reason that hasn’t really been suggested in the media; that is that the earthquake appears like just another bit of bad news in a place that always has that. It’s like when there’s a flood in Kashmir: it doesn’t seem like news to people. With the tsunami it was like yikes, bugger, hell, these people just had this big super mega smashey thing. With this it’s more: those people who always have crap happen to them…yep… it’s happened again. It seems to me that this one sounds to people like the same old, and so it doesn’t change anything for them.
It seems to me though that there’s a reason that hasn’t really been suggested in the media; that is that the earthquake appears like just another bit of bad news in a place that always has that. It’s like when there’s a flood in Kashmir: it doesn’t seem like news to people. With the tsunami it was like yikes, bugger, hell, these people just had this big super mega smashey thing. With this it’s more: those people who always have crap happen to them…yep… it’s happened again. It seems to me that this one sounds to people like the same old, and so it doesn’t change anything for them.
