As lightning splits the night sky, and springtime tornados, thunderstorms, hail storms, wildfires, floods and other disasters descend upon us, we're fortunate here in the Great Orange Biosphere to have some great diarists who provide timely warnings, informative explanations, and constructive suggestions for staying safe. Their diaries attract concerned Kossacks from within and beyond the affected area who add local observations, links, photos, suggestions, expressions of empathy, prayers, and positive energy.
These "danger diaries" provide a glimpse into what's best about this place, and how our collective observations, intelligence, compassion, insight, and sense of community can save and transform lives.
Most of the commentary is constructive, but some folks just can't resist the chance to point out that residents of the affected state or community brought this upon themselves or somehow deserved their fate because of their voting patterns, culture, religion, or their [perceived] stereotypical attitudes. There's also a disturbing element of classism, with reminders that the affected residents lived in a trailer park so, you know... they had it coming to them.
Even if the only offense committed by these unfortunate victims is Living In A Red State, they're fair game for some commenters here. If their Idiot Red State Governor has been known to reject aid from the Federal government even in times of apocalyptic destruction, those folks will just have to claw their way out of the rubble of their homes and lives and rely on each other, their church, or their community. They didn't want to pay into the "system"? F*ck 'em. They're takers! We don't owe them anything.
It's not our fault if God, karma, or some other Force of the Universe sent a natural disaster to punish these folks. Sh*t happens, and when it does, some cannot resist the chance to pile on and revel smugly in the schadenfreude from the comfort of distance from peril and the security of on-line anonymity.
It's starting already. You don't need to go to "hidden comments" to find these gems. As you can see, they've all gotten several "recommends" from fellow Kossacks:
Tornadoes ravaging Texas? Check. Loss of life occurring even as this is posted? Check. Bigotry still going strong? Check:
can FEMA include Condoms, Plan B and (4+ / 0-)
the Story of Darwin in the aid packages?
Speaking of FEMA (this was just after the carnage in Moore Oklahoma):
Hope they don't need FEMA, right Inhofe? nt (2+ / 0-)
Another day of deadly tornadoes across much of the Central US? Hey, at least it's "contained" far from your neck of the woods. It's all good:
Glad that everything seems to be contained (5+ / 0-)
south and west of where I am in Central New Hampshire.
Tornadoes were forecast in your area and they didn't materialize? Geez, what a bummer! Maybe this time you can see some awesome destruction and loss of [someone else's] life:
i was promised a big storm with the possiblity of (2+ / 0-)
tornadoes for the last few days.. instead it missed us. I love giant storms and today was disappointing for me.
Second day in a row of tornadoes affecting those Red States again? It's got to be the fact the "these people" are electing wrong-headed representatives.
Hope Kansas gets some rain, they need it (5+ / 0-)
I also hope everyone and their property survives.
That being said. Maybe these people should STOP electing climate change deniers as their representatives. They are adding to their own misery.
Follow along below the looming storm cloud for The Rest Of The Story...
Every disaster affects real people. Someone's' grandparent, spouse, child, friend, neighbor, co-worker, business associate, customer, fellow parishioner, babysitter, Little League coach, grocery store clerk, doctor, patient, fishing buddy, waitress, or teacher. Someone whose only "mistake" was being in the path of the tornado, the wildfire, the flood, or the lightning strike.
For those of you unmoved by the thought of human suffering, perhaps the thought of pets or livestock or wildlife being killed or maimed in a storm or fire will touch some sympathetic place in your heart. Since animals don't vote or tune the TV to Fox or profess some religious belief that's unpalatable to you, they should be spared the divine wrath that their owners have coming to them, don't you think? Now: pretend that the animals can extend their immunity to the families, farmers, forest rangers, and veterinarians who look after them.
Nature, while ostensibly fickle by some accounts, doesn't pick and chose her targets on the basis of demographics, politics, or religion. A deadly tornado won't suddenly halt at the Red state-Blue state boundary. The wildfire won't suddenly burn itself out at the edge of your upscale Blue enclave. The flooding river won't carve out a new channel just to avoid the town where Your People live.
When disaster strikes, the innocent child and the creepy pedophile may be at equal risk. The carnage includes the beloved school teacher, the philandering politician, the hospice volunteer, the drug dealer, the brilliant researcher on the verge of a breakthrough, and the corporate raider planning to shut down the town's only manufacturing plant.
Perhaps you imagine that you’re immune because of where you live; that you and everyone you care about is safely situated out of harm’s way. Everyone in your family, your community, or your demographic votes the right way, worships the right deity, supports the right ideals. They don’t make the fatal rookie mistake of living in a Red State.. or on a floodplain... or in the Great Plains... or in the South... or near a river, a fault line, or a forest. Maybe you’re convinced that you’re so vitally important to the continued spinning of the planet that You Must Be Spared.
Even if you believe any of that, though, ask yourself: isn't there anyone in your circle of acquaintances who might be in harm’s way? Your parents or in-laws? Your college buddies? Your Army buddies? Your kid (or your neighbor’s kid) away at college? Former co-workers? Your spouse’s friends? Fellow Kossacks you've "met" here in the Great Orange Biosphere?
Even people you don’t know personally warrant your concern: the folks on the assembly line building your new car or truck. The airline pilot who'll be conveying you to that important business meeting later this week. The pharmacist preparing your grandmother's prescriptions. We’d probably want these people alive and well and undistracted by personal calamity.
We’re all connected, and we’re all in the path of something: the blizzard, the tornado, the spring floods, the hurricane, the earthquake, the mudslide, the wildfires... We’re all in this together. When danger threatens, it's our humanity that matters, not our geography.
So, in the name of [insert deity or belief/non-belief system here], enough already. If you don’t feel any empathy for those affected by tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, hailstorms, droughts, or wildfires, or if you feel that they deserved the loss of life, injuries, property damage, business losses, and emotional trauma, please feel free to keep your gleeful musings to yourself, especially while we're still searching the wreckage for the missing.
For the rest of you: thank you for sharing your information, your observations, your suggestions, your prayers and positive thoughts for those in harm's way. When storm clouds loom, you offer safe harbor in the Great Orange Bunker. Your timely information and practical advice save lives, and your caring and compassionate thoughts comfort us when the familiar safety of home is torn away.