Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster

[Doktor Howl]

http://www.today.com/news/okla-school-survivor-teacher-threw-herself-over-us-saved-our-6C9996716

"Everyone around lost everything, but we have our kids."

[Mesozoic Mister Nigel]

Bawwww now I'm crying

I'm glad the news is covering more human awesomeness and less human evil.

[Q. G. Pennyworth]

CNN just showed a solid two minutes of parents crying while picking their kids up from what was left from their schools.

I need to schedule another blood donation soon.

[Doktor Howl]

CNN just showed a solid two minutes of parents crying while picking their kids up from what was left from their schools.

I need to schedule another blood donation soon.

CNN is the Terror Channel.  They will only show the worst aspects of any event, with little or no coverage of any heroism displayed during any given crisis.  They market fear, as can be demonstrated by their "investigative journalism" hackery ("Think it's safe to tie your shoes in the morning?  Don't miss our special report, 'Death by the Front Door', at 6 o'clock!").

Watching CNN is sort of like watching the more tragic pieces of Schindler's List on infinite repeat.

[trippinprincezz13]

Definitely brought tears to my eyes. It is stuff like this that help remind me that not everyone is terrible (which I know is an exaggeration, but still) - concern about others beyond your own life. And while I can imagine that losing a home and everything in it is horribly devastating, so I don't blame the people that do lament it, but ultimately things can be replaced, but lives cannot.

[Doktor Howl]

I mean, you can look at the devastation and crying victims.  This won't help anything.

Or you can look at people like Rhonda Crosswhite, and all the other people who stepped up.  This might make you a slightly better person, even if you were a good person to begin with.

Or hell, you could even go donate blood, which won't help much in this case, but will help keep the country prepared for similar events.

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

Tough old bird. I like her.
http://news.sky.com/story/1093711/tornado-survivor-finds-dog-during-tv-interview

[Cain]

Psh, children are easily replaced.  9 months and you'll have a whole new batch.

Buildings, however, can take years to be repaired and rebuilt.

[Doktor Howl]

Definitely brought tears to my eyes. It is stuff like this that help remind me that not everyone is terrible (which I know is an exaggeration, but still) - concern about others beyond your own life. And while I can imagine that losing a home and everything in it is horribly devastating, so I don't blame the people that do lament it, but ultimately things can be replaced, but lives cannot.

Exactly and precisely this, as was stated by the man in the article.  His house is wrecked, his TOWN is wrecked...But his children are alive.  This Thing has passed over him.

Yes, there is a lot of damage.  Yes, many irreplaceable things have been lost (family pictures, heirlooms, Great-Grand-Daddy's ashes off the mantlepiece, etc...But things are things, and no thing can replace a person.  And when that person is your kid, you gain a unique perspective.  We had a close call with my daughter when she was a year old.  It changes the way you think.

[Doktor Howl]

What CNN sees:



What I see:

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

What CNN sees:



What I see:

Yeah. We're not so disconnected as CNN would have us think.

[P3nT4gR4m]

I've never been too clear on the reasons but I have it on several reliable authorities that fear motivates consumers to spend.

So CNN's job would be to scare the living shit out their viewers on behalf of their advertisers?

[Doktor Howl]

I've never been too clear on the reasons but I have it on several reliable authorities that fear motivates consumers to spend.

So CNN's job would be to scare the living shit out their viewers on behalf of their advertisers?

Possibly.  There is also a fairly large segment of the population who have accepted that "not being afraid of something" equals "a lack of patriotic vigilance".

[Anna Mae Bollocks]

I've never been too clear on the reasons but I have it on several reliable authorities that fear motivates consumers to spend.

So CNN's job would be to scare the living shit out their viewers on behalf of their advertisers?

Possibly.  There is also a fairly large segment of the population who have accepted that "not being afraid of something" equals "a lack of patriotic vigilance".

And the fact that people who are Scared Of Stuff*^(TM) tend to stay in and WATCH MORE TEEVEE.

*Moozlums, death panels, terrarists, smudgie peoples, hommaseckshuls, libruls, end tiems...

[Cain]

Exciting stuff on TV = more viewers = more expensive advertising slots.