Principia Discordia

Principia Discordia => Two vast and trunkless legs of stone => Topic started by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 03:22:19 PM

Title: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 03:22:19 PM
http://www.today.com/news/okla-school-survivor-teacher-threw-herself-over-us-saved-our-6C9996716

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

Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on May 21, 2013, 04:18:47 PM
Bawwww now I'm crying

I'm glad the news is covering more human awesomeness and less human evil.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Q. G. Pennyworth on May 21, 2013, 05:13:08 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 05:17:35 PM
Quote from: Queen Gogira Pennyworth, BSW on May 21, 2013, 05:13:08 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: trippinprincezz13 on May 21, 2013, 05:22:58 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 05:24:41 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Anna Mae Bollocks on May 21, 2013, 05:26:28 PM
Tough old bird. I like her.
http://news.sky.com/story/1093711/tornado-survivor-finds-dog-during-tv-interview
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Cain on May 21, 2013, 05:27:34 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 05:28:39 PM
Quote from: trippinprincezz13 on May 21, 2013, 05:22:58 PM
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.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 05:33:59 PM
What CNN sees:

(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/gss-130520-moore-6col/gss-130521-moore-tornado-jsw-1125a.grid-8x2.jpg)

What I see:

(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/gss-130520-moore-6col/gss-130521-moore-tornado-jsw-1127a.grid-8x2.jpg)
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Anna Mae Bollocks on May 21, 2013, 05:36:52 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 05:33:59 PM
What CNN sees:

(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/gss-130520-moore-6col/gss-130521-moore-tornado-jsw-1125a.grid-8x2.jpg)

What I see:

(http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/j/MSNBC/Components/Slideshows/_production/gss-130520-moore-6col/gss-130521-moore-tornado-jsw-1127a.grid-8x2.jpg)

Yeah. We're not so disconnected as CNN would have us think.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: P3nT4gR4m on May 21, 2013, 06:03:56 PM
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?
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 06:36:27 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on May 21, 2013, 06:03:56 PM
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".
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Anna Mae Bollocks on May 21, 2013, 06:45:48 PM
Quote from: Doktor Howl on May 21, 2013, 06:36:27 PM
Quote from: P3nT4gR4m on May 21, 2013, 06:03:56 PM
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...
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Cain on May 21, 2013, 06:48:42 PM
Exciting stuff on TV = more viewers = more expensive advertising slots.
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: The Johnny on May 21, 2013, 08:28:49 PM
morbid curiosity sells, people stopping to see a car crash with mangled bodies and all that
Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Left on May 21, 2013, 09:25:29 PM
Quote from: The Johnny on May 21, 2013, 08:28:49 PM
people stopping to see a car crash with mangled bodies and all that
I really hate that whole slowing down to look at wrecks crap....Come ON people, it's not like you haven't seen mangled cars before.
...If you need to stop and help, that's entirely different-I've got advanced first-aid training now, and I DO stop to make sure everyone's sucking oxygen.
But once the paramedics arrive I'm just cluttering shit up, and ought to get out of the way.

...When a tornado hit my neighborhood, I wasn't home.  I pulled up 5 minutes after, everyone was alive, they were looking at where the neighbor's trailer had been. ( Fortunately, he'd been at the bar, getting drunk)

Title: Re: Keeping Your Head, and Having the Right Priorities Amid Disaster
Post by: Mesozoic Mister Nigel on May 23, 2013, 02:39:42 AM
Quote from: stelz on May 21, 2013, 05:26:28 PM
Tough old bird. I like her.
http://news.sky.com/story/1093711/tornado-survivor-finds-dog-during-tv-interview

Well that made me bawl like a baby.