Relief for Japanese Earthquake victims — Page 2

I'm sure they do it's just that very rarely (such as in New Orleans) does it meet the conditions to get an airing.

It is inevitable that eventually California will get another very big earthquake at some point in the future and I am sure Americans will demonstrate dignity when that happens.

When the emergency systems fail it is perfectly fine to point a finger.

I'd say it's the duty of people who have suffered a tragedy like this one to find out if anything lessons can be learned to reduce the impact of similar events on future generations.

Bingowings said:

It is inevitable that eventually California will get another very big earthquake at some point in the future and I am sure Americans will demonstrate dignity when that happens.

Actually, it is extremely lame, but Americans tend to do a lot of looting in disaster situations. It is part if the American dream.

I'd have a hard time seeing modern Americans maintain dignity in face of a disaster. Life is too easy here. Gas goes up a few pennies and we throw fits about it.

CP3S said:

Bingowings said:

It is inevitable that eventually California will get another very big earthquake at some point in the future and I am sure Americans will demonstrate dignity when that happens.

Actually, it is extremely lame, but Americans tend to do a lot of looting in disaster situations. It is part if the American dream.

I'd have a hard time seeing modern Americans maintain dignity in face of a disaster. Life is too easy here. Gas goes up a few pennies and we throw fits about it.

The bulk of Americans would probably act much the same way as the Japanese.

In situations such as this there is always a criminal element ready to exploit the situation and often it's largely not picked over with morbid fascination because different cultures and different situations create a different sense of propriety in the media.

The Blitz is seen by many as tribulation faced by the British with pluck and dignity but crime did go on, most people aware of it condemned it and the media was concerned with other things.

There may well be some Japanese people exploiting this tragedy but they will be small in number and the sheer scale of the situation is more than enough to keep the media busy.

People are probably depressed enough not to have the actions of a few crooks inflated and added to their collective national trauma.

Bingowings said:

The bulk of Americans would probably act much the same way as the Japanese.

 

Hmmm, wish I'd been hanging around the same Americans you have. 

The things Gilbert Gottfried said were in bad taste.  I don't think choosing what you do with your money fits that category.

Nerds are more likely to be exposed to aspects of Japanese culture than other people.

Computer games, anime, manga, Japanese cinema (including the influence on a certain space opera series close to our hearts), even Japanese television and music have nerd appeal in the West.

So perhaps some sort of Nerd Aid would (though bordering on questionable taste) would raise a lot of money.

It would be a way of putting back into a culture that has given us so much joy while helping it during a time of terrible tragedy.

It's a shame that many of the creative activities engaged in here can not make money even for charity.

xhonzi said:

FanFiltration said:

Is it in bad taste to invest extra funds I may have by buying stock in the Japanese stock market? The market is low now, and I felt that buy buying now I am helping boost confidence in the rebuilding effort to come. I have already made a donation to Red Cross. 

If everyone starts buying those stocks, then the price will go up and therefore the Japanese way of life will get back to normal faster.

It's probably as effective a use of your money as any charity you could find, in my opinion.

100% agree with Xhonzi here.

Sluggo said:

The things Gilbert Gottfried said were in bad taste.

What did he say?

He made some jokes about the whole situation over there.

While often it's unpalatable making jokes about awful events is a natural response to the scale of horror of events like these.

For some people it makes the unimaginable easier to process.

There is a difference between people making thoughtless or misplaced jokes and professional commentators using such events to make bizarre claims.

Either way sacking such people isn't a free speech issue it's purely a personnel management issue.

Not employing Fred Phelps is not the same thing as politically silencing Fred Phelps.