all this fundraising..... (1 Viewer)

[mark]

appearently around $30 billion has been raised for tsunami relife since it happened. pretty amazing. what is also pretty amazing is that about the same number of people die (around 150,000) every day on the african continant from starvation, AIDS, war and other preventable occurances. yet only $1.5 billion in aid has been given in the last year.

not an authority on this, i just read about it today and it made me think, becuase i've given quite a bit of cash to the tsunami relife effort, but nothing to any agencies that work in africa. i feel quite stupid and fickle about it now. nearly impossible to prevent the tsunami vs. continany ravaged by need in a era of surplus.

...sayin...

 

[nlgbbbblth]

blamket media coverage, westerners involvement etc

it all adds up

 

[Cormcolash]

appearently around $30 billion has been raised for tsunami relife since it happened. pretty amazing. what is also pretty amazing is that about the same number of people die (around 150,000) every day on the african continant from starvation, AIDS, war and other preventable occurances. yet only $1.5 billion in aid has been given in the last year.

not an authority on this, i just read about it today and it made me think, becuase i've given quite a bit of cash to the tsunami relife effort, but nothing to any agencies that work in africa. i feel quite stupid and fickle about it now. nearly impossible to prevent the tsunami vs. continany ravaged by need in a era of surplus.

...sayin...

Thank you very fucking much for putting what I have been thinking the entire time since the Tsunami occured into words. Every day the West fucks over the Third World in a million different ways, but a Tsunami happens? Quick, everybody to the planes, lets get all our aid out there right away, make it look like we care! Fuckin dicks. This is yet another media fuckin circus inspired by the thought of missing Westerners. Was there not a huge Earthquake in Turkey last year that went comparatively unnoticed yet killed almost as many if not more people? Okay, maybe it was the year before, I can't really remember clearly because it was no-where near as highly prioritised.
And everyday I go on a website, all I see is "Tsunami Aid - another gig". Fair enough people should help out however they can, but it really pisses me off that some people go so fuckin nuts because of this, yet are seemingly oblivious to the huge mounds of other shit that happens all the time. Remember the Kobe Earthquake? I don't remember hearing about fucking celebrity phone-a-thons and all that shit then. Fuck them. Because it didn't happen before doesn't mean it shouldn't happen now, certainly not, but I somehow can't see the world going crazy like this everytime hundreds of thousands of people die in far-away countries where Westerners aren't particularly involved. The death toll in Darfur it is reported could hit up to 300,000, where are all the telefons for that then? Where are all the fuckin bandwagon jumpers?
You see it's this whole attitude that has me almost not going to the local benefit gig on Sunday. I practically feel like a hypocrite for contributing to a movement that is essentially comparing disasters and ranking them as it sees fit. Of course it's fuckin terrible that this has happened, I am just continually amazed at how selective the press is with it's hot news items and at how people just like me buy right into what they see on TV without thinking about what they don't see. Does that make sense? I am just really pissed off. Maybe I am imagining it all, I actually hope so. I would welcome someone proving me wrong. At the end of the day, I'll still go to the gig on Sunday. I guess unless I kill myself, I can't help but be some part of the shit.

 

[moc]

Thank you very fucking much for putting what I have been thinking the entire time since the Tsunami occured into words. Every day the West fucks over the Third World in a million different ways, but a Tsunami happens? Quick, everybody to the planes, lets get all our aid out there right away, make it look like we care! Fuckin dicks. This is yet another media fuckin circus inspired by the thought of missing Westerners. Was there not a huge Earthquake in Turkey last year that went comparatively unnoticed yet killed almost as many if not more people?
And everyday I go on a website, all I see is "Tsunami Aid - another gig". Fair enough people should help out however they can, but it really pisses me off that some people go so fuckin nuts because of this, yet are seemingly oblivious to the huge mounds of other shit that happens all the time. Remember the Kobe Earthquake? I don't remember hearing about fucking celebrity phone-a-thons and all that shit then. Fuck them.
You see it's this whole attitude that has me almost not going to the local benefit gig on Sunday. Of course it's fuckin terrible that this has happened, I am just continually amazed at how selective the press is with it's hot news items and at how people just like me buy right into what they see on TV without thinking about what they don't see. Does that make sense? I am just really pissed off. Maybe I am imagining it all, I actually hope so.

yeah its not good that people are so selective, saying that... at least people are trying to help here. pity they dont try with other things too i suppose.

 

[avernus]

yeah, its all about focus really - if everyday on sky news they showed people dying and suffering etc. there would be more of a response..that or people wouldnt watch sky news. people can only seem to handle short bursts of charity and empathy...or so the tv networks believe.

who knows. its all horrendous though.

 

[Anthony]

I suppose when you hear of 4 and 5 year olds having their parents and siblngs (sp) killed it causes a reaction. Especially amoung parents. But yea, the relief agencies hae their work cut out for them now.

 

[LMD64]

i have to agree with both Cormcolash and avernus
i'd thought of the 1999 Turkey earthquake as well shortly after i'd heard of the tsunami, last i'd heard (which wasn't much) there'd been about 17,000 confirmed deaths? not sure, as it was barely covered.
both of them, the summer and the winter ones (just googled it), killed about 17,500 people. ok, so less than the tsunamni, but a huge toll for a single and not terribly well-off country to be able to take.
also, too much coverage has the unfortunate effect of numbing the senses, and can dull people's ability to empathise with tragedy.

anyway, not that i'm slating all the efforts being put in to rally together, i think it's amazing the effort that's being put it. just that probably less of an effort would have been made if there had been the same 'western interest' involved.

which (another tangent) is maybe a reason that Sky and the rest should actually be commended for their coverage, as by constantly reminding viewers about the number of britons killed/missing maybe they stirred up more people's sense of charity/desire to help? i dunno, don't like sky much, but just a thought.

urm, not very coherent, must have glossolia of the brain.

 

[Bag'o'cans]

about the same number of people die (around 150,000) every day on the african continant

thats about 55 million a year????????

 

[cassette/tape]

i was beginning to wonder when the backlash would begin and people would begin to ask questions of themselves.

its great that people are giving to help solve a crisis.
it's bad they they don't give enough to african problems.

but i think its simply this: money will help those affected in asia most. thats what they need now. money to rebulid infastructure, business, medical supplies.
simply sending money to africa wouldn't have the same affect, the problems there are more political and social (not to say there aren't economical problems, of course there are). bascially its the difference between a sudden crisis and and an ongoing situation.

 

[billygannon]

but i think its simply this: money will help those affected in asia most. thats what they need now. money to rebulid infastructure, business, medical supplies.
simply sending money to africa wouldn't have the same affect, the problems there are more political and social (not to say there aren't economical problems, of course there are). bascially its the difference between a sudden crisis and and an ongoing situation.

Best point made all day about this.

 

[sarah]

yup agree with Cassette/tape.
I think broken arm said something similar in another thread,
this is a crisis where people feel that the money they give can make
an actual difference.
Whereas with ongoing situations as those in africa it's hard to feel
that the charitable donations are making any sort of lasting impact.

 

[oh shit]

remember this?

i think stuff like this is like a big pressure valve for a vapid, selfish consumerist culture.

 

[Bag'o'cans]

If i may be very controversial for a minute....

Maybe people are tired of giving money to Africa, how many billion have gone down the toilet and where's the results? It's a bottomless blackhole of charity going into dictators and warlords pockets.
just sayin...

edit. didn't realise others had put it better.

 

[oh shit]

If i may be very controversial for a minute....

Maybe people are tired of giving money to Africa, how many billion have gone down the toilet and where's the results? It's a bottomless blackhole of charity going into dictators and warlords pockets.
just sayin...

edit. didn't realise others had put it better.

yeah and south east asia is a bastion for human rights and democracy.

let me be equally controversial and propose that people are too thick/disinterested to analyse the effect of aid to africa.
"sure you've gotta help the black babies"

tsunami relief is a purely cultural response, not academic

 

[LMD64]

If i may be very controversial for a minute....

Maybe people are tired of giving money to Africa, how many billion have gone down the toilet and where's the results? It's a bottomless blackhole of charity going into dictators and warlords pockets.
just sayin...

edit. didn't realise others had put it better.

i know what you mean, but i think a better way of putting it is that simply throwing money at the many problems in africa is a copout way at a quick fix solution. What is needed is to build the affected countries from the ground up, improving infrastructure and education to a level whereby they are capabable of sustaining themselves. corruption is a major problem, though...

 

[Pantone247]

I think the fact that happened in the middle of a deeply unpopular war for the US, and an election year in the UK, where Tony could really do with some nice humanitarian sound bites, has something to do with the massive PR the whole terrible episode got.


"hey everyone!! look over there!!"

 

[LMD64]

"shiny puppet! look at the shiny puppet! pay no attention to what my left hand is doing! keep looking at the shiny puppet!"

although, maybe that's just a smidgin bit overly cynical, p'raps.

 

[Bag'o'cans]

I think the fact that happened in the middle of a deeply unpopular war for the US, and an election year in the UK, where Tony could really do with some nice humanitarian sound bites, has something to do with the massive PR the whole terrible episode got.


"hey everyone!! look over there!!"

One conspiracy fool i know suggested america caused the tsunami!
I know what you mean though.

 

[Pantone247]

although, maybe that's just a smidgin bit overly cynical, p'raps.

ah now, I'm not saying that New Labours Press Office caused the tidal wave to give him something to be saintly about, I'm just saying they were probably high fiving the shit out of each other when it hit.

 

[LMD64]

ah now, I'm not saying that New Labours Press Office caused the tidal wave to give him something to be saintly about, I'm just saying they were probably high fiving the shit out of each other when it hit.

or wiping the sweat from each others brows, and ducking down behind the sofa while everyones attention is elsewhere.