Why is it that when a tragedy occurs that affects an entire nation like 9/11 or Hurricane Katrina, it doesn't really seem to bother people away from that area? For example, people here in Michigan don't really care about Katrina because it doesn't affect them directly. But yet they get furious when fuel prices go up. Can someone elaborate a little more on this?
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Name : Paul, Gender : M, City : Caro, State : MI Country : United States, First of all, how many people have you talked to about this? Ten or twenty? Less or more? Surely there is SOMEONE in Michigan who gives a crap! Don't get so discouraged over the thoughtlessness of a few. That being said, human beings are naturally self-centered creatures. It's just in our natures; it's how we've managed to survive so long. Constantly thinking of ways to improve our living situation leads to invention, which leads to progress. It's perfectly natural to think, upon hearing of a massive tragedy, 'Whew, sooo glad that didn't happen to ME!' This doesn't mean that you wish tragedy on the other party, just that you are wise enough to be glad when you've avoided misfortune. And it is this method of empathizing with the less fortunate that has led us to create organizations such as The Red Cross and the Salvation Army. Human nature...it's a funny thing.
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Name : Rina, Gender : F, Age : 32, City : Palm Beach, State : FL Country : United States, Education level : High School Diploma, Social class : Lower middle class, There are probably a lot of factors involved, including NIMBY (not in MY back yard) syndrome; a belief that the people who were affected somehow deserved it; a belief that caring about it would somehow call down bad luck on them; compassion fatigue; and a healthy dose of good old fashioned Midwest selfishness and insularity. For others, sheer unmitigated disgust at the behavior of so many of the people in New Orleans, (up to and including the Mayor), has made them rather cynical about donating anything, given there's no guarantee their money will go to Biloxi or one of the other affected locations, rather than New Orleans.
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Name : Ann L. Lowenstein, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Animist, Age : 37, City : K.C., State : MO Country : United States, Occupation : Administrative Assistant, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, This may seem trite, but I think it's just human nature. It's hard to see how people that you don't know dying 1,000 miles away affects you (John Dunne notwithstanding), but something that happens nationwide, such as rising gas prices, by definition affects you. Also, the scale of the event has something to do with it. There's an element of truth to the quote, attributed to Stalin, that goes something like this: One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.
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Name : Daniel, City : Manitou Springs, State : CO Country : United States, Hey! I cared about the effects of Katrina, not just to me but to the people there. It didn't really have much of an effect on me since I'm like, 13. I was saving my money up all year for the Salvation Army and instead gave it to the Red Cross.
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Name : Jackie, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Buddhist, Age : 13, City : des moines, State : IA Country : United States, Occupation : student, Education level : Less than High School Diploma, Social class : Middle class, You're surprised that people are less concerned with issues that do not directly affect them than they are by ones that do? When you get a flat tire are you more concerned with that than you are with the war in Iraq? Of course. What do you expect?
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Name : Rick19479, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Atheist, City : Springfield, State : OH Country : United States, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, How can you, a fellow Michigander, say this? I know Caro is not exactly the boonies so you should have some idea what is going on. Just the Detroit area alone has raised several million dollars to send to help. I have three friends who have gone to help restore power. I know several others who have offered and were denied. I don't think there were very many Michiganders who didn't care. But as with all things the American public forgets very quickly and as soon as there is a new subject on the news the old one is gone.
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Name : jim, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Age : 24, City : port huron, State : MI Country : United States, I think most people react more strongly to a minor problem that affects them directly than a huge problem that is far away. Another factor may be that so much of the Katrina fiasco was self-inflicted. People failed to evacuate and should never have been living below sea level in the first place. Fortunately, not everyone is as mean as I am. My neighbor donated a week of his time and traveled from California to help clean up damaged houses in Mississippi.
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Name : Cal19581, Gender : M, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 46, City : Lakewood, State : CA Country : United States, Occupation : Engineer, Education level : Over 4 Years of College, Social class : Upper middle class, 
RPParticipant
Come on, Paul, you KNOW the answer. The majority of the displaced victims of Katrina are black and poor. This country has much contempt for black people and poverty. Had the majority of the victims been white and well off...hell, even white and poor...certain people would have felt a great deal more compassion and the outreach to, and support of the victims would have been much greater. I don't know if you ever read John Grisham's 'A Time To Kill' (or saw the movie) but do you remember the defense attorney's closing remarks to the jury? How he described in detail, the rape, torture and attempted murder of the 10-year-old black girl? And how, after he described the horrific act, his last words to the jury were, 'Now...imagine she was white...' Perhaps white America should imagine that all those black and brown men, women and children who lost what little they had, who lost their homes, and their loved ones, and who did not eat or drink for three days...were white.
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Name : RP, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Lutheran, Age : 43, City : Laurelton, State : NY Country : United States, Occupation : Account Representative, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, It's not about black or white but rather class. The poor victims from Katrina lack self respect, any type of work ethic, and are basically leaches on society. Here in Atlanta, after months of living in taxpayer subsidisized housing - they have refused to get jobs (many are available), wont open the door to their free hotel room (for fear of being throw out), and have generally been worthless. Who cares about people like that?
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Name : Craig19596, City : Fayetteville, State : GA Country : United States, The reason is because it is not their concern. It is not them that is homeless or out of food. People have come up with so many excuses that it is sad. America love to help other countries, what happen to taking care of home first? Has anyone in the white house thought of that? Their solution to everything is money or war.
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Name : Kimberli Watkins, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Jehovahs Witness, Age : 21, City : Greenville, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : Student, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, As Cal said, 'the Katrina fiasco was self-inflicted.' These ppl had been flooded out in the past and yet they continue to build below sea level. I don't feel sorry for them. Nor do I feel sorry for the idiots in Calif that cry because an earthquake destroyed their houses, etc. An earthquake in California? What are the chances? I must also mention the ppl who build their houses on stilts on a hill in Calif, and then when it rains their house slides away. Is there no limit to human stupidity?
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Name : Dwanny, Gender : F, Race : White/Caucasian, Religion : Pagan, Age : 53, City : Springtown, State : TX Country : United States, People Do Care !! But remeber, the question for all not directly affected by any disaster natural or man-made is 'What specifically can I do about this when I still have to run my everday life ?' (still have to go to work, pay bills, feed kids, etc.) and the feeling that 'I alone can't solve this.' So because of this it appears to some that American's don't care (when we do.) Americans are the most benevalent people in the world and on a per-capita basis we give more time and money to charity tah any othre people in the world. Who feed, clothes, medicates and acts as police for the rest of humanity , Us !! Problems in New Orleans are much larger that any one iduvidual, President of USA included, to solve with 'two shakes' Issues with poverty in New Orleans have roots that were there LONG BEFORE Katrina. The botched relief efforts and desire by an out-of-control Bush-hating liberal media put a spotlight on problems that most people did know about. I am a voluntier for Habitat for Humanity. I'll see ya in August '06 to rebuild a house down there
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Name : C19758, City : Pontiac, State : MI Country : United States, People are not whole hearted by things unseen. For example, when you go to a funeral your normal reaction is to grieve over someone whom you were close to. However, if you were to attend the funeral of a stranger or family member you never met, most likely you will not cry because nothing has been torn from your heart. I was a victim of Katrina and it hurt to see the world still living life as if nothing happened to us. Who am I to judge because after ohter natural disaster I still attend school and enjoy my family. I do believe most Americans do show their concern by making donations, setting up prayer or volunteering for recovery for the area.
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Name : Inez28880, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Christian, Age : 24, City : Greenville, State : MS Country : United States, Occupation : Student/Homemaker, Education level : 2 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, We are grateful for the people that came here, helped and kept us in your prayers, Thank You. People have a tendency to care about what directly affects them. Tensions in the Middle East involving oil has been going on for years, but many don't care until they see that dependence on foreign oil comes with a price. When tragedy strikes, it give people more of a reason to treasure what they have and to unite for the common good. You saw that after both disasters. The reason that many do not leave after a disaster is bad things do happen and it maybe caused by terrorists or mother nature. This is home.
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Name : Jesse, Gender : F, Sexual Orientation : Straight, Race : Black/African American, Religion : Agnostic, Age : 25, City : New Orleans, State : LA Country : United States, Education level : 4 Years of College, Social class : Middle class, 
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