Natural Disasters Bring Out the Best and Worst in People. Do You Agree?
Hundreds are dead after the worst earthquake in generations struck off the northeast coast of Japan on 11th March, setting off a devastating tsunami that swallowed swaths of coastal territory and fanned out across the Pacific Ocean, threatening everything in its path. The 8.9-magnitude earthquake -- the fifth-largest in the world since 1900 and the biggest in Japan in 140 years -- struck at 2:46 p.m. local time, shaking buildings violently in Tokyo for several minutes and sending millions fleeing for higher ground.
The media keep disaster in the forefront of our minds. TV, radio and the front pages of the press seem to revel in disaster because the public have a morbid curiosity in it, provided that it happens to other people. Disaster boosts TV ratings and sells newspapers.
As we absorb the news of a famine, an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami, sometimes we tend to put ourselves in the position of the victims and wonder how we would react. In such situations, most people act instinctively, and what they do is more spontaneous than calculated. That spontaneity is usually the subconscious reflection of character, and because life for most of us is lived on an even keel, how we behave in emergency is largely unpredictable, unless we have been previously conditioned to react in certain ways.
The recent earthquake in Myanmar gave me a vivid example of two contrasting reactions to the same event. The house of a man received a direct hit from the earthquake which killed one of the daughters of the family. The father was a sincere Christian. He fell on his knees and prayed for the souls of the victims. The following day, what remained of his possessions lying round the shattered house were looted. This showed two very different reactions to disaster. Looting often follows the breakdown of law and order. It is never justifiable, but it may be less reprehensible in some circumstances than others. Some would disagree, but they are those who have never seen a disaster
The media keep disaster in the forefront of our minds. TV, radio and the front pages of the press seem to revel in disaster because the public have a morbid curiosity in it, provided that it happens to other people. Disaster boosts TV ratings and sells newspapers.
As we absorb the news of a famine, an earthquake, a hurricane, a tsunami, sometimes we tend to put ourselves in the position of the victims and wonder how we would react. In such situations, most people act instinctively, and what they do is more spontaneous than calculated. That spontaneity is usually the subconscious reflection of character, and because life for most of us is lived on an even keel, how we behave in emergency is largely unpredictable, unless we have been previously conditioned to react in certain ways.
The recent earthquake in Myanmar gave me a vivid example of two contrasting reactions to the same event. The house of a man received a direct hit from the earthquake which killed one of the daughters of the family. The father was a sincere Christian. He fell on his knees and prayed for the souls of the victims. The following day, what remained of his possessions lying round the shattered house were looted. This showed two very different reactions to disaster. Looting often follows the breakdown of law and order. It is never justifiable, but it may be less reprehensible in some circumstances than others. Some would disagree, but they are those who have never seen a disaster