fenris:
i was five when the challenger exploded. i watched the whole thing, and for years after that, i was deathly frightened of anything that counted down, like our microwave…
Some in their teens with raging hormones can’t define their emotions so cynicism and laughter are the only feelings they can express. It doesn’t mean that they don’t appreciate the impact of the event; it means only that they are too immature to cope with it and express their feelings about it. They’ll feel it now, will feel it later and they’ll remember it forever.
dentarthurdent I’m not talking about the dark humor you expect to hear at times like this. I have a law enforcement background, and I myself have a “gallows humor”.
I know that sometimes the jokes are people’s way of dealing with the unbelieveability of what has occured, it’s a knee jerk reaction of sorts.
No what i’m talking about are those people who DON’T CARE about what’s happened, have said so, and find this tragedy as fodder for their tasteless jokes. There are a couple of people i’ve lost all respect for today because of this.
And what still gets me, and what I can’t understand, is the disconnect i’ve seen in some people who still think that, “Well, it didn’t happen here or to me, so I don’t care.” I know that in some people this is also a way that they are dealing with this, but I have seen more people today than I want to admit, even to myself, that really just don’t give a flying fuck that a thousand or more people are dead today, and are more pissed off that thier ATM machine is down, or their cell phone is taking a while to place a call.
It’s just almost too surreal to have the herioc efforts of all of the emergency personell doing their best out in NY and VA, and then have it counterpointed by these uncaring, unfeeling assholes.
I understand that sometimes, under horrendous stress, emergency personal use dark humor to buoy themselves against overwhelming emotions. THAT I understand… some of what has been posted… I really don’t understand.
I had no idea what was going on as I left my home this morning. I was shopping at Sam’s when I noticed everyone around the TV floor; curious, I went over. Right after I walked up the first tower collapsed: I knew I wasn’t watching a movie.
The man next to me turned and just fell toward me in tears. As I hugged him, someone hugged me from behind. We stood that way for a long time. The entire situation was absolutely stoning. I was acutely aware yet numb.
How anyone can take pleasure in this I don’t know. How anyone can find this funny I don’t know. But I do know this: Who ever did this or why they have hacked a head off the Hydra. And we have grown three more in its stead. Who ever did this awakened the very beast… and (to interject a bit more vernacular) they will rue the day. Indeed they will.
America is not the land of the apathetic. All across this nation people are mobilized to do everything, anything they can. Give blood, offer services. We are ready, willing and able to help here at home.
And even God almightily can’t help the worthless jackanapes that committed this cowardly act.
I’m one of the people that’s prone to making jokes and giggling in the face of catastrophe.
I don’t know how to cry…I just don’t show grief that way. Aside from getting jittery and having my hands shake, dark humor is one of the only coping mechanisms I have.
I’m sorry.
at least you admit you’re grieving.
Ashtar, I know where you’re coming from, and I can’t speak for anyone else, but people like you aren’t those i’m griping about.
So don’t apologize, there’s no need to. It doesn’t make you a uncaring person, and quite honestly, I have seen people just like you all over today, and I can see the sadness, and hurt that comes through inbetween the laughs. And I think that most people do. Don’t beat yourself up over it, and don’t let it bother you. My rant was directed to those people who just didnn’t give a rats ass, not to people like you, of which I am one.
Yes. I think most of us can tell the difference between nervous “gallows humor” borne from shock and horror, and plain old selfish apathy.
Don’t worry about it. We can tell the difference.
I was asleep at 8:45, at 9, and got waken up by my mother around ten.
When I got to the clock in front of Robinson around 11:45, there were probably 75-100 students gathered around some radios listening to coverage. There were probably more inside watching CNN (on both televisions) and in the bistro and the cinema.
My class was Film. We went over how the quiz would be and then left, because the professor recognized that nobody was really paying attention, and given our location some people who go to our school were possibly hurt or dead.
The only thing that really ticked me off was some students who wanted to watch cartoons rather than news coverage. I still cannot understand how a rerun (the people watching it had already seen it) takes precedence over coverage of something of this magnitude.
I’m still alternating between childlike giddiness at the explosion and utter shock/dismay/rage at whoever did this. Very strange transitions.
I haven’t seen anyone around here making jokes, but I remember some of the ones from the Challenger explosion. I was in elementary school at the time, and I suppose kids are even more prone to making stupid and insensetive jokes. I just count myself and J lucky that we decided to cut short our Canadian honeymoon. We were originally planning on coming home later this week, but if we stuck to that we might be stuck in Vancouver. Then again, maybe Vancouver is a safer place to be than near San Francisco… I still can’t get my mind around all this, even after seeing all the videotape on CNN.
None of my classes were cut short today, but the professors made it very clear that if you didn’t want to be there, you could leave. They even cancled quizzes. I stuck around, what would be the point of my leaving? My only personal concern was that my rats were sick and I needed to get them to the vet. Of course I was worried about New York and DC, but my skipping class could not change anything.
But there were people in these classes who decided to take a free day. When the profs would announce that anyong who was too messed up from the day’s events could leave they’d turn to their buddies and say, “Wanna go? I wanna go. This is dumb. Let’s go. I wanna watch cartoons…” As if nothing had happened. Like, Hey! The prof’s giving us a free day! Dumb shits.
I realize the importance of gallows humor, and how some people have to laugh in times of stress, or if they seem unconcerned because it’s happening so far away. If they continue to have a “so what?” attitude, suggest this to your classmates:
The events of yesterday and how our government reacts to them will likely have a pivotal effect on whether or not you guys get drafted when you turn 18.
This was EXACTLY my experience, too.
As the tragedy unfolded in the morning, most of us huddled around a tv. By 10:30 or so most of us had returned to our work stations.
I sat at my desk and stared at my radio and computer in disbelief while the events unfolded, in shock, near tears.
Many of the others in my office just went about their business. No one actually said it, but the attitude was like, “show’s over, back to work.”
It was very eerie. I couldn’t stand it. I left early as well.
When my mother first told me, I couldn’t get into the computer…so I just went back up to the library and read old magazines. Sometimes, I think, people have to keep busy, they have to keep their minds off of it…I didn’t have anyway of getting access, and I figured that the same morons would have the TV showing MTV or BET or VH1 or some other stupid videos…like they always do. So I just tried to stay calm. But my dad had WQED on in the car, they were playing NPR coverage…my sister when she got home, just wanted to watch old sitcoms, she had been watching all day.
I agree with some of this. No stupid jokes. No ditching class for no reason.
Yesterday, here, class was not cancelled. Technically, we were all supposed to attend, although teachers were not strictly enforcing attendance. So many people had to call home.
Some immature assfuck keyed a girl’s car on campus. Because her family had emigrated from Pakistan. And she is a Muslim. They keyed her car because of that, nevermind that she’s my friend. Nevermind that she’s from NYC, and has not gotten in touch with her family as of yet. Grow up, people.
Then the people who bitch because we have class. We’re in the middle of fucking Indiana and all you’re going to do is jack off watch TV anyway.
The Red Cross, who in this area is not organizing a blood drive. Or none near campus. Nothing until the 23rd. I’ll donate then, but it feels so fucking futile, get off your asses people and help.
Professors: do not expect great things from people in class today. I spent all last night up wondering about my friend who lives in New York, staying up in case he signed online, yes, I know, this wasn’t the best action, but I couldn’t help it, I was worried. I know others did the same. But bitching us out because we don’t understand Aristotle is not acceptable behavior for an adult. It’s pissy and childish.
All you jerks who decide to rip on people/generally make things worse during this time: fuck you.
My younger brother is 17 and he’s still in high school. He was pretty shaken up by the news of the day, and with good reason, of course. We were all shaken, but he doesn’t remember big events like Challenger and the Gulf War. This is the first HUGE thing he’s really known.
He told me that, during PE class yesterday, he heard some kids laughing and saying:
“I hope someone blows up even more buildings. Maybe we’ll have the day off school then.”
He said that he had his fist drawn back to strike before he realized that he’d be expelled when it was over and the kid would still be an idiot.
I respect my little brother a lot; he’s been through a lot in the past six months with his bipolar syndrome and his other problems. I would have still respected him had he beat the hell out of that kid, but I respect him more because he didn’t.
Now is not the time to be fighting ignorance with our fists, but we still have to take every opportunity to to fight it with our words and peaceful actions. Cracking jokes in general is fine. My friends and I did it ourselves yesterday. It is unacceptable, however, to laugh at the situation and take it so lightly. This is serious business, and everyone needs to realize that.
Not to excuse jerks who don’t give a damn about anyone but themselves but…
I have often not been as moved to immobility as many of the people around me.
When the kids were killed in Columbine, my roommate and his girlfriend were glued to the TV the entire day. They recorded the bits when they had to leave, so they could watch that portion of the coverage later. I had no interest in watching the news. I heard what had happened; I knew that some kids opened fire in a public school, and more than 5 and less than 50 people had died.
Yes I felt bad. No, it didn’t particularly affect my day. A friend of mine wanted to know “what was wrong” with me, that I didn’t care to follow the story. It was too bad that it happened, I felt bad for the people involved, but it was just one of those “things that happen, hopefully it doesn’t happen to me.”
Which doesn’t mean that I cracked bad jokes about shooting high schoolers in company that would mind it.
This event is the first in my “adult” life that has really upset me. Yes, I was at work yesterday, but I didn’t accomplish much. My hands were shaking, I couldn’t focus much on my work, and I spent the whole day using the SDMB as my primary source of info about the tradgedy. It is horrendous, but I understand if someone’s worldview doesn’t make this event all that unique. Someone might think, “hey, bad stuff happens, what’s new?” which is generally my attitude towards “tragic” stories that come through the news.
For me, this much loss of life goes far above and beyond what constitutes “typical”. Maybe others don’t feel that way. I can understand that. It certainly doesn’t give them liscense to not pay attention to the feelings of their coworkers/families and expose themselves as the ignorant asses they are (as the folks in Fenris’s well written post showed themselves to be). It does mean that if they would rather work and go about whatever they do during the day than be glued to a TV hours after the actual “events” stopped happening, then more power to them.
IMHO, The Red Cross in your area may be ill-equipped to handle the large influx of people that would be bould to show up, not enough supplies on order, etc. They probably have sent people to help (The Red Cross does more than collect blood, you know), and had their supplies sent to NYC where they could do the most good.
Here’s one for ya: A bomb threat was called in to one of the area high schools today. I am fucking speechless.
There was a supposed bomb threat at my high school, but according to the principal it was just a rumor.
Thank you, Grimace, for clarifying to whom my rant was directed. I, too, had a few jokes come to mind. However, I told no one because I knew it would be distasteful. Also, the people I wrote about in the OP seemed to show no concern for yesterday’s events. That is what makes me sick - the apparent indifference that lets them feel that they can make inappropriate jokes.