If you pick up the newspaper, or watch the news, or even just keep your eyes open, you become aware of tragedies in the world, either large or small, and the injustices. There are famines in Africa, in Burma, people fighting for democracy are imprisoned and tortured, in Columbine High School, two students kill a number of their classmates and then themselves. And, of course, what I’ve listed is just scraping the surface. There’s a lot more.
And, for the most part, people seem to be bothered by these things. They give to charities to help the less fortunate, they join groups like Amnesty International to try to pressure the governments of the world to respect civil rights, etc.
I don’t get it. None of these things…the famine, the restriction of civil rights, the school shooting, affect me or anyone I know, and they’re not likely to. I recognize they’re bad, intellectually, but that’s it.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that I don’t care about other people, and never have. I mean, I care about my family and friends, but I just don’t feel any empathy for strangers. Is this unusual? Do the rest of you who seem to care really care?
I’m a lot like that, but I keep trying to convince myself I’m not. Whenever there’s a big tragedy I force myself to feel sad, but actually stuff like world hunger and even 9-11 didn’t really impact me personally at all. I know they’re terrible things and I’m being selfish, but it’s hard to genuinely feel sad about it if I’m not affected by it.
I could give a flying fig about the violence in Israel/Palestine. I’ve heard/seen/read about it EVERY SINGLE F*CKING DAY since I can remember. They obviously can’t/won’t get along, ever. It’s not news, it’s never going to change, and I’d just as soon they all kill each other so I don’t have to hear/see/read about it anymore.
When I care, that’s why I care. When I see people protesting against free trade, or supporting farm subsidies, I get very upset because of intellectual reasons. People are being hurt just so that selfish Americans can continue to shoot ourselves in the foot with bad economic policy. That pisses me off. I don’t really care about the victims, however. If a super-plague struck, I would be glued to the television simply because it would be so interesting to watch unfold, but I wouldn’t really give a hoot about the people dying.
I didn’t used to care. I’d read about a child being abused and the outrage in the community and wonder why people got all worked up about these things that seem inevitable.
But now I’m one of these people who cries at a story of people getting hurt or washed away in a flood. I feel terrible if I read about children going hungry or being harmed.
It started when I had kids of my own. Mybe it was hormones of pregnancy. But mostly I imagine my own sweet kids being in that situation and I can’t stand the thought.
The only way I can bear it is to convince myself that those children who were abused or accidentally hurt were somehow different than my kids. Not as loving, trusting, or innocent.
I care to the point where it can make my physically sick, and send me into a total misanthropic funk. It makes me hate the whole of the human race and not want to be a part of it, mainly because I know that I can’t do a damned thing about it, and even if I were to give my whole life to trying to right one of the immense number of wrongs, it wouldn’t make a difference, cos the majority of people don’t give a shit, and will only find new, better ways to fuck things up. Then I get into a deeper funk cos I don’t give up my life to make a difference anyhow if it bothers me that much, and also cos I know I will be “over” my latest funk and back to normal playing video games and eating ice-cream in a week and all those people/plants/animals will still be being destroyed.
Gah… you see why I try to avoid the news? Yes, I care.
I don’t care a whole lot. I think about some of the tragedys and can empathize with the victims somewhat, but for the most part I just move on and take care of my own shit.
The thread in the pit about the evils of WalMart and how they may/may not use Chinese “slave” labor- - know what? I don’t give a shit. WalMart has stuff I need, cheap. I could drive farther and spend more and it won’t help the condition of the peasants of the world one bit.
So, yeah, basicly I’m a self-centered asshole who doesn’t care about others, but I’m doing the best I can to just keep myself and my family comfortable. So sue me.
How is Rap like Porn? Both are better with the sound turned off.
I wonder about the authenticity of news stories made more shocking to win ratings and to make them more news worthy. But I do care.
Though I find myself more caring the closer it is to home. Child abuse makes me sick, innocent people being wronged in my own country etc.
Maybe it’s the way we were brought up? “bad” people deserve what’s coming to them, like all the kids movies and books depict and nice people always win (or get revenge) in the end. That kind of teaching stays with us maybe?
I feel genuine sorrow for these people, but it doesn’t affect my everyday life.
I care. It’s an inner struggle to come to terms with HOW some people can be capable of atrocities big and small, and WHAT allows them to sleep at night.
I’m a big believer in public service and have in fact done the best work of my life in the service of others.
I care. I care a lot. I have been trying to match it with actions, although I know I could do a lot better. I’ve been to this protest and I try to keep up with what’s going on with the battle for human rights. I mean, it’s pure luck that I’m where I am, with the rights I am given and the opportunities I have. Unfortunately, there are people not as lucky as us.
9/11. I know it was bad, obviously. But I’ve never been to New York, I know absolutely no one that was killed, and for my part I didn’t feel any less safe in this country than I ever had before. I just didn’t care. And I still don’t. I know full well how horrible a thing it is on an intellectual level, but it stirs not one iota of emotion in me.
However, and it’s strange, there are other stories that I really end up caring about. Reading about things like the god awful stuff that happens in Africa, or instances of kidnap, rape, or torture really do disturb me a great deal. Stories like that are what have me thanking my lucky stars that I’m as privileged as I am.
I think it might have something to do with how personal the stories get, because I can get all riled up over a rape case (not to trivialize that at all), but my reaction to something like the Oklahoma City bombing is “oh.” It helps that I have absolutely no problem at all believing the extent to which humans can be evil. If it’s horrible, someone’ll make it happen somehow.
I care, too. And like autz, I have an especially soft spot for kids.
I was watching “Bowling for Columbine” two nights ago for the first time-- wasn’t that crazy about it overall, but the part where he goes to Flint and does the segment about the 6-year-old girl who got shot by a classmate made me bawl like a baby. I’m glad I was watching it alone.
Working in a hospital for six years, and seeing the sick kids-- I mean really sick-- that always broke my heart.
And my mom and I used to work at soup kitchens on Thanksgiving, and seeing these single moms come through with their little ones broke my heart too.
Just reading about kids being sexually abused, or some stupid mom leaving her kids in the car on a hot day to die, makes me physically ill.
And I don’t even have kids. So I don’t know what my deal is.
That may have been true four years ago, but the odds are very very high that you know someone who was affected by Columbine, or whatever:) In fact, in the case of Columbine that percent is 100%.
I find it difficult to sympathize in more than a general “that’s too bad” way with some of the more random news (“man trampled in Nairobe flat by rhinoceros” just doesn’t mean a lot to me), but what grabs my attention with non-essential news like that is the bizarrity of the situation … the more random and bizarre the event, the more my interest is piqued, and sometimes the more deeply I feel about it. But in general my feelings are moved a lot more by those situations with which I can associate myself or friends.
The people I know who were affected by the Columbine shooting are the very same people who would have ignored those kids and called them weird in High School.
Columbine should have woke the US up to the problems happening around us… sadly it didn’t. not one bit.
I care and I also believe that one person can make a difference in someone’s life. If you don’t like what you see on the local news get up and do something about it. Volunteer. Make donations. Become a Mentor. Become a Big Brother/Bis Sister. Help the Homeless. Change the law. There is so much a person can do it is amazing.
The only thing which truly touches me is cruelty to, and death/illness of, kids. What made me cry most about 9/11 was thinking about all those kids who had lost their mummys and daddys. An airplane crash will only make me cry if there are children involved. I feel murderous towards people who harm children.
Like autz, I date this back to the day I became a mother, and the dawning realisation that my precious, beloved child could have been born anywhere to anyone. From that day on I feel maternal love towards, and grief for, all children in the world … and all my charity efforts go in that direction.