# "The guy upstairs" looking out for Americans **URL:** \ **Category:** The BBQ Pit\ **Created:** [December 28, 2004, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851 "2004-12-28T01:16:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Alessan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/alessan/32/465_2.png) [@Alessan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Alessan)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 11:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/21 "2004-12-28T11:58:03Z")
While I agre with most of what the OP has to say, I have to wonder why she takes issue with the fact that people are asking whether it could happen “here”. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do after a disaster? Would you rather nations around the world _not_ check nuclear reactor safety after Chernobyl? Would you rather airports around the world _not_ check their security procedures after 9/11? There’s nothing wrong with asking “can it happen here?” - not when the alternative is saying “it can’t happen here”. There’s nothing disrepectful with learning from other peoples’ misfortunes, especially if it’ll help prevent them from recurring. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/22 "2004-12-28T13:11:08Z")
The examples cited in the OP have nothing to do with any “American” self-preoccupation. Religious folk anywhere are going to claim divine intervention in the event of their being spared from some disaster, and it will not matter to them if another disaster claims thousands in another part of the world - God, Allah or whomever is still looking out for _them_. The local angle is something news organizations always explore when reporting a big story. As **Alessan** points out, there is often relevance to situations elsewhere in the world. Is America (or Europe) prepared for a tsunami? Is there a warning system? Of course, obsession with the local angle can get a bit much. When I was a reporter, we called the sillier stories “news for parrots” after the Monty Python routine in which an entire newscast was done from the viewpoint of what was critically important for these birds. “No parrots died today on the M6 highway.” ---
**Author:** ![kittenblue](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/ba8739/32.png) [@kittenblue](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kittenblue)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/23 "2004-12-28T13:22:25Z")
> [@Alessan](#): > > While I agre with most of what the OP has to say, I have to wonder why she takes issue with the fact that people are asking whether it could happen “here”. Isn’t that what you’re supposed to do after a disaster? > > Would you rather nations around the world _not_ check nuclear reactor safety after Chernobyl? > > Would you rather airports around the world _not_ check their security procedures after 9/11? > > There’s nothing wrong with asking “can it happen here?” - not when the alternative is saying “it can’t happen here”. There’s nothing disrepectful with learning from other peoples’ misfortunes, especially if it’ll help prevent them from recurring. My objection is that it is too soon. The wave had barely receded, and we’re worried about ourselves. I feel it is disrespectful to the victims of the tragedy to turn the attention to ourselves so quickly. I wanted to hear news from the affected area, not a bunch of breathless stories about Hollywood scenarios. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/24 "2004-12-28T13:49:29Z")
I took the “can it happen here?” as a natural reaction to a disaster and not as an implication that it can’t happen here because “God is on our side.” Speaking of God, though, I would like to hear a **rational** explanation as to why a kind, loving God would permit (cause?) a disaster that left 24,000+ dead, thousands missing, and millions without homes. ---
**Author:** ![Eve](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Eve](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Eve)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/25 "2004-12-28T13:56:28Z")
> [@Lillith Fair](#): > > Remember when all those Marines were killed in Lebanon by a suicide truck-bomber? I was watching this story being reported on the local news. The newscaster (a woman) then said, “And even worse, Jessica Savitch was killed in a car accident!” OK, I’m sorry, but I just will not believe that without a cite. Even back in the early '80s, the newscaster would have been promptly fired for saying something like that. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 3:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/26 "2004-12-28T15:04:11Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Too many funerals for you this month, I think. What’s bugging me is how the media is now on this “Tsunami- Could it happen here?” kick, worrying about the east coast of the US as if nothing tragic is happening anywhere else. Yeah, it’s all about us. Stupid twits. I expect the Cleveland media to get on a “Tsunami—could it happen in Lake Erie?” kick any minute now. About the tsunami, there was a man who was quoted as saying God had saved him. All three of his children had died, though. ---
**Author:** ![5que](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/5/3bc359/32.png) [@5que](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/5que)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 3:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/27 "2004-12-28T15:29:54Z")
> [@kittenblue](#): > > Too many funerals for you this month, I think. What’s bugging me is how the media is now on this “Tsunami- Could it happen here?” kick, worrying about the east coast of the US as if nothing tragic is happening anywhere else. Yeah, it’s all about us. Stupid twits. I expect the Cleveland media to get on a “Tsunami—could it happen in Lake Erie?” kick any minute now. Well, the morning news in Chicago did tell us that the chances of a tsunami happening here were “remote.” Makes me feel better. Then again, we do have seiches in Lake Michigan – and they have killed people caught in the harbors… ---
**Author:** ![CarnalK](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnalk/32/486_2.png) [@CarnalK](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CarnalK)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/28 "2004-12-28T17:57:01Z")
> [@](#): > > _jjimm:_ > Interestingly, in the (absolutely amazing) mountaineering documentary Touching the Void, the injured climber says he survived precisely because of his lack of faith - the thought that he would simply cease to be if he died gave him the impetus to endure the most terrible hardships. Woot! That’s what you call “Positive Atheism” 🙂 “Labor is the only prayer that Nature answers; it is the only prayer that deserves an answer – good, honest, noble work.” ---
**Author:** ![yoyodyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/y/a9a28c/32.png) [@yoyodyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yoyodyne)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/29 "2004-12-28T17:57:41Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Speaking of God, though, I would like to hear a **rational** explanation as to why a kind, loving God would permit (cause?) a disaster that left 24,000+ dead, thousands missing, and millions without homes. Christmas vacation. ---
**Author:** ![LouisB](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/dfb087/32.png) [@LouisB](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LouisB)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/30 "2004-12-28T18:06:58Z")
> [@yoyodyne](#): > > Christmas vacation. Good as any; more rational than what I expected. ---
**Author:** ![Mollie\_Magill](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mollie_magill/32/20882_2.png) [@Mollie\_Magill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mollie_Magill)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 6:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/31 "2004-12-28T18:33:35Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Speaking of God, though, I would like to hear a **rational** explanation as to why a kind, loving God would permit (cause?) a disaster that left 24,000+ dead, thousands missing, and millions without homes. “Jesus! How many times do I have to tell you not to splash during your bath?” “But, Dad…” Sorry, but the image made me laugh. ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 8:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/32 "2004-12-28T20:34:45Z")
Slightly on a tangent, but did anyone else notice the front page on MSN today? It’s gone now, but there was a link earlier that said (paraphrasing) “20,000 killed in tsunami. Many kids among the dead.” 'Cause, you know, I had sort of assumed that when a wave the size of a mountain wipes a city off the face of the Earth, only the grown-ups would get hurt. ---
**Author:** ![Hustle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/df705f/32.png) [@Hustle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hustle)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/33 "2004-12-28T21:41:25Z")
> [@Miller](#): > > Slightly on a tangent, but did anyone else notice the front page on MSN today? It’s gone now, but there was a link earlier that said (paraphrasing) “20,000 killed in tsunami. Many kids among the dead.” > > 'Cause, you know, I had sort of assumed that when a wave the size of a mountain wipes a city off the face of the Earth, only the grown-ups would get hurt. Clumsy writing perhaps, but there are a disproportionally large amount of children among the dead. When the water receeded before the wave, a lot of children on the beaches ran out to explore the exposed seabed. Combine that with them not being fast enough to outrun the water, or strong enough to hold on to something when the wave hit and you end up with a lot dead kids. ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/34 "2004-12-28T21:54:14Z")
> [@Ale](#): > > **Brutus** , how about you limit yourself to use the word “retard” just 5 times a day? He just calls 'em as he sees 'em. Now if we could just get him away from that mirror. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![clayton\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/c57346/32.png) [@clayton\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/clayton_e)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 9:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/35 "2004-12-28T21:56:42Z")
> [@Brutus](#): > > Whew! I was worried that it would take longer for some retarded asshat to try to get in a jab on the US over a natural disaster on the other side of thw world. Good job! Would you like a cheeseburger with that drive-by? The OP has an entirely valid point. What was the main headline besides the 20k killed? Jackson? Peterson? I remember the last major earthquake that killed thousands (in China?) didn’t even make the front page on the 3 newspapers I read. ---
**Author:** ![ColonelDax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/71e660/32.png) [@ColonelDax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ColonelDax)\ **Post date:** [December 28, 2004, 10:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/36 "2004-12-28T22:25:06Z")
> [@MLS](#): > > What really cracks me up is the athletes attributing their success to some deity. What, God is suddenly a Red Sox fan this year? "Another day Pat [Kelly] came into the dugout all excited after hitting a home run and said the Lord had been looking out for him. “‘Yeah,’ I said, ‘and what about that poor sonuvabitch on the mound who threw you that high slider? We better not be counting on God. He always knows who’s gonna win. We’re just acting it out so 26 million people will pay to get through them ballpark gates.’” –Earl Weaver, _It’s What You Learn After You Know It All That Counts_ ---
**Author:** ![easy\_e](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/eb8c5e/32.png) [@easy\_e](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/easy_e)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/37 "2004-12-29T01:55:13Z")
> [@LouisB](#): > > Speaking of God, though, I would like to hear a **rational** explanation as to why a kind, loving God would permit (cause?) a disaster that left 24,000+ dead, thousands missing, and millions without homes. As the admin at work said, “It could be the start of the apocalypse!” She also was talking to my manager about the reports of the earth’s rotation changing and added “We could all go out spinning into space!” I really had to bite my tongue. Back on topic. On ABC radio news, I hear a woman interviewed whose son was running late for an appointment at the WTC on September 11 who also survived the tsunami. She said “he must have 9 lives” which I thought was a more sensitive response, though she followed it up with the “someone looking out for him” bit. When I first heard this news, it was reported that something like 14,000 people had died (yes, I know the toll is higher now) including 11 Americans. That frustrated me. ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/38 "2004-12-29T03:16:28Z")
> [@Abbie Carmichael](#): > > When it comes to basketball, though, God is clearly a Kentucky Wildcats fan (as opposed to Duke, which is the DEVIL). But of course. Here’s a story – Denny Crum drops dead and rises up to heaven. St. Peter is showing him around heaven, “We’re all very pleased to see you,” he says, “We’re huge college basketball fans up here. We’ve got a place of honor for a hall of fame coach like you.” St. Peter shows him to a tiny little cottage decorated with a couple of U. of Louisville flags. Denny’s a little non-plussed, especially when he notices the enormous mansion on the hill above him. It’s painted Kentucky blue and white and festooned with thousands of UK flags, banners and posters. “I don’t mean to complain,” Denny says to St. Peter, “But how come I get this tiny cottage and Tubby Smith gets that huge mansion?” “Oh no,” St. Peter says, “That’s not Tubby’s house. It’s God’s.” ---
**Author:** ![Miller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/miller/32/481_2.png) [@Miller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Miller)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/39 "2004-12-29T03:24:01Z")
> [@Hustle](#): > > Clumsy writing perhaps, but there are a disproportionally large amount of children among the dead. When the water receeded before the wave, a lot of children on the beaches ran out to explore the exposed seabed. Combine that with them not being fast enough to outrun the water, or strong enough to hold on to something when the wave hit and you end up with a lot dead kids. In that light, the headline makes much more sense. Thanks. ---
**Author:** ![matt\_mcl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/7ab992/32.png) [@matt\_mcl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/matt_mcl)\ **Post date:** [December 29, 2004, 3:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851/40 "2004-12-29T03:58:43Z")
Heard on the news last night: “…It’s feared that many tourists may be among the dead.” Right. If it were just locals, there wouldn’t be a problem. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/the-guy-upstairs-looking-out-for-americans/281851.md?page=3)