2004/12/30
i am the personification of all that i hate
Last night I watched a man on television recounting how he was on vacation and is now returning home without his girlfriend...she was ripped from his arms as the tsunami waters receded in a torrent. The most upsetting part, while watching this guy choke up, was that he was the luckiest of millions of people...so many who live in those poverty-stricken countries have lost children, parents, siblings, friends, homes, and businesses. The least fortunate of the world's 6.5 billion became even less fortunate in an instant.
In the months following the 9/11 attacks, North Americans gave approximately $2 billion to support the families of 6,000 victims through agencies like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the ironically named Robin Hood Fund. All this money for white-collar workers who already had life insurance and on top of the fact that the government had a pot of $6 billion to pay the victims (to keep them from suing the airlines, who were legitimately negligent with passenger safety).
My theory is that everyone was so entertained with those big explosions, pyrotechnics, and demolitions, that we felt obliged to pay something. After all, we pay when we go to the theatres, don't we? Heck, I was watching that morning after the first plane struck, and I saw the second plane hit LIVE! I got to watch several hundred people die! I wonder what kind of a payout I am obligated to cough up for that kind of entertainment?
My theory has to be correct, because it couldn't be based on logical need. I vomited and wept from stress and grief after 9/11, but I knew that what those people needed wasn't money. Not 99% of them anyway. The victims were the families of white-collar workers who had life insurance and still had their homes and supportive families.
But if $2 billion wasn't an entertainment fee and it wasn't through a logical attempt at re-distribution of wealth, then it must have been out genuine compassion. I'm inclined to believe so. However, for me to believe that, I expect to see - at a very minimum - $38,000,000,000.00 (that's $38 billion) donated to charities for the purpose of relief, aid, and redevelopment in the wake of this tsunami disaster. That's 114,000 victims (a conservative estimate) multiplied by $333,333.33 (the approximate amount donated per 9-11 victim).
(amount donated to victims of 9-11) / (9-11 victims) = (amount per victim) x (conservative estimate of tsunami victims) = expected tsunami giving
therefore:
($2,000,000,000.00) / (6,000) = ($333,333.33) x (114,000) = $38,000,000,000.00
So, if I'm so much smarter than the rest of you chumps, then why am I the personification of all that I hate? Because I'm sitting here proving why you're stupid while most people (ie 5 billion people) have real problems. And here's a rundown of my last 24 hours:
-watch tsunami victims on television
-sleep in warm dry bed
-wake up late
-discuss New Years party plans over the internet
-go for coffee with friend
-get car washed at an automatic car wash
-get home and clean the inside of the car
-biggest worry of the day: getting home from the wash without the car getting too dirty.
In the months following the 9/11 attacks, North Americans gave approximately $2 billion to support the families of 6,000 victims through agencies like the American Red Cross, the Salvation Army, and the ironically named Robin Hood Fund. All this money for white-collar workers who already had life insurance and on top of the fact that the government had a pot of $6 billion to pay the victims (to keep them from suing the airlines, who were legitimately negligent with passenger safety).
My theory is that everyone was so entertained with those big explosions, pyrotechnics, and demolitions, that we felt obliged to pay something. After all, we pay when we go to the theatres, don't we? Heck, I was watching that morning after the first plane struck, and I saw the second plane hit LIVE! I got to watch several hundred people die! I wonder what kind of a payout I am obligated to cough up for that kind of entertainment?
My theory has to be correct, because it couldn't be based on logical need. I vomited and wept from stress and grief after 9/11, but I knew that what those people needed wasn't money. Not 99% of them anyway. The victims were the families of white-collar workers who had life insurance and still had their homes and supportive families.
But if $2 billion wasn't an entertainment fee and it wasn't through a logical attempt at re-distribution of wealth, then it must have been out genuine compassion. I'm inclined to believe so. However, for me to believe that, I expect to see - at a very minimum - $38,000,000,000.00 (that's $38 billion) donated to charities for the purpose of relief, aid, and redevelopment in the wake of this tsunami disaster. That's 114,000 victims (a conservative estimate) multiplied by $333,333.33 (the approximate amount donated per 9-11 victim).
(amount donated to victims of 9-11) / (9-11 victims) = (amount per victim) x (conservative estimate of tsunami victims) = expected tsunami giving
therefore:
($2,000,000,000.00) / (6,000) = ($333,333.33) x (114,000) = $38,000,000,000.00
So, if I'm so much smarter than the rest of you chumps, then why am I the personification of all that I hate? Because I'm sitting here proving why you're stupid while most people (ie 5 billion people) have real problems. And here's a rundown of my last 24 hours:
-watch tsunami victims on television
-sleep in warm dry bed
-wake up late
-discuss New Years party plans over the internet
-go for coffee with friend
-get car washed at an automatic car wash
-get home and clean the inside of the car
-biggest worry of the day: getting home from the wash without the car getting too dirty.
# posted by Justin @ 16:32 
