December 29, 2004

• That doesn't mean I am not saddened that Jerry Orbach died, however...
• Yeah, I saw a story on TV last night about Petra, and I couldn't help but wonder who the hell cares. More than they would for the other tens of thousands, I mean. I didn't even know who she was. Of course, it's a matter of milking every angle of the story possible. After 9-11, CNN was asking for comments about speculations that were based on rumors. They're always looking for some new way to report it.
• I'm waiting to go back to work, to find out if the woman who was spending Christmas in Thailand will be there, and whether or not the rest of her family is safe. It's not that she is more important, but that I know her a little. Even if she and her family is safe, the human tragedy in SE Asia is simply incomprehensible in scale. Screw the people trying to peddle the news of so-called celebrities.
• I think it brings the enormity of the tragedy into more focus when people know someone involved, or short of that, know some personal details about those involved. When I read about the D-listers, I was thinking how much we suck for only caring about the white folks and celebrities affected. But when I heard about Jet Li hurting his leg while pulling his daughter to safety, it had more impact than the rest of the coverage - simply beause I still harbor a bit of a crush on him and have spent at least 30 hours watching him on film. I'm sure someone feels that way about Petra or Helmut Kohl or whoever. I don't think the celebrity info diminishes the larger picture, and it gives people a bit of a mental foothold.
• Its impossible to imagine the scale of this disaster. We use the concepts of people we know - even those we don't personally know but have only heard of - as a measure of the impact. A family friend here in Perth that I've known since childhood is missing. A person that I've known tangentally lost their child, a toddler; swept away. In better news, John Hardy, a Monkeyfilterer, the creator of excellent blog Laputan Logic was in Malaysia or locality .. luckily he & those with him are fine. It's hard not to judge in such circumstances.. the magnitude of this disaster simply beggars imagination. We mere humans need a kind of scale by which to understand it, the celebrity reports are a manifestation of this. God, the loss of parents, families.. the grief cannot be understood. But the tragedy is this: the ones swept away are the lucky ones, in some cases. In some of the affected areas, the damage caused to water sources & amenities may mean that many more will die from disease & possibly other factors in the weeks to come.
• tsunami, the great equalizer. doesn't matter if you're rich and famous or unknown and struggling, you still might get squished. but i hope not. tsumanis tsuck!!
• The first report of this that I read said that 300 people had died. It seemed that the number kept dropping after the Trade Center bombing. This will just keep going up.
• oh! so that's where I left Petra! Silly me...
• More important FRONT PAGE NEWS about Petra, because I really, really, really, really care.
• From above article: "I was so broken, I couldn't walk," Nemcova said. "There were so many people with horrible injuries, with blood everywhere. It was like a war movie." umm... yes... a war movie. Because actual wars are full of daisies and pixies. Stupid bitch.
• I think thats a little harsh, Debaser. Almost all the eyewitness reports they've had on the news in the last couple of days have had variations on that theme, in much the same way that people kept saying after September 11th that that was like a scene from a movie, too.
• Yeah, the 'celebrity' aspect of a story like this really bothers me, but it always has. My hackles instantly rise when I hear this 'angle'. But, as Nostril said, it is a measure of impact for some. The pictures that are coming in are unimaginable, for me. I don't ever want to know the horrific tragedy of having my child swept away from my arms. The pain of something like that is beyond my comprehension.
• These are celebrities? I guess, if you say so.... I'm waiting for news from a couple I know in Sri Lanka who may or may not have been in affected areas. That 75 000 are dead or missing is a disaster and difficult to comprehend: should the total dead number in the hundreds of thousands, as estimates predict, we might want to remind people again about donating options. We donate through CARE, which the CBC page links to. They seem to be a good option, as they spend less than 5% of their money on administration costs. For the unemployed, it seems Yahoo needs proofreaders: "Designer Nate Berkus, a regular contributor on "The Oprah Winfrey Show," was carried away with a friend by a tsunami after it ripped off the roof of their hut in Sri Lanka. They briefly clung to a telephone poll, but a second wave ripped them away. Bold emphasis added by me.
• "The worst part was being separated from my amphetamines and cigarettes," the model sobbed. "At one point I accidentally swallowed a jellyfish, but since I am not eating this week I stuck my finger down my throat and threw it up."
• Well "The tragic events of September the 11th, 2001" were indeed surreal, but the aftermath IMO was more like a war zone than a war movie. But I guess that's because I didn't have a 32 oz. soda and buttered popcorn at the ready, and nobody's cell phone worked. Or, it could be because I don't use stupid analogies... not sure. /rant
• Good for you.
• Well, coppermac, have you ever tried to hang up on those Gallup people? It's no fuckin' joke... Tsunami's even have a hard time dealing with those people.
• I agree with debaser's sentiments, but I would be much more qualified to compare my experience to a war movie than an actual war. I have actually seen many of the former, and have absolutely no experience being in the latter. And, quite frankly, I am quite happy to have my experience lie solely with the former. I suspect that there are many others whose only similar visual experience comes from the television or movies.
• Note the category of Yahoo news in which this appears: Entertainment - AP Gossip/Celebrity Perhaps if you are so disinterested in celebrity news, you are in the wrong category?
• Regarding knowing those involved - My sister was discussing the tsunami disaster with my niece (almost 7 years old) and nephew (4 1/2). She explained that a lot of people had been killed by the horrible natural disaster. They asked, "Did we know any of them?" My sister said that she didn't think so. Observed my niece: "But somebody knew them."
• The wisdom of children. When the least among us are harmed, we are all harmed.
• Praise Jesus!
• You know, this place has seemed a little more, I don't know, warm since he joined. Welcome, Lord.
• True enough drjimmy, but the reason this touched off a nerve in me was that on the 11:00 news last night, the newscaster stated "The death toll estimates could reach as high as 60,000-75,000. Unfortunately, amog those there are 8 Americans dead." *unfortunately?* wtf? Also... I welcome you Jeebus!
• I heard that too debaser, and I thought about all the nascar fans in their trailers hearing that number on fox news and thinking "oh my god, what a tragedy" and still not giving a shit about the 74988 others. Maybe they'll let loose with an "It was god's will" so they can feel better about not giving a shit.
• Well, Jet Li got his ass kicked by the wave too...he was in a hotel in Koh Phi Phi i think...his daughter almost got swept away, but he chopped kicked the tsunami long enough to grab the tot and run for high grounds. AND if you're gonna talk celebrity, he's pretty big in my book. no?
• Hey Jesus, I heard you were gay. Any truth to the rumors? Hey,while we're at it, I gotta lotta other questions for you... But, shouldn't you be leaving some footprints in the sand helping with the rescue efforts right now?
• BTW, Rachel Harvey has some really good (ie; disturbing) coverage on the bbc.co.uk. This is just getting worse and worse. So horrific.
• While I have not experienced sexual activity, my interest in all genders would be equal. As for rescue efforts, I did do a fair amount of it for humanity in my last go-around.
• A woman in a bungalow on a Thai beach watches her boyfriend disappear into the water, sees and listens to children drown, and manages to survive by clinging to a tree in horrible pain for eight hours, no doubt with everything she'd seen and heard running through her head in an endless loop. You can't get past something as simple as celebrity? This woman is a stupid bitch for not describing things that you, on your comfortably padded high horse, thousands of safe miles away will never see or experience, would describe differently? What happened to her is nothing because a reporter asked her about it? What the hell is wrong with you? This kind of shit, honestly, makes me wonder why I'm here. For a bunch of smart people, sometimes this place is shallow as hell, and it makes me ashamed. Flame away. Some things you need to stand up for.
• What you say has merit, moneyjane, but I think when people celebrity-bash, they're usually more offended by the silliness inherent in constructing/becoming/being a celebrity than they are by the person him- or herself. I get pissy when people trade on their supposed celebrity status, but we all have to realize that the media and the vast hype machines are only partially responsible for the phenomenon. If there weren't an eager, immature public out there willing to throw money and adulation at these people, we'd be without this problem. Some people achieve fame or infamy with their talents, which are appreciable. They are not 'celebrities' to me, rather they are writers or musicians or directors (etc.) who gain acclaim due to their skills at their chosen craft. Celebrities, in my view, are the people who are famous because they've traded on some relatively worthless quality they possess, and will do so until they join the rest of us in the mud, the blood and the beer. Ivana Trump? Check. Any of the Gabors? Check. The runner-up of Botswana Idol? Check.
• > For a bunch of smart people Where, on MoFi? We're about as smart as any old gaggle of chattering loons. Why do you think we are smart? (Yes, there are some pretty intelligent people here, but as a group we are no better than the Marlborough and Eugene regiments at the Battle of Malplaquet.)
• I'm with moneyjane. This was a disaster, a tragedy the scale of which is simply too hard to measure. Fishermen out in the sea, children playing on the beach, shopkeepers tending their baubles, and yes, even a hot model lounging in her hut with her boyfried; the tsunami doesn't care who you are. The horrid random logic of who gets to live and who doesn't is enough to drive you mad: who was lucky enough to be swept near a tree, who was strong enough to hold on to floating flotsom, who was visable enough for rescuers to reach, it's all a matter of chaotic chance. If you want to get upset at anyone, that's what the editors are there for. They make these decisions. But to direct your righteous indignation at Petra, or any of the victims for that matter, is simply heartless. Short version: I *cockpunch* LarryC
• This sort of reporting pisses me off. Am I the only one who doesn't care about where people come from in a tragedy, only that hundreds of thousands of PEOPLE were affected? I couldn't help but wonder who the hell cares. More than they would for the other tens of thousands, I mean. doesn't matter if you're rich and famous or unknown and struggling, you still might get squished. but i hope not. My hackles instantly rise when I hear this 'angle'. I think when people celebrity-bash, they're usually more offended by the silliness inherent in constructing/becoming/being a celebrity than they are by the person. Yes, some people here are bashing her simply because she's a celebrity, BUT on the whole--as evidenced in the comments I quoted above--I think people here are more disturbed by the news coverage the celebrities are getting. Sure, it's commonplace (and, unfortunately, natural) for news organizations to do this, but it provokes a what-about-the-rest-of-them reaction in people who hear/read/see such reports. We're bashing The Messenger not The Celebrity Victim. That being said, I agree with you that those who are bashing Petra really aren't taking the time to think about it and are being rather cold, to say the least.
• I have no problem with people questioning the celebrity machine. It's the people claiming to being so unaffected by it using it as a club to beat the shit out of somebody when they're down. If celebrity doesn't matter to you, why does celebrityhood make this woman undeserving of the compassion you'd (I hope) feel for anybody who's been through what this person has? Isn't it a little goddamn ironic?
• I'm taking a break from Monkeylandia for a while. Too many things going on in the world that are making me depressed and angry.
• Thats a shame. You'll be missed.
• well said moneyjane.
• I seem to remember something about a psychological phenomenon that has to to with tribialism/family ties. That the farther away someone or something is from your sphere of experience, the less the emotional impact is of a tragedy. For example, it's a major drag that you lose your keys and it ruins your day, but 20,000 people die in an earthquake halfway across the world at best makes you glad that you weren't them. I think that celebrities, no matter who they are, are considered by most folks "of our tribe", in that we have emotional ties to them. Consider all the people who got upset when Princess Diana died due to all the exposure she got. They felt they "knew" her. Celebrities are of our tribe, so when they suffer, we feel their pain. These reactions are commonplace and human and we shouldn't feel bad for having them. Celebrities and the wealthy feel pain and sorrow just as you and I do. We should have just as much compassion for them as for the homeless on the streets.
• Sounds like a good idea, moneyjane. Come back soon though. Frankly, I didn't read the post as "Petra-bashing" necessarily. Seeing as how the majority of the people commenting are American and are used to watching the normal, insidious, shallow network news channels, we have become quite jaded about American reporting on world disasters that don't pertain directly to us. I don't think that anyone commenting meant she shouldn't have our sympathy because she is a celebrity, I think that the fact that we are hearing about her particular story because she is a celebrity is what gets our goat. It's a stupid and shallow reason that is fed to us by the American media. Again, I go back to what Nostrildamus said, " We use the concepts of people we know - even those we don't personally know but have only heard of - as a measure of the impact." All that being said, moneyjane is right. We should think twice about our, at times, callous commenting during events like these. It is too sensitive to be treated without a bit of forethought.
• My intent in posting the links was not to denigrate Petra's horrific experience in any way. What I was trying to get at was that the focus on these folks simply because of their mild celebrity was unfair to the exponentially larger group of everymen and women and children who have endured far worse fates than a broken pelvis. Modern American media favors the few Americans involved in a worldwide event versus the many non-Americans when it comes to their reporting. I am just not a fan of the way that they try to package huge ideas and events into small, bite-sized morsels for their viewers/readers with a "local angle." I think the fact that 100K+ people have died and will die from this tragedy outweighs the urgency to tell the story of a single person, famous or not.
• It's hard to imagine there being people in the world who are not affected by this and need to hear up-close personal stories to notice what's actually going on. Grr. (A woman from my hometown is missing in Thailand; fifty-something NZers are unaccounted for and known to have been holidaying in affected regions. It doesn't make it any more or less real to me to know that, but maybe it'll get one more person to give $10 they wouldn't have before...)
• For the record, my intent wasn't to bash her at all. I hope it didn't come off that way. My comment (and I think the point of this thread) was to point out that we (particularly US'ers) are so frigging obsessed with celebrities that they even get front-and-center reporting when they're among what could easily be 100,000 dead. On the other hand, when John Lee Hooker died, I cried a little. I drove from Missouri to Nashville, listening to nothing but his music the whole way. I didn't give a second's thought to anybody else who died that day, not some poor kid who finally withered away under the strain of malnutrition and treatable disease, or the poor wife whose husband finally beat her to death after twenty years of abuse. Not the lonely old man whose heart gave out in the middle of the night in his cold, empty one-room apartment. Instead, I cried for a very lucky man who died surrounded by loved ones. If Tom Waits had died in this storm, I'd probably take an emotional hit, even though I've never met the man personally, because his work has changed me in some small way. Perhaps this makes me a hypocrite, to weep for the one and criticize the other. I don't know. Maybe it was simply a kneejerk reaction in the face of 24-hour celebrity reporting. But I think that everybody here would agree that every life lost in this tragedy held equal importance.
• Well, If I had thought Petra would actually read my post, I would've used a different tone. That said, she's still a stupid bitch.
• in case anyone isn't aware of it, I am, of course, kidding...
• I'm not trying to personally attack Petra or Jet Li, or Mr. Bhadu who's lived in that area for his entire life. With over 100,000 dead, one simply can't make light of this situation. IMO this is far worse than "the tragic events of September the 11th, 2001," and not just because of body count and property damage. At least we had the enviable position of striking back at the "enemy" These poor souls have no one to blame, except for maybe Poseidon. So, I apologize to all if my remarks offended. I was just caught up in the ridiculousness of the media coverage regarding celebrities and Americans, when so many other lives and livelihoods were utterly destroyed in this catastrophe.
• well, i think the whole "doesn't affect you if you didn't know them" angle makes me feel differently about this. it's hard to make people care about someplace they aren't, it's hard to make people feel bad about people they don't know. over christmas break, back when we thought it was only 10,000 people dead, my mother-in-law was watching the news. she laughed at the people running from the waves, then said "oh, isn't that just awful? how terrible" while watching a story about luggage stranded at a midwestern airport due to a computer fuck-up. it sort of made me mad; i'd just been reading about it online. i asked her why 10,000 people dying was something to laugh at, and why lost luggage deserved a moment of silence. i don't know, i love her and all but she's one of the people who just doesn't get it if she doesn't see a connection with her. if nascar driver randy newman had been vacationing in thailand she probably would have been horrified, and i'm sure would have watched the news carefully to see if he was OK. this doesn't make her a bad person. it doesn't make a celebrity better than anyone else there. what it does do is make people like my mother-in-law pay attention, when it's otherwise easier to pretend it didn't happen and laugh at it before you start to feel bad at the tragic loss of life. it doesn't hurt you if you don't let it.
• I feel that, caution. I'm taking an ostrich-like stance to the whole thing (other than donating money to people in NYC who I know and trust will use the money to buy water filtration systems). I haven't bought my morning commute paper in several days to stay the heck away from this. I feel a little guilty about it, but it's too tragic for me to really wrap my mind around.