The large reaction to the CHCH quake could also have been because many more Australians have family and friends from Christchurch and have vistied the place and so relate directly. "I went up the steps to the top of the Cathederal last time I was there!!"
Could this reaction also be related to Disaster Exhaustion. Queensland Floods, Queensland Cyclone, Victorian Floods, Christchurch Earthquakes. By the time you get to now you are looking for happy news and something so far away is.. well.. somebody elses problem now?
I hit my limit for disaster news about mid-January. What's the point of me reading/watching news -- it doesn't help anyone in anyway, and just makes me upset. Not that I ignore it, I just don't actively seek it out and/or add to what's already being said. Although I'm getting enough news about Japan via FB that it doesn't really make much difference. I think the USians are picking up on this more.
And New Zealand is "home". I'm physically closer to Christchurch than lots of Australia (e.g. Cairns, Darwin, Perth.)
For me, the enormity of what has happened -- is still happening -- is too big to comprehend, and the heartbreak of it would stop me in my tracks and leave me doing nothing except staring at the wall crying all day if I let it. Not that I tweet much, but certainly I can't be said to be tossing any great, deep wisdom out into the world, just a lifeline that says: please, I need this small bit of normal to hang onto.
Interesting. Chch was tragic and had a fair amount of twitter chatter, but once I'd confirmed the few people I know in NZ were OK (not hard as half aren't even on the same island) it didn't consume a lot of headspace for me.
Japan on the other hand consumed my weekend and large parts of the last few days. I knew about as many people there, but they were harder to contact (half a day in one case, though that's nothing compared to a friend who still doesn't know if his cousin is alive) and more likely to be impacted.
More personally relevant to me though, was a friend who lives 80km from the Fukoshima nuclear plant. Rationally I was more concerned about food and power, but I still spent the weekend following every tweet from a nuclear risk management engineer (@ arclight) who was contextualising the official releases. Said friend managed to fly to Osaka yesterday, and is feeling much more secure.
I'm an obviously big Japonophile, and while my Twitterverse is a very small one, I'm seeing a little less noise at the moment, and a lot of it is focused on Japan. I too, am buried in the enormity of what is happening there - I'm in tears every day for it, but still can't shut it out like I did eventually for the Qld and South American floods, and the NZ quake
( ... )
Comments 7
Could this reaction also be related to Disaster Exhaustion. Queensland Floods, Queensland Cyclone, Victorian Floods, Christchurch Earthquakes. By the time you get to now you are looking for happy news and something so far away is.. well.. somebody elses problem now?
Reply
I hit my limit for disaster news about mid-January. What's the point of me reading/watching news -- it doesn't help anyone in anyway, and just makes me upset. Not that I ignore it, I just don't actively seek it out and/or add to what's already being said. Although I'm getting enough news about Japan via FB that it doesn't really make much difference. I think the USians are picking up on this more.
And New Zealand is "home". I'm physically closer to Christchurch than lots of Australia (e.g. Cairns, Darwin, Perth.)
Reply
Reply
Reply
Japan on the other hand consumed my weekend and large parts of the last few days. I knew about as many people there, but they were harder to contact (half a day in one case, though that's nothing compared to a friend who still doesn't know if his cousin is alive) and more likely to be impacted.
More personally relevant to me though, was a friend who lives 80km from the Fukoshima nuclear plant. Rationally I was more concerned about food and power, but I still spent the weekend following every tweet from a nuclear risk management engineer (@ arclight) who was contextualising the official releases. Said friend managed to fly to Osaka yesterday, and is feeling much more secure.
Reply
Reply
Reply
Leave a comment