Hurricanes and Typhoons
Oct 02 2005 Sun
11:09 pm PHT
Call me insensitive but I can’t symphatize with the victims of both Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita especially with all the public hullabaloo over these two hurricanes and the local and federal response of the United States government. Granted, these two hurricanes were unprecedented in their impact on the United States, but hurricanes/typhoons are a fact of life for me and millions of other people.
The Philippines has been hit with a lot of typhoons since it sits on the most active tropical cyclone basin in the world, the Western North Pacific Ocean Basin. In the last 15 years, this basin has seen 115 Category 4 and 5 typhoons compared to the 25 Category 4 and 5 hurricanes in the North Atlantic Basin, the stomping grounds of Katrina and Rita.
In fact typhoons are so common that typhoon categories are alien to most Filipinos. What we have are Public Storm Warning Signals given by PAGASA, the national weather bureau. The highest signal number is 4, which is equivalent to a strong Category 3 typhoon hitting an area within 12 hours. No higher signal numbers are given for Category 4 and 5—if it’s a strong typhoon, then it’s a strong typhoon.
Not only that, the Philippines is also hit with earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Filipinos are no stranger to natural disasters. We live with it and manage pretty well given the circumstances. The only “disaster” I am worrying about is the politics in the country.
That’s the reason why I can hardly sympathize with Americans. It’s like a rich man complaining that he can’t get a parking slot while child beggars ask him for spare change. While that’s an extreme example, the idea is the same.
Comments
Comment times are in Philippine time (+0800).
1
On 2:47 a.m., 3 Oct 2005, Hoo-jung wrote:
Most of the people who were killed weren’t the rich ’folks’ of society— most of them happened to be minorities (majority of them being African Americans) that the US didn’t make a fuss over to save— at least concerning Hurricane Katrina. The example is hardly valid.
Believe it or not, there’s a hell of a lot of poor ppl in the US. And many of them are trully what many call third and fourth-class citizens due to their social status. You may not see the racism/bigoted ideals so clearly when reading it in an article or watching it on tv, but it’s defintely there. I know some people who were caught up in this hurricane and let’s just say a lot of media ’covering’ was done.
As for anyone who is hit by a natural disaster I have to sympathize whether or not it’s a way of life or me or not. People’s lives are precious regardless. If you can’t sympathize then I really have nothing more to say.
But being in this country and seeing it’s effects just like you see the effects of it in your country, don’t be so quick to judge. Just b/c the US happens to be the richest country, it is stereotyped and holds plenty of propoganda and media nonsense just like every other country.
Look beyond the surface.
2
This comment is clandestine.
3
On 9:31 a.m., 3 Oct 2005, joyce wrote:
i agree with the author. filipinos weather (pardon the pun) a multitude of disasters without the weeping & gnashing of teeth as the americans.
4
On 11:31 a.m., 3 Oct 2005, Hoo-jung wrote:
^The media is the media. Whether you like it or not, the majority of those people who were killed deserved thier lives just as much as people who deal with natural disasters everyday. You can’t put a price tag or put someone else’s lives over others. It may not be a huge as the Southeast Asian tsunami in December, but does that mean people shouldn’t also sympatize with these people?
Yes, the US tends to put their coverage on full blast, but so what? Those people are people. It’s not as if they were the ones sending swarms of media coverage.
If there was a Tsumami that ruined a huge and major city like New Orleans in the Philippines (which I’m sure they’re have been), and if it was put on every media station, would you like it if someone from another country made a statement about how the people suffering from this disaster weren’t worth sympathy and help?
That’s inhuman if you ask me.
5
On 1:14 p.m., 3 Oct 2005, Haneul wrote:
I have to agree with my friend up there, Hoojungee. So many people these days are becoming extremely cold to other nationalities, ethnicities and races of people just because they feel their own situation is more important and that these people’s plight is less significant just because they happen to deal with it more often in their own country.
Yes, the United States have their faults, but so do other countries. Stop being so close minded about things. Being an American citizen and being one of the smallest minorites here, I say that’s it’s ridiculous to blantantly assume something when you are not in the midst of this natural occurence, just because you may have experiences with disasters such as these.
I’ve been in earthquakes, tornados, blizzards, landslides, and the like in my lifetime, but that does not mean I have any right to brush off and be insensitive to what’s happening to these victims. Being a Christian, I will never do that. Ever. As a human being period I also wouldn’t do that. All it shows is ignorance and hatred for other individuals who may not be like yourself: whether it be race, or ethnicity or whatever else there may be. Have a heart and show some compassion for other people, even if they are “different” than you.
If the fate of mankind rests on people who do not care about one another, even more so like it is in this day and age, I’d rather not be on this earth and witness it.
6
On 9:22 p.m., 3 Oct 2005, seav wrote:
I don’t think the people affected deserve it. I don’t hate Americans. And I never said anything about class or race—please don’t imply something from my final metaphor that isn’t there. And I am definitely not saying that our condition here in the Philippines should be given more importance and attention than the situation in the Gulf states.
I’m just saying that I won’t symphatize with them. They don’t need my sympathy, nor my help. Americans are very, very much capable of helping their fellow brethren, and I believe that they can overcome this. Don’t expect me to donate a dollar or two whenever I see Hurricane relief advertisements on the Web. I’d rather give my money to the local charities and foundations—we have our own problems where we can be Good Samaritans, thank you. However, I won’t hesitate to say prayers for the victims of the hurricanes. That much I can give.
My other point is that a hurricane or two hitting Texas and Louisiana is not that big a tragedy as the media paints it. (So unless Americans, in general, share the same sentiment as the media, my beef is actually with the disproportionate coverage.) The disaster could’ve been worse, and worse have indeed happened elsewhere in the world.
The only great tragedy that I can see is the uncoordinated response from all levels of the U.S. government in the wake of Hurricane Katrina. (Granted, local and state authorities were overwhelmed.) To the government’s credit, they have learned quickly enough in time to avert a second disaster in Hurricane Rita.
I hope I made my ideas clearer.
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