Today, I can’t seem to get over the deaths from the Ventura
County mudslides in California. It was only 17 out of how many thousands live
there? Five are still missing. So it’s like, no big deal, right? Natural
disasters happen all over the world all the time. Even now, as I was scrolling
through articles about the mudslides, I came upon one that said “Hundreds Die
from Mudslide in Sierra Leon.” But I didn’t even click on the link.
Yet…these 17 deaths still bother me. It’s not like I knew
any of them personally. But still, each one of these deaths was a person: a child, a parent, a twin
sister, a mother, a lover, a family member, a friend. Those close to the people
are reeling with these deaths. To them, 17 deaths is 1 too many.
Hundreds is WAY more than 17, right? Why didn’t that give me
the same sinking feeling as these California deaths?
Is it because the people who perished in Montecito had lives
very similar to mine? In looking at these photos and stories of the deceased,
these deaths, these people, come
alive for me. One person who died was a
12 year old girl with a beautiful freckly face, braces, and slightly disheveled
blonde hair. In her memorial photo she was holding up a picture of a anime character she drew. This girl could have
been me or one of my friends. Another
photo shows an older couple, retired, living in their dream home, holding their
dog. A third, a woman, just a bit older than my mother had a big ol’ smile,
floppy hat and sunglasses. They were all
described as wonderful, kind, happy people. People who were the life of the
party or who loved their friends and family. People with hobbies and histories.
People who died suddenly, before their
time.
Maybe it’s also because these people were given the warning
to evacuate – but it was only optional. The articles said that only 10-15% of
the people actually evacuated because they were tired of having been evacuated
only weeks before because of the large Thomas fire. And see? All that evacuation
and what happened? Nothing, their houses were spared…that time. Many people
probably felt that this was a false alarm too. It didn’t help that safety
officials didn’t call for a mandatory evac because (as I read in one article) “it
would cause mass confusion” to evacuate that many people, so quickly, again. Which
makes me angry. Angry at officials who didn’t force people to leave. Angry at
the families for putting their lives and the lives of their children (and pets)
at risk. Angry at our entitlement to underestimate nature and think “oh, it’s
not going to be me” and “I’m safe in my own home”.
We, in America, are fortunate to live in a very modern
society. Our society is full of conveniences and technologies that make our
lives easier and better. Maybe this
disaster upsets me so much because even in a society with all the technology,
all the bright minds building our infrastructure, we still succumb to mother
nature. We are still puny meatbags living precariously on a planet full of
things that will kill us – rocks, water, mountains, mud. Not to mention all the
manmade things that become killing implements by mother nature’s hand: rebar,
houses, cars, power lines….
Lastly, the news coverage. While for disasters in other countries
you may have articles, videos and even some survivor testimonial, American news
outfits covering incidents in our own country scrutinize every detail. They
dwell on the fact that the youngest person to die was just 3 years old. They
post pics of the victims and backstories. They show the social media support
trying to find the 12 year old girl. The bring us so far into the story that we
are pretty much there. Many of the details of the articles are not actually
providing more information. They are just there to jerk our emotions.
So, while the hundreds of deaths in Sierra Leon should not
be glossed over, I wouldn’t fault Americans for feeling incidents like this
more strongly. It happened in our back yard to people (possibly rich people)
but people, nonetheless, who we can pretty much relate to.
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