When we experience a tragedy ourselves, personally, it is a tragedy that fills the whole world. Proximity is an important factor. This sort of thing always reminds me of a small headline in the Onion I read some years ago: '50,000 Brown-Skinned People Die Somewhere'. We are much more callous when it is far off and impersonal, or does not touch upon a basic fear. If it's in our face, someone we know, in our city, or close nearby, it is a different matter.
---In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, <punditster@...> wrote : On 3/11/2014 12:31 PM, anartaxius@... mailto:anartaxius@... wrote: That is a lot more grief for many still living than a single aeroplane. Sure, but try telling that to the angry families of the passengers. The airline allowed at least two people with stolen passports to board the flight and security didn't even check the stolen passport database. Go figure. "Adding to the mystery, other relatives in the room said that when they dialed some passengers’ numbers, they seemed to get ringing tones on the other side even though the calls were not picked up." Washington Post: http://www.washingtonpost.com/vanished-malaysia-airlines-flight-leaves-relatives-with-anger-and-phantom-phone-calls http://www.washingtonpost.com/world/vanished-malaysia-airlines-flight-leaves-relatives-with-anger-and-phantom-phone-calls/2014/03/10/fdb78642-a862-11e3-b61e-8051b8b52d06_story.html
