Maybe I'm crazy, but when CNN announced the Chile earthquake on Saturday morning, I swear I detected a note of disappointment in their tone.
"So far only 60 people have been reported dead BUT THERE WILL BE MORE."
Okay, so those letters weren't capitalized, but why the "but?" Were the 60 dead people not enough?
Until the numbers went up, every time CNN would post how many people were dead in Chile, they would follow it up by posting how many people had died in Haiti.
It was almost as if they were saying--"Wasn't the Haiti earthquake way worse? It totally was."
There's a great Seinfeld episode where they talk about how many people have to die in order for something to be considered a real tragedy. It got a lot of laughs, but the sad part is, I think it's actually accurate.
Apparently mass devastation and destruction isn't enough--you also need REALLY big death tolls.
Overall, most websites and television were guilty of this. When Hawaii didn't get wiped off the math by a giant tsunami wave, nobody said--"Good for the Hawaiian government for being prepared and executing a proper evacuation plan."
Instead, they mentioned the tsunami warnings being cancelled and started harping on the tsunami in Mexico.
We all know it's natural to have a fascination with death, but my question is, does the fascination ever wear off?
"So far only 60 people have been reported dead BUT THERE WILL BE MORE."
Okay, so those letters weren't capitalized, but why the "but?" Were the 60 dead people not enough?
Until the numbers went up, every time CNN would post how many people were dead in Chile, they would follow it up by posting how many people had died in Haiti.
It was almost as if they were saying--"Wasn't the Haiti earthquake way worse? It totally was."
There's a great Seinfeld episode where they talk about how many people have to die in order for something to be considered a real tragedy. It got a lot of laughs, but the sad part is, I think it's actually accurate.
Apparently mass devastation and destruction isn't enough--you also need REALLY big death tolls.
Overall, most websites and television were guilty of this. When Hawaii didn't get wiped off the math by a giant tsunami wave, nobody said--"Good for the Hawaiian government for being prepared and executing a proper evacuation plan."
Instead, they mentioned the tsunami warnings being cancelled and started harping on the tsunami in Mexico.
We all know it's natural to have a fascination with death, but my question is, does the fascination ever wear off?
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