Why I haven't watched any of the videos out of Japan

[cali]

I haven't watched- and I won't watch, because there's something that makes me profoundly uncomfortable about poring over disaster images. I'm not talking about avoiding horror- I've read quite a bit about the horrific aftermath of the earthquake and tsunami. It's that watching feels a bit too much like rubbernecking to me.

Anyone else feel like this?

[JuniperLea]

1. I live on a coast with nuke plants nearby...

I watch, not because I'm into horror porn... but because this could fucking happen to me too.

[Johonny]

4. +1

[JI7]

11. that too, remember the young man who went out to get pictures of the Tsunami heading our way

and ended up being swept away and died. i think many people really have no idea . they think it's a lot of water and if they are used to water sports they think they can deal with it.

it's not just flooding but how powerful the force is.

[JuniperLea]

13. The surfers hit the local beaches in droves...

In the hope that the tsunami would kick up some gnarly waves... really stupid, IMHO. I went there on Saturday morning with my dogs and the waves were pathetic... but there were many rip currents and some really filthy brown foamy junk on the sand.

Two inches of fast moving water is enough to topple an adult and drown them, according to experts weighing in on the current disaster. That information alone is worth the watching.

[FSogol]

2. I think everyone should look at then. If you ever find yourself in that situation, would you know

what to do? Are you prepared for disaster?

[ohheckyeah]

3. I think people process

disasters in different ways. Some need to see the disaster in order for it to be real in their minds. Others don't.

[otohara]

5. I Cry Like A Baby

so I can't watch too much, but then we have family in Japan.
Japan is an amazing country, my heart is breaking.

[Frustratedlady]

6. I am keeping abreast of the happenings because I have compassion for the people.

My heart goes out to them for what they are (quietly) going through. I have much admiration for their patience and work ethics. I cannot fathom what they are experiencing at this time and wish I could make things all better for them. I haven't watched the news on TV because most of the commentators don't know any more than I do, but they fill in with their opinions, no matter. That irritates me, so I stay away. However, I worry about the children and the elderly, and want to know how things are going for them.

There are many reasons why people are keeping up-to-date on this tragedy.

[cali]

8. I thought I made it clear that I am keeping up with it

that's not the point.

[Scuba]

7. I agree with JuniperLee... it's horror porn n/t

[ljm2002]

9. No, I don't feel like that...

...I do try to avoid anything graphic though -- that is, individuals being swept away or the like, I don't want to see that.

I know it's a fine line and I do understand your thinking. But nowadays with everyone having cameras and cell phones with cameras, I just see it as another way in which we all come closer together and can share in the experience and understand in a very visceral way what is happening.

Part of it may have to do with how each of us process information. I seem to remember on one of those psychological-type tests, I came out as a person who tends to process information via sensation or feelings, rather than via logic. So maybe that is why I feel the need to see the images and videos.

But who really knows.

[JI7]

10. i watch because i find it interesting, i have always been into seeing what natural disasters can do

but when you know many people including entire families and towns are being killed it does make it really sad .

[KurtNYC]

12. real suffering turned into a music video of disaster

suffering turned into entertainment. Video loops of the most spectacular images dehumanize the victims.

[cali]

15. yes, that's what I find disturbing and what I don't want to be part of.

[KurtNYC]

20. during the Rodney King riots (3 days then martial law)

I was laying flat on the floor, listening to machine gun fire in the streets and the local TV anchors were voicing their concern about whether the Brown Derby (an old Hollywood restaurant) would be affected. Totally surreal. The jokes about looting, the general impression created by TV was that it was a big vacation from paying for stuff -- none of it dealt with the truth.

9 years later it was that 10 sec loop of the trade center getting hit, over and over and over.

It is a sign of the sickness. A medium that could induce empathy instead negates it.

[Name removed]

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[Thunderstruck]

16. I dont' really feel that way but I respect that you do. Thanks for posting.

[Dorian Gray]

17. Yes

I've read a lot of stories, and I'm hoping the Japanese get all the help that they can. But I can't watch the videos. Nope.

[Modern_Matthew]

18. I am in awe of the destruction when shown, but when presented with a story about an individual...

human being, I get that weepy feeling in the ole eye sockets.

[Bluerthanblue]

19. I can't turn away from suffering- but I have a big problem with

the way the MSM turns everything into a kind of "music video" and 'markets' the tragedies the way they do.

I have watched several independent videos, dissolving into tears each time.

I'm not sure if I'd equate this to "rubbernecking"- and actually, I'm not so sure that I have a problem with people bearing witness to the suffering of others- as long as it isn't exploitative.

Refusing to 'look' at what others are going through, is kind of ... distancing... or implies there is something ...shameful in what is happening to them-

I don't like exploitation, I think I understand what you're getting at.

[Morning Dew]

21. Bearing witness - yes that's the right description.

Just as we bear witness to the struggles of people to be free or to demand accountability from their government.

Bearing witness adds to the power of those acts and to the solemnity of those hit by disaster.

To me, anyway.

[HuckleB]

22. I think it can become much like a "reality show" mindset for some.

For others, perhaps its a way to numb oneself while feeling like it's doing something when there's little one can do.

I did watch about 20 minutes worth of videos of the initial disaster, and it was quite horrifying to see, especially the tsunami videos. We don't have cable, so I'm anything but a TV person, but seeing the power of it was much more "real" than reading about it has ever been. Still, I don't know if there's any true good purpose beyond bringing the reality of it home. I certainly see no purpose in watching more videos of similar areas.

[AsahinaKimi]

23. I used to have nightmares... as a child.

The Nightmares always involved Tsunami. Being at the beach. Reaching higher ground. Swimming in the ocean, and watching a wave rise higher then a six story building. The waves scared me and I would wake up screaming.

The funny thing is I never feared swimming in the ocean, or swimming at all. But in the back of my mind, there was always the fear of Tsunami. I never really knew that they were different from my dreams.

When I watched the film in Indonesia, I couldn't believe my eyes. It was nothing like the dream. This wall of white water foam rushing towards shore... and pouring over embankments with so little effort. It became a river of mud, and debris.

When I heard about the tsunami in Japan, I had to face my fears again, and So I watched. These videos clearly showed how wrong my dreams were, once again. Nothing like what I had experienced in the dream. These graphic scenes of cars, boats, and roaring water, traveling across country picking up houses and buildings where they stood, and carrying them along.

It reminded me of when I was a child, and saw the water hose flood an area, picking up sticks, paper, everything, and washing it all away. One would never imagine a tsunami to be like that, on a grander scale, but it was.

I saw all of the devastation, and think of all the families, and people who never saw it coming, and couldn't get to higher ground. When I had heard the wave was coming to California, I was terrified and stayed up all night, to see how the waves would hit Hawaii. When I saw they were nothing like Japan, I felt better.

I have been in a major flood. I have been in several Earthquakes. I have been in snow storms, Ice storms, and I have had to go to shelter because of a tornado. But nothing...nothing is more devastating then a tsunami. You can't run away from it. You can't drive away from it. You need time to leave.


The above painting, has helped me to steady my fears about Tsunami. Facing your fears help. I surrounded myself with this image for many years, hoping that my fear would become less and less, and it has helped some.


But after seeing the recent videos...Its hard to not think of those dreams, and the terror I felt as a child. To know the horror of what has become of the people in its path. I live by the ocean, and maybe I will never know this horror. But.. then again, no one can tell what the future will bring. Its just a matter of time, I suppose. I can only hope I can reach high ground when it does happen. I can only hope, I am given enough time.