Indonesian volcanic tsunami

Some reports saying the wall of water was 20 meters high! Terrible pictures in the news media.

@divegeester said
Some reports saying the wall of water was 20 meters high! Terrible pictures in the news media.

As of 15 minutes ago:

At least 222 people have been killed and 843 injured after a tsunami hit the coast of Indonesia’s Sunda Strait.
Twenty-eight people are missing and authorities expect the death toll to rise as many affected areas have not yet been reached.
The tsunami hit at about 9.20pm on Saturday night. There was no pre-warning given. Here is an explanation as to why that was.
The tsunami is thought to have been caused by the eruption of the Anak Krakatoa volcano, which may have triggered underwater landslides. People have been warned to stay away from the coast due to fears of another tsunami.
Sutopo Purwo Nugroho from Indonesia’s disaster management agency said that 556 houses, nine hotels, 60 culinary stalls and 350 boats were known to have been damaged.
Aid agencies are at the scene. The Red Cross is on site in some of the worst affected areas of Pandeglang, Lampung and Serang. An Oxfam assessment team is going to the Strait today to gather more information about what has happened and what they can do.
Indonesian rock band Seventeen were midway through a performance in a tent at Tanjung Lesung beach resort in west Java when the wave hit and obliterated the stage, dragging the musicians and audience members with it. The band’s bassist and road manager both died, while four other band members are still missing.

Generally, do you think that religious belief or a lack of religious belief has any affect on 'compassion fatigue'?

@fmf said
Generally, do you think that religious belief or a lack of religious belief has any affect on 'compassion fatigue'?

What in the world are you talking about?

@secondson said
What in the world are you talking about?

Compassion fatigue. And the influence of beliefs: a question posed n the wake of this latest and umpteenth mass-fatality natural disaster in this country.

With the 24 hour news cycle, there is virtually always some ghastly disaster unfolding somewhere on the planet.

People can and often do become numb to the numbers, the consequences, the frequency. I wonder to what extent religious belief/lack of religious belief has an impact on compassion fatigue in cases like this latest tsunami here in Indonesia - and, indeed, the relentless incidence of such tragedies across the globe year in year out.

@fmf said
Generally, do you think that religious belief or a lack of religious belief has any affect on 'compassion fatigue'?

Don't know, good question. I imagine these things occurred all the time before too,
but we didn't have instant news coverage of them. I recall reading accounts of the
Hinderberger German blimp crash and when people saw it on the newsreels they
broke down and cried over the loss of life, I can only imagine it was due to them
not being exposed to it daily like we are.

@fmf said
Compassion fatigue. And the influence of beliefs: a question posed n the wake of this latest and umpteenth mass-fatality natural disaster in this country.

With the 24 hour news cycle, there is virtually always some ghastly disaster unfolding somewhere on the planet.

People can and often do become numb to the numbers, the consequences, the frequency. I wonder to what exten ...[text shortened]... donesia - and, indeed, the relentless incidence of such tragedies across the globe year in year out.

Not sure that religion has as much to do with it as just exposure to these great losses of life.

@kellyjay said
Not sure that religion has as much to do with it as just exposure to these great losses of life.

So I take what you are saying to mean that compassion ~ or stamina for compassion, as it were [when there is a great loss of life among strangers] ~ is unlikely to be affected by one's religious beliefs.

@fmf said
So I take what you are saying to mean that compassion ~ or stamina for compassion, as it were [when there is a great loss of life among strangers] ~ is unlikely to be affected by one's religious beliefs.

I'm sure it will be different with each person, you can have a highly compassionate
non-believer and one without much that does believe. It maybe someone's faith
doesn't call for compassion and another's whose does. I think there are a lot of
different variables at play here. All of them regardless I think are going to be
affected as you pointed out by the frequency of the events, it can become mind
numbing.

@kellyjay said
I'm sure it will be different with each person, you can have a highly compassionate
non-believer and one without much that does believe. It maybe someone's faith
doesn't call for compassion and another's whose does. I think there are a lot of
different variables at play here. All of them regardless I think are going to be
affected as you pointed out by the frequency of the events, it can become mind
numbing.

Right, so you are saying that - generally speaking - compassion is unlikely to be affected by one's religious beliefs in a way that would set believers apart from non-believers in this matter.

@fmf said
Generally, do you think that religious belief or a lack of religious belief has any affect on 'compassion fatigue'?

Well I am relieved to know that you and your family are safe and well my old friend...

@fmf said
Right, so you are saying that - generally speaking - compassion is unlikely to be affected by one's religious beliefs in a way that would set believers apart from non-believers in this matter.

Being a believer does not turn us into a different species.
Being led by God will, since part of that is acting even if we don't 'feel' like it, or
causing us to act completely differently than we want. Hating what someone did
to us, yet acting out of love towards them goes against our human nature, but
following God it is what we should be doing.

@kellyjay said
Being a believer does not turn us into a different species.
Being led by God will, since part of that is acting even if we don't 'feel' like it, or
causing us to act completely differently than we want. Hating what someone did
to us, yet acting out of love towards them goes against our human nature, but
following God it is what we should be doing.

We are not discussing "hating what someone did to us" or reacting to that. We are discussing natural disasters and our reaction to them.

Do you think that people who are "led by God" [however you wish to define that] are more or less likely to experience compassion fatigue when it comes to relentless natural disasters than people who do not profess to be "led by God"?

@fmf said
We are not discussing "hating what someone did to us" or reacting to that. We are discussing natural disasters and our reaction to them.

Do you think that people who are "led by God" [however you wish to define that] are more or less likely to experience compassion fatigue when it comes to relentless natural disasters than people who do not profess to be "led by God"?

Led by God will over come our natural instincts, if we don't have compassion and
we should have, He gives it to us as we follow Him. Our natural desires are very
selfish, they do not always serve us and others well, from time to time yes, but not
always.

@kellyjay said
Led by God will over come our natural instincts, if we don't have compassion and
we should have, He gives it to us as we follow Him. Our natural desires are very
selfish, they do not always serve us and others well, from time to time yes, but not
always.

Look, I'm sorry KellyJay. But is this a "Yes" or "No" to my specific question?