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by JuneBug » Sun Apr 10, 2011 9:19 pm
I've come across two articles that made me think about this issue of disasters and what preparation means and how we function in the face of disaster. This particular article has some very interesting things to say about how our minds interplay with an unending stream of information during a disaster.
Unpacking for a Disaster: What You Need to Survive the Unexpected
a few paragraphs:
"A disaster is a big foray into the unknown and into uncertainty. We hate those things. We like to know what’s going to happen. Even in our own quiet everyday lives, we like to fill in the blanks. The media feeds this urge during crises with a lot of speculation and a stream of stereotypes. After all, it’s their job to know, and yet a disaster means a million unexpected things are going on all at once amid severely disrupted communications networks, which often means that they don’t know either, that no one does......So in a disaster, unload the usual clichés and stereotypes. Do your best not to fill up the unknown with fantasy or fear. Don’t assume the worst or the best, but keep an alert mind on the actual as it unfolds. Don’t take scenarios for realities. Be prepared to reevaluate and change your plans again and again.
Which is to say that disaster is like everyday life, only more so.
Don’t bring a lot of fear of the neighbors: if you’re not rescuing them, they might be rescuing you, and afterward you may very well be building a community kitchen together in the ruins. In San Francisco, we have a website called 72hours.org, which acknowledges that you’re likely to be on your own in a major disaster. There just aren’t enough rescue personnel, firefighters, and so forth to respond on the scale such a disaster requires. So help yourself and the people around you."
this writing has some interesting slants; as they say in the recovery community, "Take what you need and leave the rest."
The second article about the disaster in japan is about a Japanese fisherman
Defiant Japanese boat captain rode out tsunami
who decided to go out and meet the tsunami head on, knowing that if he couldn't save his boat, his island would be completely isolated.
Not sure why, but this article touched me in a very deep way. Maybe it is the captain's connection to his boats or his selflessness and the selflessness of others.
Anyway, most people go about life in a really grounded and decent way and I suspect in the face of difficult times, this will be their default mode.
Unpacking for a Disaster: What You Need to Survive the Unexpected
a few paragraphs:
"A disaster is a big foray into the unknown and into uncertainty. We hate those things. We like to know what’s going to happen. Even in our own quiet everyday lives, we like to fill in the blanks. The media feeds this urge during crises with a lot of speculation and a stream of stereotypes. After all, it’s their job to know, and yet a disaster means a million unexpected things are going on all at once amid severely disrupted communications networks, which often means that they don’t know either, that no one does......So in a disaster, unload the usual clichés and stereotypes. Do your best not to fill up the unknown with fantasy or fear. Don’t assume the worst or the best, but keep an alert mind on the actual as it unfolds. Don’t take scenarios for realities. Be prepared to reevaluate and change your plans again and again.
Which is to say that disaster is like everyday life, only more so.
Don’t bring a lot of fear of the neighbors: if you’re not rescuing them, they might be rescuing you, and afterward you may very well be building a community kitchen together in the ruins. In San Francisco, we have a website called 72hours.org, which acknowledges that you’re likely to be on your own in a major disaster. There just aren’t enough rescue personnel, firefighters, and so forth to respond on the scale such a disaster requires. So help yourself and the people around you."
this writing has some interesting slants; as they say in the recovery community, "Take what you need and leave the rest."
The second article about the disaster in japan is about a Japanese fisherman
Defiant Japanese boat captain rode out tsunami
who decided to go out and meet the tsunami head on, knowing that if he couldn't save his boat, his island would be completely isolated.
Not sure why, but this article touched me in a very deep way. Maybe it is the captain's connection to his boats or his selflessness and the selflessness of others.
Anyway, most people go about life in a really grounded and decent way and I suspect in the face of difficult times, this will be their default mode.
"The large print giveth; the small print taketh away" Tom Waits
- JuneBug
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