The thing about region-specific disasters in the modern era is that for a lot of people it's the worst thing that's ever happened to them and their lives are completely ruined, but you go online and it's a smattering of people acknowledging it and most people just going about their normal business- - ThreadSky

altermentality.bsky.social • 68 days ago

The thing about region-specific disasters in the modern era is that for a lot of people it's the worst thing that's ever happened to them and their lives are completely ruined, but you go online and it's a smattering of people acknowledging it and most people just going about their normal business-

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jordanfreemen.bsky.social•68 days ago

As someone who lived through Hurricane Katrina, even if current events feel like they're swept under the rug so fast, at least folks can be thankful when their natural disasters aren't treated with mockery and their presence seen as a nuisance.

We've come a long way from then.

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

You still see people politicizing things and thinking that everyone who lives in a certain area "deserves it". I've seen people do this regardless of where on the political spectrum they lie.

Overall there is more compassion/respect and an attempt to spread resources, though, I agree.

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

and it makes sense; not everyone can constantly be concerned about others' problems all the time, or there would be no happiness or frivolity anywhere in the world, but I think it DOES get at the fundamental disconnect and cognitive dissonance of what the internet is for humanity...

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

I first became aware of this during Hurricane Harvey; it didn't even really affect me personally in a permanent way, but it still seemed so all-encompassing at the time and my communities online were just streaming as always or talking about how excited they were for Mario Odyssey or whatever

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

It's very strange when you suddenly realize that the people you consider your community are actually rather disconnected from the immediate events of your life. Humans didn't develop to be this way and we don't know how to comprehend it or deal with it. It's all very alienating and surreal

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

On a smaller scale, this is happening to individuals constantly. It's the same way with grief. In older days, if you lost someone you cared about (particularly family member), chances are a lot of people in your "community" knew them as well and you can all mourn mutually. That's less and less true

ebornian.bsky.social•66 days ago

In a sense, it's a bit like being a professional traveler: one doesn't have just >one< community, but two or more distinct ones, which just happen to intersect on oneself.

Thus, one will likely have >a< community that shares a given tragedy, one may have other communities that do not.

altermentality.bsky.social•68 days ago

And I think about all this every time something like these fires happen, and I see half posts about them and half posts about if Donkey Kong Country Returns is overpriced or whatever. I think about my part in all this and in the world. I think about where I want to center myself

darkmarxsoul.bsky.social•67 days ago

This sort of thing keeps me up at night sometimes, and not just after natural disasters but also just the ongoing struggles of poverty, starvation, war, oppression...it's hard to bear, and so you move on, but then there's some guilt about not acknowledging or helping it either. Tough world.

goofylibra.bsky.social•67 days ago

Not everyone has to be talking about the L.A fires. It's a horrible tragedy unfolding in real time, but it's not owed the entirety of the internet until it's resolved

altermentality.bsky.social•67 days ago

Just so people don't misinterpret the tone of the thread, I meant it to be more melancholy and reflective than judgmental. I talk about video games while disasters are going on elsewhere too

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