empathy
noun.
the quality or process of entering fully, through imagination, into another's feelings or motives.
From WIKI:
Empathy is commonly defined as one's ability to recognize, perceive and directly experientially feel the emotion of another. As the states of mind, beliefs, and desires of others are intertwined with their emotions, one with empathy for another may often be able to more effectively define another's modes of thought and mood. Empathy is often characterized as the ability to "put oneself into another's shoes", or experiencing the outlook or emotions of another being within oneself, a sort of emotional resonance.
Sympathy is, "I'm sorry for your sadness, I wish to help."
Emotional Contagion is, "I feel sad."
Empathy is, "I feel your sadness."
Apathy is, " I don't care how you feel. "
Telepathy is, "I read your sadness without you expressing it to me in any normal way.
This is just one of those days that turns everything upside down. A piece of news that so blind-sides your senses that you want to go find a nice quiet place and curl up in a ball. What do you do when a news story so powerful as the Virginia Tech shootings wipes out what you thought might be a light-hearted topic for Top Comments diary? You start over and wonder if there is ANYTHING that you can say that is remotely relevant or meaningful in the wake of this event.
Just as I was thinking it, after watching a few minutes of TV blather, L C Johnson wrote a diary that said, far better than I could ever do, what stuck in my mind. This is just the merest taste on the tip of the tongue of what Iraqis live with every day.
We will now be treated to a media frenzy of staggering proportions analyzing ever single detail of this single tragedy while their habit has been to give mere seconds in daily coverage to the carnage on the other side of the world. And woe be if Katie Couric shows up tomorrow morning asking how relatives of the victims 'feel' about the loss of their loved ones like she did after Columbine school shooting because I will be in serious need of a padded room to kept from going off on the media.
Make no mistake, this is a senseless tragedy in our own country and I mourn deeply for the loss of life and innocence for the students, faculty and surrounding area residents of the Virginia Tech campus, indeed the whole country. But I am angered at the way the MSM will present this story today and in the coming days as they cement this into our collective conscious. And makes me all the more thankful for the voices here a dkos.
If that wasn't bad enough in and of itself, the White house released this little gem:
A White House spokesman said President Bush was horrified by the rampage and offered his prayers to the victims and the people of Virginia.
"The president believes that there is a right for people to bear arms, but that all laws must be followed," spokeswoman Dana Perino said
I apologize for riding L C Johnson's coattails with my commentary tonight, but I am, like so many of you, stunned and struggling to find the right words for what happened today. All the while remembering that this is just a taste of what our legacy is doing to another country. Just a taste.
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My Selections
Diary: Now Do You Understand?
By: L C Johnson
L C Johnson's equanimous voice of reason presents a view from another angle.
nyceve's comment.
dancewater updates the latest from Iraq since that info will be lost in the MSM this day.
Esjaydee understands.
Democrat runs some numbers for the sake of contrast.
eyelessgame puts a wicked backspin on the spin.
Diary: Paul Krugman gave me permission to ask some difficult questions
By: nyceve
nyceve is off to the races with a plan to pin down every single presidential candidate on specifics of their healthcare proposals for explicit examination. They better get their how-to-fix healthcare items in a row to past muster with this crowd!
Dallasdoc has a couple of excellent comments in this thread.
LithiumCola gets right to the 'heart' of the matter.
Dallasdoc follows up on LC and expounds on the absurdity of the Clinton/Frist report.
SignalSuzie got attention for this piece of information.
Reb Kaplan has a well-founded basis for comparison.
Flippant to the Last was very un-flippant with this comment.
Diary: More Economic Lies From the White House
By: bonddad
bonddad examines this whopper:
"The White House says the economic surge that began five and a half years ago on President Bush's watch is more robust than the much-touted expansion during the Clinton administration. "This is a much stronger expansion in a lot of ways," White House spokesman Tony Fratto told The Examiner. "It's much deeper and more measured"
bonddad shoots it right out of the water with the cold, hard facts. His final question: are you better off than you were 7 years ago, elicits some stunning responses.
Jerome a Paris adds a chart that is worth a thousand words!
LithiumCola is on fire today with another great comment!
berith on 'Reagan benefits'.
desordre remplir has some personal cold, hard numbers.
MsWings on the differences in her life between then and now.
Diary: BREAKING: France told CIA about hijacking plans pre-9/11
By: another American
A potential bunker-buster of an article is due out tomorrow relating proof that the Bush administation was told specifically of a plane hijacking plot by French military intelligence.
FishOutofWater brings a money quote!
Stand Strong has another very damning quote.
Skulnick's excellent action item!
Stand Strong serves up a steaming dish of AP spin on this report.
Diary: Give Josh Marshall the Pulitzer
By: VirginaDem
This diary lays out some sound reasoning why careful, in-depth reporting that has been the hallmark of TPM is due for some recognition.
Ducktape gives some extra well-earned props to outstanding reporting and analysis.
kellogg reminds us of what has been missing for so long.
Front Page: We've Trained Iraq Well
By Devilstower
A thoughtful comparison of the Bush administration spin techniques as they are now played in Iraq.
Thomas C looks into how U.S. media is reporting this story as opposed to international media.
ActivistGuy points out the 'surge' fallacy in this on-point frame.
ANKOSS has a strong opinion.
Front Page: Bad Daddy
By: Trapper John
A righteous essay on Cheney's big bad daddy act and how thin it is getting.
arthura has a brilliant assessment of Cheney and a warning about who might step into his shoes.
GreyHawk entertains with some catchy lyrics.
~~~~~~~~~~
From va dare
In the rec-list diary, "UPDATED: France told CIA about hijacking plans pre-9/11" by another American.
Comment made by Quicksilver: who is to say they didn't?
From Light Emitting Pickle:
cotterperson gives some perspective
on a tragedy in Larry
Johnson's diary.
From MaskedKat
Would like to nominate cookiesandmilk's comment "Virus Alert", on atrexler's diary on Gonzales.
~~~~~~~~~~
Top Mojo is brought to you tonight by BeninSC Thank you very much Ben!
Top Mojo - excluding search-identifiable tip jars, first diary comments and C&J comments:
1 Here's the money quote on the 9-11 Comm. by FishOutofWater - 194
2 He was a mainstream Republican by NYPopulist - 177
3 I just heard a Middle Eastern student... by Joy Busey - 163
4 "Laws must be followed" by gchaucer2 - 140
5 Larry Johnson will be pilloried by QuickSilver - 137
6 No problem. by L C Johnson - 128
7 They could have sent every one of those docs by PatsBard - 111
8 Reopen the 9/11 investigation by DivaBabe - 108
9 Hmmm.... by Stand Strong - 100
10 What a week by bacchusbucks - 88
11 Thanks by technetron - 87
12 I don't think they should be concealed. by inclusiveheart - 85
13 F--king unbelievable. by SusanHu - 82
14 Hokie faculty here -- by osterizer - 81
15 Universities in Iraq by SusanHu - 81
16 LC Johnson, thank you for making this point . . . by nyceve - 79
17 "Um, Mr. Chairman by Califlander - 78
18 It's nice to see.. by Scoopster - 76
19 This should be the plattform of the Democrats by Statusquomustgo - 73
20 . by Stand Strong - 71
21 Maybe he would have responded: by ChemGeek - 67
22 Liberal ballast by Dallasdoc - 63
23 If true, this is treason! by frisco - 62
24 We could have better healthcare with good by inclusiveheart - 62
25 Agreed by litigatormom - 61
26 When I think of Moms and Dads by sherlyle - 60
27 Thank you, traitor Joe Lieberman. by ek hornbeck - 60
28 Actually, the pro gun thing is just HALF of it by brainwave - 59
29 from a wahoo to a hokie by Jeffersonian Democrat - 58
30 It's getting really crowded under that bus ... by Jon Meltzer - 58
Top Mojo - everything included:
1 Tip jar and request for more information. nt by another American - 514
2 tip jar by theyrereal - 332
3 tips by VirginiaDem - 236
4 tips by atrexler - 222
5 I hope some.. by Welshman - 219
6 Well done by Patriot4peace - 204
7 what fun by FleetAdmiralJ - 198
8 Here's the money quote on the 9-11 Comm. by FishOutofWater - 194
9 He was a mainstream Republican by NYPopulist - 177
10 Tip jar by The Angry Rakkasan - 169
11 I just heard a Middle Eastern student... by Joy Busey - 163
12 Don't ever doubt your right to advocate . . . by nyceve - 156
13 Glenn's an idiot. by Mike S - 149
14 "Laws must be followed" by gchaucer2 - 140
15 Larry Johnson will be pilloried by QuickSilver - 137
16 Delayed tip jar n/t by NYPopulist - 131
17 No problem. by L C Johnson - 128
18 Was there ever by mojavefog - 123
19 Nicely done. by GreyHawk - 113
20 They could have sent every one of those docs by PatsBard - 111
21 Reopen the 9/11 investigation by DivaBabe - 108
22 Hmmm.... by Stand Strong - 100
23 What a week by bacchusbucks - 88
24 Thanks by technetron - 87
25 I don't think they should be concealed. by inclusiveheart - 85
26 Tip jar by occams hatchet - 84
27 F--king unbelievable. by SusanHu - 82
28 Hokie faculty here -- by osterizer - 81
29 Universities in Iraq by SusanHu - 81
30 LC Johnson, thank you for making this point . . . by nyceve - 79
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