As the spring tornados, thunderstorms, hail storms, wildfires, floods and other disasters descend upon us, we here in the Great Orange Airmass are fortunate to have some great diarists who provide us with timely warnings, informative explanations, and constructive suggestions for staying safe. They're joined by hundreds of Kossacks from within and beyond the affected area who post local observations and updates, worry about loved ones in harm's way, share links, photos, and information, and offer empathy and support and help.
These weather diaries offer a glimpse into what's best about this place, and how our collective observations, intelligence, compassion, insight, and sense of community can save and transform lives.
While most of the commentary is constructive, these diaries also evoke occasional responses suggesting that the residents of the affected state or community brought this upon themselves or somehow deserved their fate because of their politics, religion, or their [perceived] stereotypical attitudes.
God, karma, or some other Force of the Universe, some delight in pointing out, sent this natural disaster to punish these folks (while concurrently offering unparalleled opportunities for schadenfreude to those smugly observing from afar).
It's starting already:
Obviously, God is pissed at those people (0+ / 0-)
and she just can't take it any longer.
Follow along below the looming storm cloud for more...
As a human being, I can’t fathom that a deity would be so reckless and capricious in meting out “justice”. Given the seemingly random impacts of tornados, for example, and the fact that churches and the homes of the “faithful” and pillars in the community are destroyed, this doesn’t appear to be the work of a loving (or omnipotent) being. Animals and children, who really can’t be considered at fault for much, also suffer casualties. In all likelihood, plenty of evil-doers are spared the ravages of the storm.
The rain, it's been said, falls on the just and the unjust; the same can be said of every natural or human-exacerbated peril (although Mark Twain’s take on the issue is worth a chuckle):
The rain ...falls upon the just and the unjust>alike; a thing which would not happen if I were superintending the rain's affairs. No, I would rain softly and sweetly on the just, but if I caught a sample of the unjust outdoors I would drown him.
- Mark Twain, a Biography
As a scientist, I know that a deadly tornado won't suddenly halt at an arbitrary human-made border to spare the residents of the next state in its path. I accept that human activities have affected weather and climate patterns including the frequency, location, and intensity of storms and droughts. Nonetheless, we hear from some commenters that natural disasters are targeting climate-change deniers, creationists, and others who don’t share "our" enlightened scientific beliefs.
As a Progressive living in the [currently] Red Lone Star State, I hear plenty of derisive comments about our state, our governor, our people, and our Texas stereotypes. Those of us who are governed by morons take a hefty share of verbal abuse for the idiocies of those in elected office (in addition to the economic and political abuse of living under a Reign of Error).
Yes, our Secessionist-in-Chief loves to brag about his direct connection with God, about how he turns down federal funds, about how he would have dismantled the federal government, how he's cut state funding for firefighting and other services to the bone. While he'd be an obvious target for the Wrath of Someone, I don't think that's why we suffer droughts, wildfires, thunderstorms, tornados, and hailstorms across Texas.
For those who want to blame Texans - or any other target population - or tell us that brought this on ourselves, please remember: every person in the path of the storm means something to someone, somewhere. They're parents, grandparents, spouses, kids, friends, neighbors, co-workers, business associates, fellow parishioners. They're the babysitter, Little League coach, grocery store clerk, doctor, patient, fishing buddy, waitress, teacher, or the pastor.
Perhaps you think that you’re immune; that you and everyone you care about is safely situated out of harm’s way. Everyone in your clan votes the right way, worships the right deity, supports the right ideals. They don’t make the fatal rookie mistake of living in a Red State. Or on a floodplain. Or near the coast. Or in the heartland.
Either that, or you’re convinced that you’re so vitally important to the continued spinning of the planet that You Simply Must Be Spared.
But even if you naively believe any of that, ask yourself: don’t you have anyone in your circle of acquaintances who might be in harm’s way? Your college buddies? Your Army buddies? You kid (or your neighbor’s kid) away at college? Your parents or in-laws? Former co-workers? Your spouse’s friends?
Even the people you don’t know personally should be on your list: the folks on the assembly line building your new car. The banker reviewing your small-business loan. The doctor interpreting your medical test results. We’d probably want these people alive and well and undistracted by personal calamity.
Many of us have personal connections that extend across the country, even around the world. When the earthquake struck in New Zealand, I immediately e-mailed colleagues there to verify that they were safe, and later, to learn of their work to assess and repair the damage. Flooding in Australia? Friends there e-mailed photos and video.
With relatives from New England to California and colleagues and friends around the world, my first thoughts are usually "are they safe?" or “were they affected?” They have the same concerns for me. Although the recent tornados in Texas happened hundreds of miles from me, worried friends and family texted and e-mailed, asking if I was okay.
We’re connected. We’re all in the path of something: the blizzard, the tornado, the spring floods, the hurricane, the earthquake, the mudslide, the wildfires... We’re all in this together.
So, in the name of [insert deity or belief/non-belief system here], enough already.
If you don’t feel any empathy for those affected by tornados, hurricanes, floods, earthquakes, mudslides, hailstorms, droughts, or wildfires, or if you feel that they deserved the loss of life, injuries, property damage, business losses, and emotional trauma, please feel free to keep your thoughts to yourself.
For the rest of you: thank you for sharing your information, your observations, your suggestions, your prayers and positive thoughts for those in harm's way. When storm clouds loom, we find safe harbor in the Great Orange Airmass, where we're armed with timely information and practical advice, and supported by caring and compassionate friends.