At the end of my last post, a post that attempted to share facts, as opposed to beliefs, about the science of earthquakes, tsunamis and other natural catastrophes, I concluded with the exclamation “Enjoy!”. I’ve been reading about the after-effects of this horrible catastrophe, and realize that asking someone to enjoy even that kind of intellectual scrutiny was severely inappropriate, so I take it back.
It seems that when natural disaster strikes, hysteria takes over. Rumors, and mis-impressions, and ignorance and outright lies start traveling as fast as a tsunami wave across the ocean. Faster, now that we’re in the age of the internet and instant communications. The recent one in Japan is no exception.
And of course, there is the usual religious blather. I’m waiting for Pat Robertson to claim that it’s all because of teh gays.
We have established that god hates figs, but it’s difficult to understand why god hates Haiti. To watch the Jobian tribulations being imposed on that poor country, someone with a religious bent would have to conclude that the Haitians did something to royally piss god off. First, a massive earthquake devastates the country earlier this year, leaving millions to live in conditions that most countries would find deplorable. Then cholera steps in to add insult to injury, possibly brought there by relief workers. Today Hurricane Tomas is dumping tons of water on the country, and whipping it into a froth with high winds. In a country where a corrugated sheet of metal is called home, this can only result in a disaster of major proportions.
SPANISH INQUISITOR 