It looks like you're using an Ad Blocker.

Please white-list or disable AboveTopSecret.com in your ad-blocking tool.

Thank you.

 

Some features of ATS will be disabled while you continue to use an ad-blocker.

 

Have you cried? Do you care? Please tell me I am not alone.

page: 4
55
<< 1  2  3    5  6  7 >>

log in

join
share:

posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 09:53 AM
link   

Originally posted by bandito
I cried . I was out , without communication for several days and come home to find my portfolio down $60,000.00 , running with loose stops . Mainly uranium stocks . Now the middle east , not so much because the oil stocks are doing quite well . The gold stocks are up a lot so i'm not losing any sleep over those . Fairly sure i'll make it back in the uranium stocks as it's only the people who jump off the roller coaster that get hurt so i'm staying in . Feel bad about the Japanese folks but can't say that i've been doing any crying over it . We all have our own tear thresh hold and money is definately mine .


Well at least you're honest but I'm sure you are aware people will want to slam you for that cold post. I say to those people, don't bother guys as this one is just looking for some attention.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 10:14 AM
link   

Originally posted by westcoast
I'm struggling a bit in how to start this. To convey what it is that has been plaguing me since the 9.0 quake in Japan. No, that is not completely accurate. It started before that. It bothered me last year too during the Haiti quake, and the Chili quake and the BP oil spill. But this past week it just seems to be even worse.

You know, I like so many others here lately on ATS had a growing sense these last couple of weeks that something really bad was going to happen. It was almost like a symptom of our societies illness weighing on us and we knew it had to burst out somewhere soon. Not the quake itself, but the reactions afterward. It is just so obvious to me and I feel like so few other people even recognize it for what it is. Do you? Do you see it? Do you feel it weighing heavy around you like an oily smoke that you don't want to breath in but there is no where else to go?

I have posted no less than ten different links to articles and videos on first the quake, the tsunami, the nuclear catastrophe and the horrific struggle for survival on my facebook these past four days. Do you know how many 'likes' I got? Two or three. Do you know how many people commented? Three. I have a lot of 'freinds'. It may seem like a funny thing to have bother me, but I have found that Facebook is actually a pretty good thermometer for our society.

It is really bothering me. Have you cried? Have you looked at the images of people being swept away, the horrific screams of the onlookers as they watched their homes and loved ones ripped away from them and felt something other than your own selfish needs? Does it move you? Or do you click on the next link, hit the pause button and instead choose to read about Charlie Sheen because it is just so much easier?

I understand the need for normalcy. I realize it isn't healthy to dwell in a misery that you can't do anything about. But it certainly isn't normal to ignore the pain of others just becuase it is unpleasant to think about. Last year I was at work when I realized the full terror of the Haiti quake. I began to cry. It was just light, quiet, a few tears that only a couple of people noticed. When I told them why, I was met with completey blank looks. It didn't even register on their faces. These were nurses. Parents. People. They simply didn't care or didn't allow themselves to care. Absolutely no empathy.

Empathy. The capacity to recognize and share feelings of hapiness or sadness of another person. To care. To love.

The capacity of caring that I have seen in most people since this tragedy in Japan began, is whether or not they have to worry about radiation spreading to their part of the world. Much easier to concentrate on a threat that most likely wont happen rather than the million plus people that are without water, electricity and food in sub-freezing weather fighting for survival.

The Japanese as a society will survive. They are a strong community built on honor and pride. They don't loot from there neighbor because they are vulnerable, but will help each other to rebuild because it is the honorable thing to do.

Us? I'm not so sure. I fear for us. I fear for our apathy and sense of entitlement. We don't think we should have to work for our happiness anymore, but that we deserve it. No matter what the cost. What has it cost you? Do you take care of your parents after they are old and feeble, do you look out for your neighbor when they are sick or in need? Do you extend a hand to a stranger asking for help or look away because it is just easier that way?

My soul is aching. It is a physical pain. But you know what? It is so much better than not feeling anything at all.





I have cried many a tear for the people of Japan. Their troubles have only begun. Those who pray, need to pray more. I have a hard time watching the heart wrenching videos. My soul longs for a miraculous healing.

One thing that struck me though is, where is the Church in all of this?



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 10:16 AM
link   
I didn't sleep for two days. The earthquake and tsunami were bad enough, but it was the nuclear disaster that made me lose sleep.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 10:20 AM
link   
If you want my honest opinion i have actually been quite worryingly apathetic towards the whole situation...very unlike me and i still don't know why i have a shrug of the shoulders attitude towards it, usually when it comes to these sorts of events i am obsessively following them and getting caught up in the ATS whirlwind of threads...not so with this.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 10:20 AM
link   
Haven't cried but I have felt a sense of helplessness and despairing over the losses. It has made me thinking about how what happens in one country affects others. Nothing on this planet is isolated. It has made me realize that if there wasn't an ocean separating me from asia that we would be one continent and why do bodies of water have to be the line between one country and another? I realize that in evolutionary terms the spreading of the continents and increasing distances has separated the peoples and formed the different races. But I think that in the future people will look back and think it was elementary that we had different countries because they were separated by water.

One of the links had a before/after, like this:
www.msnbc.msn.com...

Just an incredible loss. For what? How much has disaster in the past 20 years cost us? Does love have a price. This is a lot of hurt for humanity to bare. It's not a wonder how we're so bent up.

How many more disasters will we have to cope with? How much more death?

Japan has taken a big hit. How many children lost a dad or a mommy. How many parents lost a child. How many families are torn apart. How many will have to live the rest of their life broken.

We will all in some way feel the pain of this loss for the rest of our lives here on earth.
edit on 16-3-2011 by jonnywhite because: (no reason given)



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 10:51 AM
link   

Originally posted by cosmicpixie


Well at least you're honest but I'm sure you are aware people will want to slam you for that cold post. I say to those people, don't bother guys as this one is just looking for some attention.


No , you're wrong . I'm not looking for any attention it's just that some people don't get all that misty over things all that easily . Just the way it is although i do express sorrow for the Japanese people , 10,000 of which were killed in the earthquake/tsunami and to my knowledge none yet in the nukes and the whole board seems to be wailing over the nukes , which haven't killed anyone , yet, but you wouldn't know it by many of the posters on here who are forecasting armageddon . Meanwhile the actual 10,000 real dead are on page 3 of the newspaper while the nuke story is front page material designed to frighten and cause hysteria and it's certainly working here . If the nukes turn into a Chernobyl , maybe then , but it doesn't look like it as of right now . I'm not totally insensitive , just a realist . Some guy started a post yesterday claiming that it's just a matter of time , and soon 6 reactors will result in total meltdowns and core breaches and i'll believe it when i see it but you may continue crying all you want .



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:01 AM
link   

Originally posted by Rocky Black
reply to post by dalloway
 


Dont be sad. It's ok. The people are very stong and deteermined to resolve this and like I said in my other post they will risk their lives for the good of Japan and for the good of the people.


If you cry it is ok and is very normal.

It is hard to see anyone suffering especially the young and old.

Fell not sadness by feel happy that these people are doing everything the can to prevent a catastophy like none have seen.


Be postitive and hope for the best .


Thank you, Rocky. Even just a few kind words like yours go a long way! And you're right, we should be uplifting and encouragine them as they start, already, to try to clear away the debris and start over again. I keep thinking about those brave workers who are putting themselves in harm's way to try and mitigate the situation at Fukushima, not only for their own country of Japan, but for the whole world. I am an empirical kind of girl so I tend to be verrrry skeptical about 12/21/12 and all of that doomsday prophecy stuff, but things do feel kind of End of the World-ish this week.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:02 AM
link   

Originally posted by HADOUKEN
It may sound repugnant and I'm sure I'll get flamed, but I truly don't care. I'll look out for my family and a handful close friends when needed, but anyone else is fair game. In my opinion that's how it's supposed to be: no paper currency, no being born into wealth, no illusions of power, just your own ingenuity/ruthlessness. I'm praying for a SHTF scenario where the U.S. just absolutely collapses into chaos. Living, killing, and dieing in that uncertain, terrifying, and unbridled brutality is my biggest fantasy.

But on the other side of the coin, I'd join any type of resistance, armed or otherwise, to destroy the ridiculous system that currently oppresses us all. The rapid dog mentality I'm saving for the possibility of a 'no future' scenario.
edit on 16-3-2011 by HADOUKEN because: (no reason given)

edit on 16-3-2011 by HADOUKEN because: (no reason given)



No, I am not going to flame you. But I am sorry. I'm so sorry that your world is such a dark place that you wish for it be destroyed. You obviously feel love for your family and friends...just imagine for a moment if you felt that same way about everyone? What if they returned it? There wouldn't be a need or 'unbridled brutality'.

I don't believe that we are here to kill each other or our planet. We are here to learn and grow and our species as a whole is failing this class.

That ridiculous system that 'oppresses' us will destroy itslef. And how is it suppressing you? We are the only ones in control of how we feel and how we act. The only hate and fear is what you yourself create whithin yourself.

I think every single one of us has the capacity to be exceptional. If we allow ourselves. We are the only ones holding ourselves back. It is OKAY to feel pain for someone else because then you can feel love for them and in turn love for yourself. If we are first honest (sometimes painfully), show compassion and accept that this world and our lives are whatever we chose to make it then we can begin to feel the begining of what is possible. The love/energy/spirit in all of us and our world is a grace that I compare to a miserable man that has been trapped in a small cold cell his whole life who never tried to door. If he had, he would have found it was never locked.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:19 AM
link   
reply to post by dalloway
 


Sorry for all the typos. I wish they had spell checker....

My heart and prayers go out to all of you and the Japanese people.

I can remeber when I was last in Japan. I was on the shinkensen. This is the bulltet trains. We stopped at Fukashima on our way north. Never got off at that stop. But it was beautiful.

I can recall the big glass windows when I look out my seating window. There were shopping malls and I recall some sort of art statue in the center of the square. I recall seeing a woman and child sitting on the edge of the satue she was feeding her baby.
Touches me when I think that was 5 years ago. I remember it like it was yesterday. That trip I was there for 2 weeks.

The people are always nice and go way out of the way to make you feel very comfortable.


Cheer up. I will try to keep my spirits up but I'm just not getting a good feeling . From what I can put to gether. The end of is almost near.

Don;t be sad as we can only remain strong for those who are suffering.

I can say with most confidence is they are very stong and will be strong until the end.

God Speed.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:23 AM
link   
reply to post by westcoast
 


Thank you so much for posting this. It is very saddening that people can be so cold. Since these disasters have happened, I have lost sleep, cried, refreshed ATS 39823660323 times and even watched the mainstream media believe it or not. This is OUR planet!!!! It's the only one we have! No amount of monetary things could surpass the feeling I get when I feel love, or when I express it. I'm not sure what you all want out of life but hopefully it's something you can take with you when you leave. You are not alone westcoast, not by a long shot.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:25 AM
link   

Originally posted by westcoast
I'm struggling a bit in how to start this. To convey what it is that has been plaguing me since the 9.0 quake in Japan. No, that is not completely accurate. It started before that. It bothered me last year too during the Haiti quake, and the Chili quake and the BP oil spill. But this past week it just seems to be even worse.

You know, I like so many others here lately on ATS had a growing sense these last couple of weeks that something really bad was going to happen. It was almost like a symptom of our societies illness weighing on us and we knew it had to burst out somewhere soon. Not the quake itself, but the reactions afterward. It is just so obvious to me and I feel like so few other people even recognize it for what it is. Do you? Do you see it? Do you feel it weighing heavy around you like an oily smoke that you don't want to breath in but there is no where else to go?

I have posted no less than ten different links to articles and videos on first the quake, the tsunami, the nuclear catastrophe and the horrific struggle for survival on my facebook these past four days. Do you know how many 'likes' I got? Two or three. Do you know how many people commented? Three. I have a lot of 'freinds'. It may seem like a funny thing to have bother me, but I have found that Facebook is actually a pretty good thermometer for our society.

It is really bothering me. Have you cried? Have you looked at the images of people being swept away, the horrific screams of the onlookers as they watched their homes and loved ones ripped away from them and felt something other than your own selfish needs? Does it move you? Or do you click on the next link, hit the pause button and instead choose to read about Charlie Sheen because it is just so much easier?

I understand the need for normalcy. I realize it isn't healthy to dwell in a misery that you can't do anything about. But it certainly isn't normal to ignore the pain of others just becuase it is unpleasant to think about. Last year I was at work when I realized the full terror of the Haiti quake. I began to cry. It was just light, quiet, a few tears that only a couple of people noticed. When I told them why, I was met with completey blank looks. It didn't even register on their faces. These were nurses. Parents. People. They simply didn't care or didn't allow themselves to care. Absolutely no empathy.

Empathy. The capacity to recognize and share feelings of hapiness or sadness of another person. To care. To love.

The capacity of caring that I have seen in most people since this tragedy in Japan began, is whether or not they have to worry about radiation spreading to their part of the world. Much easier to concentrate on a threat that most likely wont happen rather than the million plus people that are without water, electricity and food in sub-freezing weather fighting for survival.

The Japanese as a society will survive. They are a strong community built on honor and pride. They don't loot from there neighbor because they are vulnerable, but will help each other to rebuild because it is the honorable thing to do.

Us? I'm not so sure. I fear for us. I fear for our apathy and sense of entitlement. We don't think we should have to work for our happiness anymore, but that we deserve it. No matter what the cost. What has it cost you? Do you take care of your parents after they are old and feeble, do you look out for your neighbor when they are sick or in need? Do you extend a hand to a stranger asking for help or look away because it is just easier that way?

My soul is aching. It is a physical pain. But you know what? It is so much better than not feeling anything at all.


I have not cried. In my society it is a sign of weakness when a man cries. I don't agree with it, but I do not shed tears lightly anymore. I did feel a horrible depression the night it happened, and my heart goes out to those suffering this catastrophe.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:26 AM
link   
reply to post by redhorse
 





However, posting this little rant shaking your finger at people when you aren't getting enough attention with your show of "empathy" on facebook strikes me as rather selfish too. It's all well and good to say "Why aren't you paying attention the them", but it's another thing entirely to say "Why aren't you paying attention to me paying attention to them." Which, because you are lashing out here a bit is at least part of your motivation, though I doubt you will admit it. You are a selfless humanitarian that we should all look up to after all.


You know.....I thought about this comment for awhile. My first reaction was to ruffle my feathers a bit, but than I realized that it's an honest observation and I can see why you might think it. However, I truely am not looking for validation of my own feelings. I'm not looking for sympathy for myself, I am distressed because I don't see any sympathy for the thousands who died and the million plus who are now struggling. It's like people are completely blocking it, ignoring, refusing to acknowledge it and act like I am the strange one because I simply can't look the other way.

I'm just concerned about the de-sensitization going on. It isn't normal. No, we shouldn't all be walking around sobbing stopping our lives because that wouldn't solve anything. But you would think people would at least acknowledge it. I have just seem an alarming number of people who are either unwilling or unable to do even that. It worries me.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:27 AM
link   
To cry is actually a good thing. It does show you care... even if no one sees you. YOU know it. We need more like yourself that are moved to tears over trials and tribulations of the world and our peoples. If we just had more like you...maybe we could change things.

Understand that there is nothing wrong with "feelings".



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:28 AM
link   
I agree its very sad. Not only that people are dieng over there,but the world is one piece of rock. So chances are we will pick up some of the radiation over here in america. Its a sad event for the whole planet.

And fish,if you got lucky and survived the oil spill.....you probably wont be so lucky this time.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:30 AM
link   
Thank you westcoast for being brave enough to post what you feel.

I have been people watching the past few days. No one seems effected. It is as though the monotony of their lives has encapsualted them from the rest of the world. No one speaks of this tragedy. Their eyes barely appear alert. It hurts me to know that they are alive, but not living.

I don't go more than a few minutes at a time thinking about it. I have kept myself from watching the videos, because I am way too emapthic to not break down everytime.

I have cried and I try to send love to all of the people who are dealing with the aftermath. I would truly like to do more, but at this point there doesn't appear to be anything I can do.

We are all connected and hopefully, with each person who recognizes this we become more as an entity. I believe empathy is the sensation through which we acknowledge our connection to all that is, was, and will ever be. The question becomes, if events such as this do not activate that sense of empathy in people, what will?



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:32 AM
link   
i don't know how to explain this, and i'm kind of getting tired of it, but for going on about two or more months now, i've been a huge empath, almost everything even slightly sad is instantly empathized, co-opted, and felt, and i almost always cry. blegh. but i agree, it's better than feeling nothing. at the rate in which i can find and digest information, it's actually really refreshing to have something strike me, and make me react like this.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:37 AM
link   
reply to post by westcoast
 


I smell fear, ATS is buzzing with it.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:38 AM
link   
reply to post by westcoast
 


I feel just like you do westcoast, have lost count how many times I have cried since this happened, Also have stopped watching the horrific videos. One of the first things I did was call my very close Japanese friend in Berkeley, Ca. all the time praying she wasn't in Japan visiting as she does frequently, she is home and fine. Having gone through the 89 Loma Prieta quake in the Bay Area I can relate in many ways although there seems to be no comparison. It was amazing how people came together, I tried to volunteer throughout that time but was turned away as so many volunteered, but did donate.

Like you I have come across so many apathetic people and just don't understand. and never will. My ex is a retired Fire Chief and before he got to that point was a regular Firefighter and Paramedic and when horrible things happened on his watch it always effected him deeply, he tried to never bring it home but I always knew.

Thank you for this thread.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 11:48 AM
link   
I haven't cried just a deep feeling of sadness for the people of Japan.

There is so much misery in the world 6 million children, before the age of five die each year through starvation, this is a disaster that could be avoided, it saddens me.

Darfur is an ongoing disaster, as is the Ivory Coast.

We had Katrina, Haiti, Christchurch etc., there are only so many tears I can weep. Does not mean I have no feeling for those caught up in these disasters man made or natural.



posted on Mar, 16 2011 @ 12:03 PM
link   
Im a 40 year young man...not that that matters.

I did a lot of crying in the rain in the past......but life seems to harden one some. Yes some news clips sure tug at my heart....eyes watter a bit. But i need first hand hurt these days to accept real emotion.

Truth is media doesnt really capture it....and i refuse to let my imagination rule.

Am i a cold hearted so and so? No...just done with pain. I dont accept it anymore.

But all willing i would love to go to Japan hopefully soon to help rebuild and spread my love....then i may cry.




top topics



 
55
<< 1  2  3    5  6  7 >>

log in

join