Compassion over callousness
The recent earthquake and tsunami in Japan are known to be one of the worst in modern history, but the incidents brought out racist statements from various social networks.
The nation’s citizens have lost many of their loved ones such as friends and family. The imminent pain evident in the death toll is one that is surely humanizing and traumatic, but some people believe that the Japanese deserved the damage. Places such as Facebook and Twitter had some of the users writing anti-Japanese opinions and making fun of the tragic news.
Rapper 50 Cent tweeted in his account about the earthquake and said some very crass comments regarding the Japanese citizens.
“Man I hate to say this but the world is coming to a end. Look at Japan tell the people you value you love them… US west coast TUSNAMI (sic) watch f— this I’m going back to New York.”
Even worse were the comments on Facebook, discussing how the Japanese deserved the destruction in exchange for the attacks on Pearl Harbor. Some expressed joy upon the millions of lives lost in the devastation with cruel words. According to the blog, Green Eggs and Lam, the natural disasters brought out anti-Japanese sentiments.
One Facebook user said, “Should we donate money to Japan after they bombed Pearl Harbor?”
Japan is a country that has faced adversity ever since the dawn of civilization, but the earthquake and tsunami of March 11 is one event that brought world to its knees.
With words like these circulating around the Internet, it is demeaning to see people tear others apart solely for their background. It is especially horrifying to know that there are people in the world who would praise a natural disaster as a “sign from God”. A natural disaster is not God’s way of punishing those who’ve done wrong since it takes away innocent lives and destroys homes. I personally don’t believe that a higher being would be that ruthless when it comes to the safety of a nation.
It doesn’t matter what happened in the past and no one should be dwelling on what occurred in history. The world is always changing and sometimes, the world faces a great tragedy that unites everyone. Regardless where people come from, it is important to help those who are in desperate need.
For those who are interested in helping Japan, the Salvation Army is accepting donations through their website or by phone at (800) 725-2769. In addition, the Red Cross is accepting $10 donations by texting “JAPAN” to 80888.