A Disaster Wrapped in a Tragedy, Bundled in a Catstrophe

The scope of events in Japan are mind boggling. The concept of a magnitude 9 earthquake is unbelievable for most of us, a 7.0 would be horrifically powerful. For 99.99 percent of us, the chances of being directly affected by a tsunami are zero. A failure at a nuclear power plant, allowing large amounts of radiation to escape has never occurred in this country.

If any one of the above events occurred, it would be a major ordeal. For all three to happen at the same time, I can't imagine. Nor can most of us.

I saw Los Angeles mayor, Antonio Villaraigosa on TV the other day. His purpose (other than self-promotion) was to comment on the Japanese disaster and to reassure the citizens of his city that the city was on it and that they were safe should a large earthquake or tsunami strike L.A.

I know Los Angeles has spent considerable effort to prepare for the "big-one", as have most other communities and counties throughout the state. When the mega-disaster does hit,  the first responders in the area will bust their asses, follow the plan as much as possible, follow their training and do a great job. Other entities will rise to the occasion and perform reasonably well, while some not so well.

However, despite all of that, it will still be a freaking disaster. People and puppies will die, others will be injured, some grievously, the survivors will be miserable and many, many lives will be ruined. Even the lucky ones will have extreme negative impacts for a long time.

I expect the mayor and other politicians will grab as much air time as they can garner, and state how well everything is going. They will gloss over the challenges and expound on the positive aspects of the event, regardless how trivial. Those of us toiling in the mud, blood and ash  will listen, shake our heads and get back to work.

The media will cover it all, only as long as it will get ratings, then move on. Move on until the finger pointing begins and the story regains it's legs.

It is all so predictable, even when the event itself was not.

Thanks for reading,
A somewhat cynical Schmoe