Bush fires light up stupidity

Our society is off it’s head. As the shocking aftermath of the Victorian bushfires gets number one priority in the media, the whole country is encouraged to grieve for the 200 or so people that lost their lives. I know it sounds a little callous, but I say “or so”, for a couple of reasons. Firstly the obvious, which is the figure of 200 is not accurate, and it will no doubt grow. Secondly, the deaths of individuals which are unknown to me, don’t really effect me, and that seems to be where many people around me have lost the plot as they jump on the "I am a concerned citizen" band wagon.

Most of us don’t know the deceased. If any one of these people had cut you off in traffic, had cut into a line at the supermarket, had cheated you in a transaction, you would have cursed their existence. If someone had of struck one of them down with a motor vehicle, maybe you would have thought “what a pity”, but you would hardly have shed a tear. Yet we change the circumstances behind an innocent death and suddenly there is an out pouring of misplaced grief and concern. We can turn a blind eye to people starving in other countries, communities killed through war, innocent people being raped and murdered, yet give our society a natural disaster (although the jury is still out on this one with the arsonist theories) and it’s time for a gigantic group hug. Spare me! There’s something fundamentally wrong with our society when we get selective about how we respond to tragedy.

At this stage you might think this writer has a lack of compassion for people, but far from it. I’ve spent 20 years serving others in various occupations, I’m a senior first aider and generally have an empathy for the weak members in my community. I’ve stopped for people in broken down in vehicles on remote highways, I’ve assisted at serious motor vehicle accidents and I’ve aided police in prosecuting criminals. But we’re all qualified to make a comment on our own society.

But I digress. Two hundred deaths, while obviously significant to the families affected, can easily be put into perspective by comparing it to something like the road toll. Equally as tragic, yet because we are dealing with such a short space of time, not nearly as newsworthy, though arguably, just as preventable. In Victoria’s case, the road toll is nearly double, yet the response from our society in that case is far more subdued.

But grieving is only part of the equation and the public display of emotion is just bait for the sharks that are ever circling. Fund raisers are exploding on every corner, taking this opportunity to show they “care”. Millions of dollars have been raised in a few days, but very few know how it will be spent, who is taking a commission or whether it will ever reach the bush fire victims in a meaningful way. At least one community organisation is using the opportunity or receiving large donations to purchase equipment that will be utilised after the crisis is over (some of this equipment may not even be used in the crisis response). Of course, corporations don’t care about such detail. Their donations are about feeling good. The biggest donations feature prominently in the news, as corporations find the best form of charity is one that guarantees media coverage and a good image. Forget the fact that many of these victims are already fully insured and don’t need a cent.

I’m not really one to care how token donations from ridiculously wealthy corporations are spent, even if they are largely funded by the public. But I do have to ask how many victims should be bailed out. Are there lessons to be learnt for people who decided to “get out of the rat race” and live in remote locations that were known for their risk of wild fires. That these people knowingly lived in these regions, and in some cases took absolutely no fire prevention measures, somehow still leaves them eligible for charity through their own stupidity. It’s a harsh statement, but these decisions have also put at risk emergency services staff, CFA (Country Fire Authority) members and have put a cost on our community that will be felt for years to come. Who will take the accountability for such irresponsibility? The tax payer… again? If the "victims" play their cards well, they will end up with better houses than prior to the fires, with virtually no financial outlay! Are we here to sponsor those self indulgent people that choose to risk their lives and property so that they can have a better life than the rest of us and then expect us to pick up the tab. Will someone pick up my tab if my house burns to the ground after it is struck by lightning. We’ll see after I finish this article.

Our media organisations want this one to hit home. The pictures of dozens of the innocent fire victims with their families feature with a very short biography and a caption “gone”. The media does this, because you need to get to know these people, before you can sense their loss. It’s pretty simple, and it makes sense to show us that these are real people. But our society seemingly fails to see the mirror for the headlines. What the media is telling us is that we don’t care anymore, that unless we can make something personal, the reaction is stone cold. The reality of this whole situation is that society doesn’t care about others, that we are a greedy bunch that has a morbid curiosity in other peoples misfortune. Even offers of assistance are just self fulfilling a need to feel good. Don’t even get me started on people sight seeing a day after the first wave of fire.

This disaster has been tragic, but the burnt remnants that remain are more indicative of our society, rather than the stripped assets that will be replaced as memories are systematically erased.