Opinion: Why some tragedies matter more
By Gregory Rodriguez
A terrorist attack on a familiar city can inspire a response among global observers not unlike that of motorists passing by a horrible car accident. We slow down to look, to try to understand what happened, see who was hurt, and wonder about the fate of the fallen. It isn’t blood and gore we’re after. It’s recognition. Are the victims like us? Could that have been me?
The horrible events in Paris inspired a round of global rubbernecking and then a sloppy debate over whether the Western world cares more about the victims in Paris then those in Beirut or Kenya and now Mali. Predictably that debate quickly evolved into one over race and ethnicity.
But there’s a deeper question to be asked here: How exactly does empathy work?
When the news of the Paris attacks hit, I was in a meeting in Washington, D.C., with a French-born publisher who quickly became anguished over the news. She grew up in Paris. Her daughter lives there now. In fact, her daughter frequents one of the targeted restaurants. While the events disturbed me, this French woman was clearly more pained. She was safe. Her family was safe. But the news invaded her consciousness in a way that seemed to affect her physically. At one point she sat down on the floor, hunched over, and stared gloomily at her smart phone.
It wasn’t until I learned that Nohemi Gonzalez, a 23-year-old Mexican-American from Southern California, had been killed in the attack that news of the massacre struck me on a more personal level. Nohemi was an American. Like me. She was a Mexican-American. Like me. She was from Southern California. Like me. Suddenly the horrible events that occurred 5,600 miles away seemed closer to home. What I had seen as tragic now felt sad.
A few days after the attacks in Paris, I drove down to Cal State Long Beach, the university Gonzalez had attended, to ask some students how her death had influenced their emotional response to this act of terrorism.
At first what I heard were reactions not dissimilar to mine. People ticked off certain aspects of their multi-layered identities that connected directly to Nohemi’s story, which, in turn, made them feel more deeply about the tragedy in Paris.
“All life is meaningful,” 23-year old senior Ernie Smith told me. “But I related to the events more when I found out she was a student at Cal State Long Beach. Then it really hit home.”
The distinction between generally caring and having that feeling really “hit home” is suggested in the difference between the origins of the words sympathy and empathy. Sympathy derives from the Latin and Greek words meaning “fellow feeling.” The word empathy came to English from the German word Einfühlung, which means something like “inner feeling” or “feeling into.” While often used interchangeably, empathy carries a more intimate meaning than sympathy and suggests that the subject understands and is capable of sharing an emotion with the object. Sympathy, on the other hand, implies a greater distance. In a nutshell, you feel empathy when you can imagine being afflicted by the tragedy in question, and sympathy when you cannot.
What 26-year-old senior Catherine Gillespie then told me explains further how identifying—then empathizing—with a victim of a tragedy can help place you, at least on some psychic level, closer to the incident.
“The band that was playing at the concert hall where so many people were killed was from Palm Desert, California,” Gillespie told me. “I’m from nearby Indio. If I had been in Paris that night, I would have gone to see them play.” In other words, her identification with the band enabled her to imagine suffering the fate of the concertgoers, which therefore made her feel for the victims more deeply. Her response also suggests that there is a strong connection between empathy and fear.
Before the Paris attacks, I would have told you that selflessness is at the core of caring. But after the events in Paris and listening to people’s reactions, I realize that whatever else empathy does for our psyches, it is also a form of self-preservation. I empathize with you, because what happened to you could happen to me. And that would be really horrible.
Gregory Rodriguez is the founder and publisher of Zócalo Public Square.
Considering the terrible attack yesterday right here in this state, people should be asking why certain people are let into any western country for any reason. There is no good reason for it and it is time for change, at the border and in the refugee program, and who is getting Visa’s. This problem isn’t going to get better without serious people in charge making serious changes. Hearing pathetic responses from insane-Hussein, who always says this will “take time” to figure out what happened is beyond belief anymore. The time he wants it to take is after his eight year disaster is over and he is in a mansion somewhere near his leftist pals in Hollywood.
Justice is a nazi
Considering the horrific attack by a rightwing xtian terrorist at the Planned Parenthood in Colorado a couple days ago, people should be asking why we allow the GOP candidates-foxnooz and blowhard hate radio to incite their willfully ignorant tools to engage in deadly carnage-
the cancer of warmongering violence and pursuit of empire has metastasized-Who benefits from this?
http://www.berniesanders.com
We’re better than this-let’s start the movement-
Regarding Justice’s comment, the shooter was an American citizen. Nobody was “let into” the US. The face of American terrorism is just as likely (maybe more likely) to be male and caucasian; Robert Dear, Dylann Roof, Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, Timothy McVeigh to name just a few. This is not meant to be an attack on white males; it is simply stating a fact. We cannot even begin to solve the problem of domestic terrorism and other forms of violence in our own country until we get to the root causes; marginalization of others, mental illness, isolation, widespread acceptance of violence in it’s many forms, etc.. Mass shootings constitute a serious crisis in our country and it is past time we put our energies into finding real, workable solutions that will heal our nation and prevent future tragedies.
Janice very well put.
This terrorist couple was given everything they could want and it didn’t matter to them as they dropped off their six month old baby and went on a murdering rampage. This kind of evil can’t be allowed to be in western countries that value life. It is too bad that Leftists can’t handle or admit what their own failures and lack of action brings so they invent things to try a trick and compare some mental whack job to a well planned terror attack, not to mention trying to cover for insane-Hussein and his complete eight years of policy disasters while his open borders, bringing in fake refugees, and not enforcing the immigration law is endangering the country more everyday. People don’t need any more proof.
Justn@ss. Syed Farook was born in Illinois and Tashfeen Malik was here on a Fiance Visa; she (Tashfeen) married Farook two years ago.
They purchased two out of four weapons, ammo and garb legally.
They left a work related party the day before, angry, and came back the next day ready to kill with semi automatic weapons and pipebombs.
The Reich Wing and yourself do not care about victims; only gun sales.
Republican Congressman, Peter King, introduced the Denying Firearms and Explosives to Dangerous Terrorists Act of 2009 and Democratic Senator, Frank Lautenberg, introduced a similar bill in 2011. In part, these bills would deny weapon purchases to suspected terrorists on the No Fly List. THE REICH WING KILLED BOTH BILLS!
30% of mass shootings Worldwide occur in America with only 5% of Worldwide population. (Mass shooting is 4 or more shot at a time)
There have been more mass shootings in America in 2015 then days of the year so far.
Just another Wednesday in America.
The facts are the two terrorists went to a Christmas party where the male terrorist was employed and scoped it out AND THEN returned to murder many innocent people. As to their immigration status, they are reported to be from Pakistan and it isn’t known yet fully as to what their status is.
Justanass, you make me want to PUKE every time your hateful words are posted on this rag. You, and your hateful ilk, are the real terrorists; racist, bigot, homophobe, ranting hateful dribble from a weak and ignorant man.
Justice: The man was born in this Country and a U.S. citizen, of Pakastini decent, the women is apparently fro Saudi Arabia you know great friends of the Bushes and Cheney. You know the Arab country and exports more radical ideology then any other Middle Eastern Country but we stay friends with because conservatives love them and they have oil
Rick
Justice let’s not forget Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols.
You know, the American citizens that perpetuated the second worst terror attack in history on American soil.
But I’m pretty sure you worship them because some of the folks they killed have ethnic backgrounds that you don’t approve of.
Liberal lies as usual, covering for Insane-Husseins failures. People really don’t give a rat’s rear if a terrorist from the Middle East has fake citizenship on paper, once they are a terrorist their citizenship isn’t valid. Could be one of the fake refugees. These were violent terrorists who are some of many let into this country who need to go and will be going when new leadership arrives. Liberals love to excuse their failures and are working hard to excuse this mass murder.
Justn@ass. The fact of the matter is the ease with which anybody with a grudge, mental illness, vendetta or terrorist can acquire so much weaponry so quickly in America.
Again, Farook was born in Illinois in 1987. He graduated with a Bachelors Degree from Cal State San Bernardino in 2010. He worked at the Health Department (where he unloaded hundreds of rounds of ammo) for five (5) years. They shot and wounded his co-worker, Julie Paez; Julie had recently congratulated the couple on the birth of their Daughter. They even shot and wounded a fellow congregant from the Islamic Center of Riverside. And YES, everyone that knew the couple are puzzled by what happened.
Meanwhile, your ilk at in the Reich Wing offer prayers as the NRA expects even more weapon sales after the latest massacre; even if those sales are to known Terror Suspects on the FBI No Fly List.
Drink! x2
Plus double payout for two sentences in one comment starting with the word. 4 total.
Cheers!
Justice you are blatantly making things up now.
Get real!
Horrible, horrible attack. Unfortunately, we will continue to see these types of terror attacks in the future. Our freedoms that we take for granted everyday will be used against us to commit these acts of terror. With the new wave of online radicalism, it will be very hard to track every possible attacker as shown with yesterday’s attackers. How does the government track and apprehend all of them without violating ones civil rights? The Boston bombers were also American brothers that were radicalized online. Those guys made two deadly bombs out of stuff from a hardware store.
“Our freedoms that we take for granted everyday will be used against us to commit these acts of terror. ”
Maybe yours will. Mine won’t.
You mention “online” twice. Everyone is online. In the same way, everyone read newspapers 100 years ago. Replace both with ‘communicated ideas’, same thing, not worth mentioning.
“How does the government track and apprehend all of them without violating ones civil rights? ”
I dunno, generally the same way mobs did it to find witches? Worked for them, no one is turned in to newts anymore.
“Those guys made two deadly bombs out of stuff from a hardware store.”
Uh huh. And yet their most effective tools were not bombs.
Make a point and put some thought in to it, or don’t make any point and make jokes. Or try the ol ctrl+w trick. At the very least say the magic word a few times so we can get some drinks out of it.
Bats…You refer to LTN as this ‘rag’?
Billy, gonna have a few tonight. There seems to be no shortage of opportunity to have a few, I guess thats something we can count on with the dribble from you know who…CHEERS!