Tuesday, October 30, 2012

Barometric Courage (A Rant)

When the barometer drops, so does our courage.


Boston was not hit hard, yet the "courageous" leaders saw fit to cancel just about everything.  Schools were empty, the financial district was a ghost town, and subways and buses were yarded.  This criticism extends to both private and public sectors, and to the the well-honed panic mechanisms in media who work everyone into a panic.  It was really the tsunami in Japan that made me realize that we are collectively, not the group we thought we were (or say we are).  As individuals, we may be resilient and self-reliant, but as a group, we are panicky dooms-dayers.  After the tsunami, the citizens of Japan pulled together and self-governed in the way that we wished we were capable of, and it was then that I realized that we were in denial.


The financial sectors in my city shut down as did most retail.  Yesterday, it was only the new citizens who had the backbone to open their businesses and to keep the gears of industry turning.  People who started businesses against all odds and oceans and green-card red-tape were standing behind their counters, ringing cash registers, etc., while the MBA's from the "best schools" cowered at home hoping that Skippy's treehouse would survive the wind and debris, and that their ESPN feed would not cut out.


We did not keep calm and did not carry on.  Commerce halted and our fragile spirits quivered.  Children were kept inside parked in front of televisions and parents called one another to foment panic and anxiety.  Don't wait for the city or town to clear the downed tree.  Don't wait for the cavalry or for Superman or for someone else.  Pull it together, organize your crumpled neighbors and get things moving again.  Take your ax  chainsaw, two-way radios, canoe, water filters, and anything else you have and put it to immediate use.  And for God's sake, save the generators for those who have medical needs requiring electricity, not for your damn coffee maker.  Unfortunately, communities often discourage self-reliance with radio and television telling us that it's too cold/wet/hot/humid/windy/dangerous/whatever to go outside.  If we're outside, we can't be in front of the TV or radio, and we will realize that it's never as bad as we are told.

There are plenty of people for whom the storm did much damage and do need a hand.  There is a reason that the early colonists didn't build their houses on the beach.

***UPDATE***
I had a conversation with a friend over at FEMA and one at NYC Transit.  They shed some light on it in a way I hadn't considered.  One told me that his theory was that people (governments and private sector) not actually in danger (Boston during the Hurricane) feel collectively left out of the action and want to feel like they are involved in either suffering or saving.  I think he's right.  Why spend time worrying about others and possibly feeling helpless or guilty from one's own inaction when you can trump up your own involvement to the point where you feel justified not assisting others?  Once again, the theme of selfishness and narcissistic obsession seems to explain plenty.  New Jersey and NYC are pretty screwed and need help immediately.  Many will need clothing as winter is arriving shortly.

14 comments:

  1. I agree with about 95% of what you say, but Americans work hard enough without a break that we could use a "weather" vacation every now and again. If it means having to endure weather hysteria, I'll still take any "free" time off I can get.
    I will confess to using my generator for the coffee maker, but I swear it was my wife that forced me to and we went around to our neighbors without power and invited them over for a cup or two...and we checked on our elderly (94 year old) neighbor who lives alone to see if she needed anything powered up.

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    1. Americans do need a break, but using the panic button to call a timeout is a slippery slope.

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    2. Can't say I disagree with the slippery slope thing.

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  2. I am of two minds on this. The first you captured well.

    The second is what made me close the office on Monday (spent the evening chagrined). It is near impossible to sort fact from fantasy when watching the professional weather-guessers, especially as they increasingly confront completely novel weather patterns. Our state officialdom erred on the side of abundant caution, closing all state highways at 1pm. I debated the decision but in the end felt that lost productivity weighted light against lost lives if I was wrong and encouraged my staff to come to the office and the worst-case manifested.

    If the tsunami makes us wish for a more take-it-in-stride posture from our leaders and ourselves, shouldn't Katrina (or even Irene) encourage us to take every precaution?

    So we parked under cover, called off the workday, filled the tub with water and resolved to not give a crap. At the end of the day *most* New Englanders are handy enough with the saw and unflappable enough in the face of the weather to carry on well beyond the range of official sanction.

    At least the ones I know.

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    1. I am likely preaching to the choir with this post, because of similar sensibilities of folks like you who embody the ethic I think has largely disappeared. People in low-lying areas should evacuate or be given the choice. You were being cautious and calculating risk, while many were simply giving in to public panic. Loss of power is terrible for many, but only an inconvenience for most that we make into a big deal. We have become so cushy and soft that Starbucks closing is deemed panic-worthy. I don't want to gloss over the legitimate hardship faced by millions of Americans in these disasters, but there are plenty of people who should know better, who have the time and resources to have prepared better, and who allow their apathy to become not just inaction, but an actual barrier to action.

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  3. My office would have certainly been open yesterday, however all of my employees rely on public transportation and would not have been able to make it due to the Governors decision.

    It seems everyone is more concerned with liability than anything else these days...gotta pass that buck.

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    1. Closing subways is understandable, but not buses in Boston. New York MTA and NJT rightfully closed theirs.

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    2. Agreed. When there is legitimate cause for concern they should certainly do it.

      I feel like Boston did it just to CYA.

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  4. Amen! I was consistently annoyed by the ridiculously alarmist coverage by the Weather Channel's web site--it is, apparently, the Fox News of weather. Meanwhile, it was almost impossible to determine what height storm surge or strength of winds to expect, from almost any source. Living about 6 feet above sea level makes that information crucial.

    Thankfully our area is filled with people who do what we did: batten down the hatches, clean up the next day, and get on with it if you can. Though I have to say, those of us who live outside of major cities on windswept, low-lying coastal areas that require bridge and causeway travel to get nearly anywhere do appreciate work and school closures that are on the generous side.

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    1. I agree that it's the lack of information that is the most frustrating. I feel fully capable of judging for myself what is dangerous, if only you'll tell me what's out there. As it stands, we have to choose which conclusion pitched to the public is closest to the truth. Without data, that's impossible.

      I'm sympathetic to meteorologists struggling with heretofore unseen weather patterns. But even formerly reliable website like Weather Underground (now sadly owned by Weather.com) and NOAA are pretty sparse on details.

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  5. I made iced coffee, took down the flags, and tried to get a pedicure on my forced day off, but none of the new citizen nail shops were open.

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  6. The idea that employment or "work" is the most important thing in life and that it should carry on no matter the disaster is ridiculous. Now chainsaws on the other hand are the most important thing. I vote everyone goes back to work except those who own chainsaws. Those with chainsaws get to go out in the weather and play with them till they run out of gas and we then happily start digging our beach houses out from all the mud and debris. Except those of us without beach houses. We stay home and watch the homes we could never afford (on the beach and lower manhattan) lie in ruin.


    I have no idea where I'm headed with this. I've been cooped up in the house with the kids for far too long.

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    1. Working is not the most important thing in life, or after, or during a disaster. However, ANY activity that instills confidence, fosters courage, and encourages normalcy amidst panic and despair IS the most important thing. That activity can be going to work as normal, spending time with the family as normal, or helping others who have lost everything. Calm attitudes convey control and allow others to follow suit. As parents it is doubly important to be oak-like during adversity, and it should be treated as a value like honesty and sportsmanship is.

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    2. Wow, YWP. That paragraph right above is pretty fantastic and quotable as hell. Politicians and members of the media should be required to remember it by heart. Nice little piece of writing.

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