Compassion Fatigue

This is an excerpt from a talk I heard this weekend about how people talk about compassion, but don't give a rat's ass about people in need when they see it.

"In Northen California, we love to hear how everybody thinks the San Francisco giants and the Oakland A's are going to do this year and their chances of meeting in the World Series again.

As I've listened to all the projections, I've found myself thinking back to1989 when the two teams went against each other in the World Series. For many of us, the Bay Bridge series - as it was called - was the most important thing in the world. Then minutes before game 3 began, a devastating earthquake - measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale - rocked the Bay Area, bringing death and destruction. The World Series didn't seem that important anymore.

Many people were upset, however, that game 3 was delayed 10 days. In response, Mike Downey of the LA times at the time wrote some things which those of us who are sports fans still need to hear and which our whole country needs to hear regarding our mixed-up priorities.

He wrote:

'When President Kennedy was assassinated, they went ahead and played professional football, because they said he would have wanted it that way. When young Israelies were slaughtered at Munich, they went ahead with the Olympic Games. When President Regan was shot in the street, they went ahead with the college basketball championship game, because they said he would have wanted it that way.

Well, stop wanting it that way. Stop wondering how this earthquake is going to affect San Francisco's pitching rotation. Quit talking about life going on, about business as usual, about what a terrible thing is that just as the Giants and Athletics finally get to meet in a Bay Bridge World Series, the bridge splits in two.

This isn't about the World Series going on. This is world going on. Have some respect. Have some compassion. Stop being a sports fan for once in your life. Be a human being...Northern California will be digging out from under this for weeks, for months, for years. Families are being devastated, children turned into orphans, businesses burned to the ground. And you want to play baseball today? You want to play bloody baseball?'

touche

-bender