Empathy
~E~
Number One Son and his girlfriend met us for lunch at the waterpark yesterday, dripping wet. After filling us in on how she had passed out after waiting in line for the rollercoaster in the hot sun for 40 minutes, and Son had not been able to catch her as she fell (she's fine) Son couldn't wait to tell us about the "big" wave pool. I had suspected there was a bigger wave pool than the one we'd been splashing around in, but I hadn't been able to drag the Little Kids very far from that area of the park. Son led us straight to it after burgers and pizza.
OK, the thing is freaking HUGE. There is a channel through which the wave comes, then the area opens out into a fan-shaped pool. As we got to it, a gigantic wave came flowing towards us-- I mean gigantic. Ginormous. Freaking BIG. It looked about fifty feet high from where I was standing (but I'm sure it wasn't!). After it gets past the channel, it crests and comes crashing down, much to the delight of the vacationers being tossed about like so much driftwood.
The folks at the front of the wave literally get picked up, tossed around, and smooshed into each other to a degree. Boyfriend said he was somersaulted completely around at one point. It's so cool to see all these people, hundreds? just getting shoved around like sticks. For those who are not quite so brave and waited for the wave in the shallower water, it wasn't quite so intense. These folks either jumped into the wave and were carried by it, or tried to stand their ground and were knocked over and dragged. Yes, it was great fun! As the wave peters out, the water sort of sucks itself back to where it came from. I thought, wow, this must be what it's like in a tidal wave...
And then I started thinking about the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This must be what it's like to be standing in the street and have a wall of water come at you. And hit you. And knock you over and carry you along, among the snapped off trees and cars and pets and boats and bits of buildings and other people, and the water is so strong you can't swim against the tide, and you're not sure you're going to make it.
I couldn't stop thinking about this video (scroll down to "Khao Lak, Thailand"). It was the most haunting image for me of this disaster.
Empathy. How much is too much. Do I allow my sadness for those who lost their lives or their loved ones in that tragedy to make the wave pool a guilty pleasure at best? What point is there in removing myself from the fun everyone else was having because I was thinking about how awful this same wave pool might be for those who actually experienced this real tidal wave?
I did put those thoughts aside and enjoy the day. I do think I empathize too much, if there is such a thing. I do think there are people who don't know the meaning of empathy or who in fact see it as a weakness. Sometimes I wish I just thought about things less.
Number One Son and his girlfriend met us for lunch at the waterpark yesterday, dripping wet. After filling us in on how she had passed out after waiting in line for the rollercoaster in the hot sun for 40 minutes, and Son had not been able to catch her as she fell (she's fine) Son couldn't wait to tell us about the "big" wave pool. I had suspected there was a bigger wave pool than the one we'd been splashing around in, but I hadn't been able to drag the Little Kids very far from that area of the park. Son led us straight to it after burgers and pizza.
OK, the thing is freaking HUGE. There is a channel through which the wave comes, then the area opens out into a fan-shaped pool. As we got to it, a gigantic wave came flowing towards us-- I mean gigantic. Ginormous. Freaking BIG. It looked about fifty feet high from where I was standing (but I'm sure it wasn't!). After it gets past the channel, it crests and comes crashing down, much to the delight of the vacationers being tossed about like so much driftwood.
The folks at the front of the wave literally get picked up, tossed around, and smooshed into each other to a degree. Boyfriend said he was somersaulted completely around at one point. It's so cool to see all these people, hundreds? just getting shoved around like sticks. For those who are not quite so brave and waited for the wave in the shallower water, it wasn't quite so intense. These folks either jumped into the wave and were carried by it, or tried to stand their ground and were knocked over and dragged. Yes, it was great fun! As the wave peters out, the water sort of sucks itself back to where it came from. I thought, wow, this must be what it's like in a tidal wave...
And then I started thinking about the tsunami in the Indian Ocean. This must be what it's like to be standing in the street and have a wall of water come at you. And hit you. And knock you over and carry you along, among the snapped off trees and cars and pets and boats and bits of buildings and other people, and the water is so strong you can't swim against the tide, and you're not sure you're going to make it.
I couldn't stop thinking about this video (scroll down to "Khao Lak, Thailand"). It was the most haunting image for me of this disaster.
Empathy. How much is too much. Do I allow my sadness for those who lost their lives or their loved ones in that tragedy to make the wave pool a guilty pleasure at best? What point is there in removing myself from the fun everyone else was having because I was thinking about how awful this same wave pool might be for those who actually experienced this real tidal wave?
I did put those thoughts aside and enjoy the day. I do think I empathize too much, if there is such a thing. I do think there are people who don't know the meaning of empathy or who in fact see it as a weakness. Sometimes I wish I just thought about things less.
Comments
And thank you, friend, for the post card. :)
On the flip side, what if one were to simply have fun in a tsunami or on a field of battle? What if a person removed all connection to the consequences of their environment and simply laughed and strove to enjoy tragedy as recreation? Is that person mad to ignore their plight? I think so, but who knows... there may be something to that.
I'm also certain there are people who would behave that way.