'That which does not kill me makes me stronger'

Posted by: harlan

'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/29/06 08:38 AM

Surviving. The process of growth via experience...something that the martial arts excels at.

An interesting article about growth after experiencing natural disasters:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060829/ap_on_re_us/katrina_survey
Posted by: Just1Mike

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/29/06 01:05 PM

harlan,

I stared at this post for quite some time. Wanting to respond, And many things come to mind but I don't know what to say. So I'll just say Thank You. Thank You for remembering.


Good Luck!
Mike.
Posted by: Cord

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/29/06 03:00 PM

I am always hopefull that any positive data/facts that come from such tragedy are true.

I am hesitant to play psychology 101 regarding such a recent and horrible event, but for those who came through it, maybe like survivors of illness and other, more individual tragedies, the change in perspective has lead them to appreciate every moment, and evaluate what is truly important to them. The calm after the storm, if you will.

My thoughts with all affected by Katrina. nice of your president to finally work out where it happened and pop in to say high
Posted by: ButterflyPalm

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/30/06 01:22 AM

Don't mean to hijack a serious post, but seeing that you are brutally honest, my I ask why all hurricanes etc. have female names?
Posted by: Mr_Heretik

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/30/06 01:47 AM

Isn't it obvious?
Posted by: JoelM

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/30/06 01:51 AM

They don't.
http://www.fema.gov/kids/hunames3.htm
http://www.fema.gov/kids/hunames3_pacific.htm
http://www.fema.gov/kids/r_hurrnames.htm
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/30/06 01:55 AM

not since the 70's. since the 'sexual revolution' , they use male and female names.
Posted by: Cord

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 08/30/06 03:45 AM

Quote:

Don't mean to hijack a serious post, but seeing that you are brutally honest, my I ask why all hurricanes etc. have female names?




I used to wonder that, even though it has changed I do have a theory on it (no facts to back it up mind you- just an opinion)

Traditionaly, big storms, typhoons and things like that would have been encountered by more frequently, and affected more directly, those at sea. Maritime tradition is to give everything a female character- 'thar she blows!' ' she is the best ship I ever served on' etc. Stands to reason that tales of hurricanes and typhoons in distant lands would take on female names when recounted as stories for 'land lubbers'.
Posted by: wristtwister

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 08:21 AM

Cord,
I lived in New Orleans for 7 years and went through Hurricane Camille there. While it wasn't a direct hit on the city, it was more than enough to tell anyone with a lick of sense that they need to leave when there's an issue of a "direct hit". Don't blame the president if people are too stupid to leave, and then whine that they didn't get rescued fast enough.

The mindset around here seems to be "blame George Bush for everything wrong in life"... and damned if he didn't let a hurricane come ashore right in the middle of New Orleans. What an S.O.B...

As someone who worked in emergency management in New Orleans, I can promise you that the State government in Louisiana and the King of New Orleans were busy dividing up the blame long before the storm hit, and figuring out how to divide the spoils from it. Their emergency action plans have to be in place before our federal government can do anything... and both the governor and mayor sat on their butts and waited until water was up to the windows before doing anything... but I'm sure that was Bush's fault too...

If we're going to attribute the qualities of God and Satan to Bush, let's thank him that Ernesto just missed turning into a hurricane and missed our coast... I'm sure Bush could have made it much worse on us... since he's "creating hurricanes", etc.

Geesh....


Posted by: harlan

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 08:36 AM

I originally posted on the topic of strength through adversity. Please get back on topic or I will delete posts and/or close the thread.
Posted by: Cord

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 08:51 AM

I am actually a pretty big fan of George W. I am pro the war, and like his 'take no 5h1t' attitude towards things. If you read my post again, nowhere did I blame him for the aftermath management of the disaster. i am fully aware that we are just animals, and at the mercy of huge acts of violence by mother nature like any other mammal.

What I was commenting on was that he and his office were inept at helping minimise and deal with the wave of criticism that hit during/after; and that visiting a year on in light of that could be seen by detractors as a somewhat hollow gesture.

Now if you want me to actually find fault with the guy and his policies, lets talk about the stubborn and irresponsible refusal to commit to emissions reductions and energy efficiency policies ,

Outside of that he has done nothing different to any other President from what i can see- spent lots of money on military endeavours and looked at world politics more closely than your domestic situation. The only difference is that he has not made you all love him for it, unlike the dope smoking, property dealing, cigar hiding snake oil salesman you had before
Posted by: wristtwister

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 08:53 AM

sorry the point of view wasn't what you wanted to hear...

Going through a cat-5 storm was more experience with hurricanes than I needed to figure out to get out of their way. Obviously "that which doesn't kill me makes me stronger"... but in the case of those people who lived around me in New Orleans, it didn't make them much smarter...

It's a little "one sided" to go play in the traffic and then complain that the ambulance didn't arrive to take you to the hospital in a timely fashion...


Posted by: Cord

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 09:04 AM

response to WT deleted having seen Harlan's post. Apologies for derail.
Posted by: harlan

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 09:05 AM

Thank you for sharing your growth experiences.

Posted by: MattJ

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 10:19 AM

Now, I'm not trying to be an insensitive jackass, but WT does have something of a point. Even minus all the political baggage, scientists have known for decades that New Orleans was below sea level - and sinking.

It does beg the question why people are allowed to build and rebuild in known flood or hurricane zones.
Posted by: Cord

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 12:44 PM

Quote:

Even minus all the political baggage, scientists have known for decades that New Orleans was below sea level - and sinking.




Mexico city is sinking. Most of the Orient and the Carribean are in extreme weather zones. California is on a timebomb called a faultline. People live on the slopes of active volcanoes. the world is essentialy a hostile environment- live in a placid area with clear fresh water, the chances are a crocodile will take you leg off when you go to drink
It is our instinct to use our over developed brain to endure and overcome such setbacks, for better or worse.

Quote:

lets talk about the stubborn and irresponsible refusal to commit to emissions reductions and energy efficiency policies




want to at least try to slow the onset of further extreme meteorological incidents? With the polar caps melting and deforestation continuing unabated, Greenhouse effect is now more than just a theory. USA is doing an ostrich impression or using the revs of a V8 to drown out the concerned voices. You pride yourselves on democratic power- let your voices be heard above the engine noise.
Posted by: Ed_Morris

Re: 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' - 09/03/06 12:45 PM

Quote:

It does beg the question why people are allowed to build and rebuild in known flood or hurricane zones.



because they feel 'That which does not kill me makes me stronger' ?

I don't know, but I do know the psychology seems to be universal. Japan,California,Mexico,Turkey, etc - after massive quakes, people rebuild and stay. Okinawa had devistating weather and natural disaster throughout it's history - they had ships...why not abandon the area and migrate to mainland? why don't starving people living in desert move to areas where they can grow food? For some, the stress of change is greater than the risk of being forced to change.

It's a universal human psychology -not isolated to race or location. sure it's tied to opportunity. people with more money have more opportunity - more choices. The evacuation plan of any high risk area is basically: leave. Thats great if everyone has the opportunity of owning a car...but the poor are screwed, and certainly don't become stronger after losing their homes and loved ones.

governments local and federal can't change the weather, but they can certainly change priorities of who gets helped and who doesn't....there isn't much to invest in with the poor. The rich see them as a liability. If thats the way most accept it to be, then thats the way it will remain.

It's a question that goes deeper than politics.
Posted by: harlan

the life of a thread - 09/03/06 02:08 PM

FYI

As far as I'm concerned, this thread can go whatever merry way you boys would like. I'm done with it.

As a matter of fact...I'm done with this whole section.