Lord forgive me for my unChristian thoughts, but when I first heard this news I simply assumed that the family killed was an American family. But then when I saw this follow up item, about the victims being Haitian, suddenly my anger in this matter came down to low simmer. I actually felt happy that some average American family were NOT the victims here.
That probably makes me a bad person... but here we are.
I would only add the afterthought I had a few minutes later, I bet this new info will suddenly lead to leftys agreeing that something must be done about these non English speaking drivers from operating on our roads
Nothing wrong with those thoughts. When you hear of someone getting killed in your hometown you're always relieved when you find out that it wasn't a member of your family or a friend. That's the difference in empathy and sympathy.
I get that. If other nations were looked at through the lens of a "medical triage" (where multiple victims of an emergency are separated into three categories -- savable right now, savable with deferred medical help, and unsavable no matter what you do), Haiti would fall into that last triage category. How many decades have we poured billions of dollars into an unsalvagable country, at what point do we stop and put our resources to better use elsewhere?
I suddenly stopped caring too, but did have a thought: did they come here through proper channels? Did they becone citizens or at least acquire work visas? Or did they abuse the asylum system to skip the line? Important to know.
Yes, they had legitimate visas and came in legally (read the article). They were innocent victims, no less deserving of pity for their doom than if they were pink, white, or yellow.
No, the article just said that one did. I can tell you from experience that MANY come here and then apply for asylum.
Then again, I'm not surprised that they plowed into the side of an 18-wheeler. They had probably never driven a car back in Haiti (lots of mopeds on the roads there, just like in the DR). They come here, somehow get a license (I'm not going to go into the numerous ways they scam the system) and try driving on roadways at speeds they never did back in Haiti.
Well, could you have coped with the scenario I outlined? I've had to do something similar, and it wasn't easy at all. It wasn't them who did the plowing; it was the 18-wheeler that suddenly turned across their bow. The recommended safe following distance for a semi-trailer is 300 feet. That would not apply in an adjacent lane, so the poor Haitians were too close for safety once the truck barged across their lane. As anyone would be. Since when is death the penalty for doing nothing wrong?
Lord forgive me for my unChristian thoughts, but when I first heard this news I simply assumed that the family killed was an American family. But then when I saw this follow up item, about the victims being Haitian, suddenly my anger in this matter came down to low simmer. I actually felt happy that some average American family were NOT the victims here.
That probably makes me a bad person... but here we are.
Thank you for typing my exact thoughts out.
I would only add the afterthought I had a few minutes later, I bet this new info will suddenly lead to leftys agreeing that something must be done about these non English speaking drivers from operating on our roads
Nothing wrong with those thoughts. When you hear of someone getting killed in your hometown you're always relieved when you find out that it wasn't a member of your family or a friend. That's the difference in empathy and sympathy.
" . . . felt happy that some average American family were NOT the victims here."
Happy or relieved? For a split second I had a sense of relief but quickly reminded myself that they still died and that someone loved them.
Yeah, I get that, a human life is still valuable and one of God's creation. As I said, I was conflicted about it.
That's why I asked happy vs relieved.
Two very different emotions
Yes, 'relieved' was probably a better choice of words. Written in the heat of the moment.
In other words, relieved that it's not your close family (Amercians)
I just don't want you to beat yourself up too much over a human feeling
I get that. If other nations were looked at through the lens of a "medical triage" (where multiple victims of an emergency are separated into three categories -- savable right now, savable with deferred medical help, and unsavable no matter what you do), Haiti would fall into that last triage category. How many decades have we poured billions of dollars into an unsalvagable country, at what point do we stop and put our resources to better use elsewhere?
I suddenly stopped caring too, but did have a thought: did they come here through proper channels? Did they becone citizens or at least acquire work visas? Or did they abuse the asylum system to skip the line? Important to know.
Yes, they had legitimate visas and came in legally (read the article). They were innocent victims, no less deserving of pity for their doom than if they were pink, white, or yellow.
No, the article just said that one did. I can tell you from experience that MANY come here and then apply for asylum.
Then again, I'm not surprised that they plowed into the side of an 18-wheeler. They had probably never driven a car back in Haiti (lots of mopeds on the roads there, just like in the DR). They come here, somehow get a license (I'm not going to go into the numerous ways they scam the system) and try driving on roadways at speeds they never did back in Haiti.
Yep, most of us would have slowed down when seeing what was happening.
Well, could you have coped with the scenario I outlined? I've had to do something similar, and it wasn't easy at all. It wasn't them who did the plowing; it was the 18-wheeler that suddenly turned across their bow. The recommended safe following distance for a semi-trailer is 300 feet. That would not apply in an adjacent lane, so the poor Haitians were too close for safety once the truck barged across their lane. As anyone would be. Since when is death the penalty for doing nothing wrong?
The screwed up system and matrix make us think this way since we’re all weary, jaded, and only humans. God please forgive us all.