140,000.

[Robb]

I'm still wrapping my brain around what 140,000 people killed really means. It's hard for me to contextualize. It's a big number, and it dulls the senses. Worse still to imagine it will probably rise in the days ahead.

The internet tells me Haiti is a young country, demographically speaking. 42% of the population is under 14 years of age.

14.

That's almost 60,000 dead children.

My heart falls apart reading about a parent losing a single child in an accident. I've stayed awake at night grieving for such parents after reading about a single child. Just one.

60,000 stories like this.

I have no words. There is no limit to what we must to to help.

[vadawg]

1. dude you have to step back from it, if you try to take it in it will eat you up

i always found that instead of thinking of the big numbers, concentrate on the smaller numbers it makes it easier...

[thunder rising]

3. Like think positively...look at how many survived.

Borrowed from "Platoon"... "think positively, like your 10 days in."

I'll add, that there is nothing that makes this acceptable. I

[vadawg]

4. yup, you concentrate on the survivors in your immediate area, dont count the dead

and if your able you drink as much as you can when you get the chance....

[arcadian]

5. The thing that makes it acceptable

is the fact that you have absolutely no control.

[vadawg]

9. yup its out of your control, you cant save everyone you have save who you can

its a simple fact in any disaster or warzone that you cant get to everyone, you have to triage and save the most you can. Now its harder in reality as trying to get one of your men to leave a dieing child as there is nothing you can do but you can help the other children down the road is one of the hardest things you can do..

[DURHAM D]

2. Check out this headline from the Guardian:

Haiti earthquake: Aid effort ramps up as 200,000 dead predicted

[MineralMan]

6. I did a Google Search for "population 140000.

Eugene, OR
Ipswich, Queensland, Australia
Fort Collins, CO
The entire population of Belize
Camrose, AB, Canada
Heidelberg, Germany
Sioux City, IA
St. Helena, St. Lucia
Vallejo, CA
Hall Co., GA


It goes on and on.

[vadawg]

best way to do it is to use sporting events, think how many stadiums worth of people

ive always found it the easiest way to imagine amounts of people..

[vadawg]

11. crap stupid county puter

[vadawg]

12. delete dupe

[vadawg]

13. dupe

[HBravo]

7. +1

[Odin2005]

8. Jesus, that's almost the whole population of the Fargo-Moorhead area.

:cry:

[Renew Deal]

10. That's the new Yankee Stadium 3 times over plus some

:wow:

[malaise]

14. Hubby and I have been prepared for these numbers

since Tuesday night and the entire catastrophe is still unbearable. Haiti, Jamaica and Cuba - we're so close to one another. Even sending relief seems trivial in the face of such pain, suffering, death and destruction.

[JerseygirlCT]

15. And that's a real danger, I think

It will be far too easy for us (a collective, general us) to push the reality of the situation aside in light of such astounding, incomprehensible numbers. The tendency is to choose not to deal with it, as it's simply too much to deal with.

I find myself glued to the news - maybe out of a need to simply witness.

The only small glimmer of hope I cling to is that, in light of the truly generous outpouring of help to these people, that we will all begin to recognize the desperate straits that Haiti is in on a good day. Perhaps, just perhaps, once the worst is dealt with, the world won't once again turn away and go about its business. There is an opportunity to step back from all our petty lines of nationality, or race, or wealth and poverty and simply behave as human beings.

I hope.

[HBravo]

16. You need to focus on all of those who have been rescued. nt

[gimama]

17. O, ROBB...!

Bless Your sweeet & compassionate Heart.
Don't ever change.. even when it's pain-full.
:pals:

[Jamastiene]

18. If you just search your hometown (or any area you know well) on Wiki,

use the data that is there (no worries about exact/recent/most up to date statistics in this case, just estimating), and compare it to Port-au-Prince, it'll give you some idea the magnitude of their situation.

That would be like everyone in my home city dying 14.475 times over.
Or everyone in my county dying 3 times over.

The difference is:
My home town has an area of 7.3 sq. mi. (19.0 km2) and a population density of 1,326.8/sq. mi. (512.3/km2)

My home county has an area of 480 sq. mi. and a population density of 98/sq. mi. (38/km²)

Port-au-Prince has a population of 1,082,800 and an area of 14.7 sq. mi. and a population density of 73,433.9/sq. mi.

So, Port-au-Prince is twice the size of my home town in area, but has A LOT (108x the amount) more people and a much denser population density (55 x denser).

That only helps me put it into perspective. If you do it for an area you know about the same size, it'll give you some idea.

They are hurting. BAD.