Why are people so eager to jump on the opportunity to donate to Haiti, when before this disasterous event barely any money was going into other charities?

1 Answer

Answer :

There is a lot of need all the time. I think that’s the problem – people are so very used to the idea that there’s need all the time that it becomes like static, or background noise – they just don’t hear it. It’s like a bottomless pit that will never be filled. On the other hand, Haiti’s earthquake was very sudden, very big, and it slapped peoples’ faces (metaphorically speaking) with the image of people buried in rubble and dying of need. It’s acute, not chronic, and that tugs on the heartstrings. (Don’t worry, though – people love the “disaster of the week” and will be back to their usual level of “giving” as soon as it passes out of the news. Do you think anyone is giving to tsunami victims or Katrina victims or even those poor Amish families whose daughters were murdered? Highly unlikely.)

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