Compassion Fatigue
[Eddie Izzard on empires, war criminals, and compassion fatigue]
My genocide co-blogger Michelle recently responded to my criticisms of Mr. Kristof by pointing out that he does, after all, have a point about compassion fatigue, especially when we're faced with seemingly insurmountable problems.
"Why is it that we can empathize on an individual level, but seem desensitized when faced with death on a mass scale, or when suffering is anonymous and distant? Why do we tune out to large figures rather than seeing the individual behind each number?"
A recent post on the blog Making Sense of Darfur makes a similar point:
"Darfur may have slipped out of the news, but the low frequency with which it is mentioned in the press need not be particularly remarkable; it can be put down to the usual media cycle in which interest in a subject ebbs and flows, and it can also be put down to the compassion fatigue that has always afflicted public interest in ongoing crises.
There is nothing specific to Darfur that accounts for this fatigue; it is merely a variant of the broader concept of compassion fatigue which afflicts all news stories."
All of which feels rather appropriate following the most recent posts here, describing a seemingly endless cycle of violence in places like Congo, Darfur, Somalia and Sri Lanka.
I wish I had some sort of answer, some witty yet oh-so-insightful response. Instead, I just know that I've become increasingly desensitized - first while overseas, and now in the States, writing about horrible things with depressing frequency. Yet another necessary defense mechanism gone somewhat awry.
Tho I can't help but think that we never grow truly desensitized, that it all lurks somewhere beneath the surface. Or, as the man once said: what you fear in the night comes to call in the day, anyway.
Anyhows, as usual, Michelle was right - the best explanation really does come from Eddie Izzard. (See video above.) Besides, no better way than Mr. Izzard to start the weekend.
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