13 February 2006

In Defense of Hungry People

A good friend of mine sent an SMS late this morning asking for medicine to relieve her "hyperacidic stomach." I advised her to stop dieting (her weight is just fine) and never miss any meals.

While replying, her question reminded me of some of the exchanges in the comment box of my 'Wowowee' Tragedy post. Mec made a comment that said:
sorry, pero the news angered me lang talaga... hindi ako makaramdam ng awa... [Sorry, but the news angered me, and I can't feel any pity for them]

i think lang, it's time to let the Filipinos who let themselves be caught in such situations be held responsible... i mean, until when are we going to point fingers when it's us where the change should happen?


She has a more elaborate discourse in her weblog on this.

I think that while she has a point in saying that people should be responsible for their actions, the immediate cause of the stampede must also be addressed.

The people who camped outside ULTRA were there almost 3 days before the event. By Saturday, the day of the tragic event, most of them were hungry, thirsty, tired, and sleepless. Superb mixtures for a volatile stampede. Only a trigger was needed.

You don't argue with a hungry person. While he apologized for his vivid descriptions of what happened before the tragic stampede, I sincerely believe he shouldn't have done so. He's the only one I think, who truly understood what happened.

Hungry people are prone to hypoglycemia. And what are some the signs of hypolglycemia?
  • headaches

  • weakness

  • irritability

  • confusion

  • trembling

  • pallor

  • cold sweats

So little is needed to start a stampede with hungry people. You don't even have to be creative. Hungry people seek only one thing: food. Read on the physiology of hunger and eating to be enlightened.

While you're at it, you can also check out the 12 Myths About Hunger and the World Hunger Map.

0 reactions: