I do agree with you in a way, it's almost as if the three minutes silence is a means to ease our guilt. Almost as if to say if you sit silently for three minutes and think about how lucky you are, and how awful it must be in certain parts of Asia right now, you are allowed to get on with your life guilt free.

I agree, I don't think a three minute silence will achieve anything, I only hope i am wrong and it encourages all those people who haven't donated to put their hands in their pockets and give.

I know this is a slight tangent, but something that has particularly upset me about the reaction of the Tsunami is how much people seem to be cashing in on it. Someone in the office was saying how the Daily Mail was boasting that it was the best paper in Britain because it's readers had donated a lots of money to the cause and then inside there was a list of all the celebs who had donated and how much. As if people are using it as an advert, the Daily Mail, the celebrities who donated. That's not right.

Similarly, I am almost offended at the announcement that Steve ('X Factor' winner) is donating all his profits to the Tsunami appeal. Don't get me wrong, i am all for as much money as possible going to those in need but at the same time, Steve and his record company are using this as a giant adverts, so that the part of the British population who can't see through it buy his next single making the record executives a huge pot of money because it's by 'that nice man who donated all that money to charity.' There's no feeling of a get together by a load of artists to make a difference to the world like there has been for Band Aid and Band Aid 20 (in my view Band Aid 2 followed the Steve philosophy in charitable singles.)

I'm much more behind the charity concert they are staging at the Millennium Stadium and i certainly will buy the planned charity single even if it does involve Cliff! At least this wont be tinged by a feeling of cashing in on a terrible disaster that has destroyed so many lives.

This message was edited by:Lisa on 2005-01-05 04:09

Honestly now...

I agree with you. I am thinking about the Tsunami constantly, as are a lot of people and I don't need three minutes silence to remember what has happened. Everyone is thinking of the people that have suffered in their own way.

It has got to the stage now where people have started getting what they can out of a tragedy. If I was rich I would rather doante money and not tell anyone. After all the whole idea is to help the people that are suffering and not to make yourself look good.

Who is she? Who IS she? And where did you find her?

The thing is what have we got to feel resposible for? yes we can morn the deaths of the hundreds of thousands who have lost their lives but we are we acting as if it's all our fault? Instead tims quite right we should be helping those still alive not worrying about those who it's too late for.

Not to mention get the countries to levy their 7 day customs wait or total ban of certain aid supplies that are desparetly needed. So far very little aid has actually got into the countries worst affected and when they do let these items into those countries whos to say it'll get sent to those most in need?

Cheese I choose you!

This reminds me very much of an expression i first heard like 10 years ago, that a true good deed is one where you don't expect anything in return - this includes not telling the whole wide world about it, 'cause if you do so, you expect respect or admiration or (insert suitable english word here) or something like that in return...

This message was edited by:Venus on 2005-01-05 08:25

I wondered if "Steve" would do that; the tsunami couldn't have come at a better time for him really, after his crappy single just knocked Band Aid off the top spot. There was a bit of a backlash building against him anyway after Sharon Osbourne's comments on X Factor; what better way to rebuild his niceguy image?

Celebrity exploitation like this is just another side-effect of our new grief culture.. we celebrate and venerate grief, so the more you appear to grieve, the more celebrated you are. It's just another commodity to trade on.

This message was edited by:Tim on 2005-01-05 12:30

Delete! Delete!

Quite. I'd be forced to turn to cynicism if I hadn't many years ago...

It was a waste of time. We had an e-mail round at work saying that some Retail Board or something to do with some Governemnt sector said we should all be recognising and partaking in the 'silence'. Being situated in a shopping centre we are kind of reliant on them announcing and adhering to things like this. Needless to say it was a complete sham - people didn't even know it was happening, there was no announcement for the start, only at the end - it was pathetic. And I think the main reason it was so crap is because it is so damn pointless. Lets stand still and shut up for 3 minutes of our lives, when really, if we wanted to help, in those three minutes we could have stuck a hand in our pocket, written a cheque or some other similar form of donation that will actually have an effect, that will help those in need.

Just come across this thread, so sorry to bring it back up...

Just want to say that I completely agree (agreed?) with Tim.

And Boris Johnson was 100% correct about Liverpool.

This message was edited by:TomParker on 2005-10-09 12:47