It’s a side of human nature as dark and consistent as anything in this life. When things go wrong, people look out for themselves and their own to the exclusion of virtually any and all other considerations. Call it survival instinct, call it selfishness, call it whatever you like, but the reality is that when disaster strikes, it generally becomes a free-for-all, every man for himself. That’s why the story of what’s happening in Japan is so remarkable…or I should say the story of what’s not happening in Japan is so remarkable.
Looting in the aftermath of disasters is a story that goes back probably to the earliest humans. When things go horribly wrong and the normal, accepted ways of meeting day to day needs are no longer available, humans have demonstrated that they will do anything- no matter how immoral, unethical, or illegal- in order to survive. Except in Japan, where the Japanese are proving themselves exceptions to this rule.
The landscape of parts of Japan looks like the aftermath of World War Two; no industrialised country since then has suffered such a death toll. The one tiny, tiny consolation is the extent to which it shows how humanity can rally round in times of adversity…. And solidarity seems especially strong in Japan itself. Perhaps even more impressive than Japan’s technological power is its social strength, with supermarkets cutting prices and vending machine owners giving out free drinks as people work together to survive. Most noticeably of all, there has been no looting, and I’m not the only one curious about this.
This is quite unusual among human cultures, and it’s unlikely it would be the case in Britain. During the 2007 floods in the West Country abandoned cars were broken into and free packs of bottled water were stolen. There was looting in Chile after the earthquake last year - so much so that troops were sent in; in New Orleans, Hurricane Katrina saw looting on a shocking scale.
Japan is a unique case, to be certain, but one that should be regarded with more than a little bit of awe. Where most other cultures would be engaged in a free-for-all of individuals battling over scarce resources as they look out for themselves and their own, Japan seems to be pulling together. In doing so, Japanese are demonstrating that humanity really is better off when we pull in the same direction. Sure, there are cultural and religious issues unique to Japan that can be used to explain the reasons for this nationwide unity and compassion…but that doesn’t (and shouldn’t) make what’s happening there any less remarkable and admirable.
Japan’s Prime Minister has called the earthquake his country’s worst disaster since WWII. Given that we live in a much smaller world today, we’ve all seen much more of the damage from the earthquake and the tsunami that we ever could have after the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. That an entire nation can pull together and do the right things for the right reasons under such trying circumstances is awe-inspiring…and it makes me wonder why the rest of us can’t do the same thing.
