Ruthless Wildfires and Human Indifference

This season, the Los Angeles Rams faced many challenges, starting the season with one win and four losses. Almost no one thought they would do well, but they eventually managed 10 wins and seven losses, not only advancing to the playoffs but finishing first in the NFL West. Just before the first game of the playoffs, however, the Rams, who were calmly preparing to face the Minnesota Vikings at home, encountered the unprecedented wildfire disasters.

Los Angeles is experiencing wildfires with the most property damage in U.S. history. Even head coach Sean McVay was forced to evacuate with his family. The playoffs have never changed venues because of natural disasters, even during snowstorms. This time, however, they were forced to move to Arizona because of the fires and poor air quality. Even so, the Rams won against all odds.

Many members of the professional sports community were victims of the wildfire devastation. Multiple NBA coaches and former major league pitcher Park Chan-ho lost their homes to the wildfires. The entire community extended a hand to help the city in different ways. The NBA and the National Basketball Players Association donated close to $1 million, and Dodger slugger Freddie Freeman and his wife donated $300,000 on their own. These donations demonstrate the sense of responsibility within the sports community.

When faced with natural disasters, everyone should be similarly empathetic. However, the public’s response was subtly different to the Los Angeles fires. These wildfires destroyed vast areas of land and the lives of countless families. Yet people paid particular attention to how the fires affected the wealthy areas. Although fire razed the mansions of many Hollywood celebrities and socialites, this was met with little sympathy in the media, and even hostility. Some people felt that because celebrities are wealthy enough, they should be able to save themselves and therefore treated their plight with indifference.

This view overlooks the universality of natural disasters. After all, the wildfires didn’t only hit wealthy areas; economically disadvantaged communities were hugely affected too. Although some people think Los Angeles is where the rich and famous gather, the city’s poverty rate is higher than the national average. Many blue-collar workers lost the security of their homes and livelihood. Putting aside the mental and emotional damage, obtaining fire insurance in California is difficult, and Americans in general have little savings. In a natural disaster, no one — celebrity or regular person — can escape unscathed. Society’s response to the victims, however, reveals worrying divides.

California has long been known for its progressiveness, whether on issues such as environmental protection, social justice or care for the disadvantaged. This progressiveness stems from liberal ideas, and many Hollywood stars ordinarily work hard to promote similar ideas.

When the wildfires struck, right-wingers who had long been holding grievances erupted in anger. For example, billionaire Elon Musk denounced California’s government for mismanaging the water supply. Donald Trump harshly attacked the city’s African American mayor for cutting the fire control budget. While these criticisms are not baseless, they inevitably oversimplify the problem and ignore the challenges brought by extreme climactic conditions.

As society becomes divided by polarization and the gap between the rich and poor widens, and as social media’s widespread use has led to information overload, many people have become numb to news of disasters. Psychological research has indicated that when people are faced with too much negative information, the brain automatically reduces emotional responses as a form of self-protection, which may further turn into an indifferent attitude. Whatever the reason, this enormous disaster in Los Angeles perhaps elicited the least empathy. This indifferent attitude might only be a preview of many future human tragedies.

The author is a sports writer.