» sjhoward.co.uk

  • « Archive »
  • « Academia »
  • « Book »
    •
  • « About Me »
  • « Twitter »
  • « RSS »
    •

    Tsunami death toll hits 123,000

    Tsunami death toll hits 123,000 (Guardian)

    I’ve never liked the term ‘death toll’. It’s not nearly sombre enough to communicate the tragedy of large numbers of deaths. Somehow, it is emotionally lacking, and understated. We pay tolls to go over bridges and through tunnels in our cars, or even to drive in Central London, and think little of it. I wish I could suggest an alternative word for people to use instead, but I’ve not yet been able to think of one – perhaps the situation is so terrible for anybody to think of a word that can possibly convey the emotion of the event.





    Comment

    Share


    Your Comments and Responses

    Your comments and responses

    No comments have been left about this post... Why not leave one?


    Write a new comment or response

    Commenting allows you to respond to what the author and other commenters have been said. Comments often appear on this page instantly, though sometimes take a little longer - especially if you are new to the site.

    Enter your comment in the text area below. You may use these tags: <a href="" title=""> <abbr title=""> <acronym title=""> <b> <blockquote cite=""> <cite> <code> <del datetime=""> <em> <i> <q cite=""> <strike> <strong> .

    Note: By submitting your comment, you confirm that it conforms to the site's Comment Policy.
    Gravatar: To show your face, sign up for Gravatar, and enter your email address above.





    Welcome to my blog!
    I've been writing here since May 2003, and waffle on about all sorts of stuff.
    See this page for more about me, or follow me on twitter. Enjoy browsing, commenting, and getting involved!

    Printed from http://sjhoward.co.uk/archive/2004/12/30/tsunami-death-toll-hits-123000
    (c) sjhoward.co.uk - full conditions can be viewed at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/2.0/uk/
    The content of this site is copyright protected by a Creative Commons License, with some rights reserved. All trademarks, images and logos remain the property of their respective owners. The accuracy of information on this site is in no way guaranteed. Opinions expressed are solely those of the author. No responsibility can be accepted for any loss or damage caused by reliance on the information provided by this site.