Alumni & Friends
LAS Alumni Information
Alumni Network
Sociology
Compassion in Disaster
In the wake of the World Trade Center bombing, news reports poured in about acts of heroism during the moments of crisis. LAS alumna (A.B. '70, teaching of English) and CBS correspondent Carol Marin recalled a firefighter who likely saved her life when he shoved them both against a wall so that his protective clothing would shield her from the giant fireball that was roaring down upon them.
Such acts of heroism surprise us, yet LAS sociologist Clark McPhail says they are more common than we realize. For reasons unknown, disaster can bring out the best in people.
"This is an example of what I call the myth of panic," says McPhail, who for 30 years has studied human behavior in crowds, riots, demonstrations, and disasters. "People are remarkably resourceful and flexible in dealing with disaster. They may feel fear, but it is the rare individual who is incapacitated by it or acts solely in their own self-interest."
A case in point, says McPhail, was the orderly evacuation of the World Trade Center towers during which people actually placed themselves at greater risk by helping others. An example was the four office workers who carried a man with broken ankles down 15 flights of stairs. "There was no pandemonium. People ran only when they were outside the building and were encouraged by rescue personnel."
As the nation struggles with its long-term response to the terrorist attack, McPhail encourages us to remember these altruistic acts and strive to remain in touch with this morally purposeful side of ourselves. An age-old way of doing so is to engage in collective rituals. That's this liberal social psychologist's way of telling people to go to church, gather together to recite the Pledge of Allegiance, or organize weekly remembrances as a way of reaffirming our identities as Americans. "These collective actions create a sense of solidarity and strength," says McPhail.
Reaffirming shared beliefs will also counter the powerful, yet dangerous, strategy that political interest groups often use for
uniting a populace: they provide a common enemy. The "us" versus "them" tactic helped rally the country after Pearl Harbor, says McPhail, but it also resulted in the shameful internment of innocent Japanese Americans. "Today we are more educated and worldly and the enemy more nebulous. I think Americans understand that they are citizens of the world as well as citizens of this country and, consequently, they can separate the terrorists who are deserving of retribution from the rest of Muslims. We can be altruistic over the long run."
By Holly Korab
Fall 2001