[identity profile] ceruleanst.livejournal.com 2007-03-05 07:14 pm (UTC)(link)
The trouble is that it's not simple apathy or numbness. It took more effort to make sure those stranded didn't get any help than it would have to allow some relief to get through, or allow people to escape. What it's really about is that members of the upper class feel a need to believe that they personally earned and deserve everything that life has handed them ("education" is how they launder their privilege into a personal achievement). Their sense of self-worth rests entirely on this belief system, which would logically fall apart without active contempt for the less fortunate.

[identity profile] idiomagic.livejournal.com 2007-03-05 07:20 pm (UTC)(link)
True...and very well said.