Breaking Down the Toon:

Just about everyone around the world has heard of and is aware of the significance of the words " September 11th", "World Trade Center Attack", "The Pentagon Bombing".  In a time and age where increased security and FBI Terrorism alerts appear regularly on the many television news agencies, they will be words that will continue to burn indelible images and memories into the lives of people around the world.

One thing that (fortunately?) has been quickly forgotten is the tragedy of the Oklahoma City Bombing.

In a CNN Online article, I read about how the victims and families of the Oklahoma City Bombing received at best, the insurance settlements from the various insurance companies for their losses.  Those same families are trumpeting the charge of fairness in reaction to the allotment of $1.65 MIL  to each of the families of the World Trade Center/Pentagon/Flight 93 families.  In their opinions, "They got the shit end of the stick."

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Numbers, Salaries, Tragedy and "The Stick"
-- Mike Wilkerson

There can be no denying that tragedy is tragedy. There can also be no denying that comparing the sense of loss of one tragedy to another is at best a hard road to hoe.

Some might think that it's "easy" to figure out which of the two events (the events surrounding September 11th, and the Oklahoma City Bombing) is "more tragic."  "It's all about body count," or "we were attacked by forces outside our own borders" might be the battle cry of those wishing that these events could be so easily put into a "more important" category.

The bottom line is that both are tragedies, and one set of victim families get a huge cash payoff from the government/from collections taken for their loss and one doesn't.  In many cases, the family received monies that total more than anyone would have ever "earned" during their total career working, and we think that perhaps, in some twisted way, that's what's at the center of all of this. 

If for example we take the average firefighter's (29k-48k) or policemen's (32k-49k) salary (from Salary.Com) over the span of, let's say, 20 years, you're looking at an average of $720,000.  If each family is receiving 1.65MIL, are they being "overcompensated" for their loss? 

One overriding fact holds true with all of "this": putting monetary worth on a person's loss is never easy.  Any of the families would, without a doubt, give back any cash received for the return of their loved one. So who's to say that "Uncle Sam" isn't being fair?  Ideas pop into our mind to fuel discussion:

-- Is the best "solution" to establish a general "Victim's Fund" for those lost in tragedy?  If so, what is insurance and insurance companies for?

-- Are people whining about the governments dispersal of publicly raised funds, raised during a time of world tragedy?

-- Are people just complaining because they really DID get the "shit end of the stick" from the Government, when compared to what the families of the WTC-related events got?

Vegetable Stew says:

Both events are national tragedies.  Both left lives shattered.  One was supported by a national/international campaign of fundraising because it was an "outside force" that led to a rally point of patriotism-based fundraising that the other would have never had the chance to take advantage of.

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Are the Victims of the Oklahoma City Bombing getting "the shit end of the stick" from Uncle Sam? 

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