The Hurricane Comparison

[dtbog]

I just read a thread on this forum in which someone berated a poster for complaining about his recent downswing in poker; the respondent's words were something to the effect of "thousands of people died, quit whining about losing a few Benjamins."

This point rarely seems to hold weight. Sure, there are situations here and there when proceeding about your daily life is callous and insensitive; if your friend's mother dies, it might not be appropriate to head over to his house and whine about busting out of a tournament.

However, there are many ordeals that others across the globe face on a daily basis, and we can't spend our entire lives suppressing our own emotions because someone else might be experiencing something more extreme. Consider the reverse case; should we not be happy to win a poker tournament because someone else somewhere won the lottery? Should we not be happy about a first kiss or a new discovery because someone else just got married or won a Nobel prize? Of course not. We each lead our own lives, and we are entitled to a degree of personal subjectivity when evaluating our own situations.

I posted this because I am very interested in hearing a point of view that directly opposes mine. If you think that we should not be worrying about bankroll downswings or minor injuries after a natural disaster has occurred somewhere else, tell me why.