A disaster is a disaster... or is it...?

News programs are always filled with different types of disasters; killings, natural disasters, scandals, and economic disasters. Even though the news focuses on each of these stories equally, it seems like the level of compassion from the people of America is different for each situation. The question that keeps popping up over and over again in my head is "why do Americans empathize with victims of natural disasters and help them as much as possible, but don't help victims of economic disasters equally?" I have no hard and fast answer to this question, but I have thought of a few possible reasons.

-Relatability: For most Americans, it is probably easier to imagine a tornado coming through your town and destroying their life than imagining losing their job and becoming homeless. This could be one of the causes because it is simply easier to relate to the tragedy of a person in a natural disaster.




-The Uncomfortable Factor: For some reason, homelessness makes many people uncomfortable. Even though people generally try to pretend to be sympathetic towards homeless people sitting on the street, most people truly feel uneasy when in the presence of them. Obviously, people would rather donate time and funds to something they feel comfortable thinking about instead of an issue that makes them feel uneasy.




I truly have no idea what the answer to this question is, but the above ideas are just some guesses. Do you agree with any of these ideas? Do you have any other possible answers to the question?