Disasters From a Sociological Framework - Assignment Example

Disasters from a sociological framework Critical analysis of the events that transpired in the Lockerbie Air Disaster involving Pan American Flight 103 and Buffalo Creek flood explores the sociological aspects of disasters in the community. There has been significant debate on the social restructuring that has taken place in the minds of the victims of the two disasters. It is important to underline the differences among disaster, tragedy, and catastrophe in regard to the events. This will form a better ground to put across explanations on what they meant to the victims and the lessons that can be learnt by the world at large. It is important to note that the three concepts involve human being under a spell of physical or emotional alteration. Comparative analysis of Lockerbie Air Disaster and Buffalo Creek flood share several things in common but has some areas of slight deviation. This is particularly as far as their definition and circumstances surrounding their happening are concerned. It is imperative to note that despite the nature of the two events in world history, their effect on victims converge at some point from the perspective of sociology (Farmbry 45). The cases present a significant level of trauma among the victims. There is clear evidence that the case of Buffalo Creek flood was foreseen and could have been averted if early measures were taken into consideration. In other words, it was considered to be within the control of concerned authorities and this to some extent made it look like tragedy. On the other hand, Pan American Flight 103 was deliberately executed by persons with intent to kill many people and that is what happened amounting into a disaster. There has been a raging debate on the differences between the two events as far as the residents' habitus is concerned. Such disaster like the two mentioned in this paper comes with significant alteration of the social order in the community. It has both personal trauma and communal trauma but the bottom line is that it invokes some emotional attachment with the events and places which leads to commemoration. In the event of such disasters and tragedies, the social organization of the community is altered from intrapersonal to interpersonal. A particular example as recorded in the case of Lockerbie Air Disaster saw the entire United States show solidarity by holding on to their flag which the plane also had. Commemoration events brought people together and marked geographical spaces in the mind of the people in regard to the disaster. This is evident when memorial parks were set aside and a day to remember the victims. Such subsequent memorials bring cohesion and constitute the effects of communal trauma. The individuals also exhibit trauma through perceived fear of associating with the day of such events. In the case of Lockerbie Air Disaster, it is common to find some people especially students in foreign schools travel to or from United States avoiding December 21 as they associate it with past loss of life aboard aircraft. The cause of the disaster or tragedies also affects v victims’’ perception on various aspects of the society. Taking the case of Lockerbie Air Disaster in December 21, 1988, the cause of the event was the architect of the terrorists. This means that victims of Lockerbie village and United States parents and relatives of the persons on board share emotional trauma with regard to fear of terrorism. It is therefore worth to note that the two communities in different geographical location view terrorism from a similar perspective and are in solidarity in as far as condemnation of the act is concerned (Farmbry 75). The case of Buffalo Creek flood was as a result of human omission but the victims felt betrayed by the government authorities they believed in. As such, they were immersed in collective trauma in which their communal memory of the lost people remained the benchmark of their interaction of reality of death and personal threat and insecurity in any environment. As some sociology scholars like Emile Durkheim put it, societies require continuity and connections with the past (Farmbry 89). It is this aspect that makes people physically come together in remembrance of a dark past. This strengthens the social bond and reorganizes the community structure and overall residents' habitus. To institute the collective memory of past events, activities like celebration and setting a part some place is always done. The victims of the two events discussed in this case have remained emotionally in solidarity of the past and developed significant fear towards a repeat of the same. As for Buffalo Creek flood, the dark day has made them more vigilant with the activities going on around just to be sure of their safety. In the case of Lockerbie Air Disaster, victims communally fear and loath terrorism as they associate it with a dark past and there is both individual and collective perception against it. It is also worth to note that there have been long term impacts on communal solidarity in regard to the two events among survivors and the relatives of the dead. In the case of Lockerbie Air Disaster, parents of Syracuse victims have remained united through annual memorial services that bring them to share personal experiences with the individual trauma they have gone through in regard to the lost loved ones (Farmbry 126). It is therefore evident that disasters and tragedies affect many people and reconstruct society towards a stronger interpersonal attachment. Workers Cited Farmbry, Kyle. Crisis, Disaster, and Risk: Institutional Response and Emergence. Armonk, N.Y: M.E. Sharpe, 2013. Print. Read More