Tsunamis and short term memory

That's one cruel, callous fact, right? If it hasn't physically touched you and I mean really touched as in kicked you out of your comfort zone into ground zero - things get dumped into short term memory. The pathways just don't form or slickly create a bypass.

Remember how many died at Latur? Know even where Latur is? Or that school in Russia where hostages were killed? The families killed in landslides in Kerala? Remember them?Is it a defence mechanism or just the incredible power of the human mind to rally around? Its kind of comic right?, that incredible human optimism/naivety where things 'happen' to 'them' and not 'us'.Any thoughts on this?