We experienced a small earthquake while we were in Southern California.
It was just a gentle little rolling motion that both of us enjoyed. I know that sounds absolutely unbelievable to anyone who didn’t grow up experiencing earthquakes on a semi-regular basis, but it’s true. Lifelong Californians feel the earth start to move and think, “Cool. It’s an earthquake.” But when people who’ve spent their entire lives in Texas, for example, think of earthquakes, they’ve been conditioned by the media to think it means the earth will open up and entire cities will be swallowed.
For example, here’s how fear-mongering KTLA-TV in Los Angeles reported this mild little temblor:
A magnitude 4.3 earthquake struck Carson and the surrounding area at 7:58 p.m. Friday, according to the United States Geological Survey.
The quake’s epicenter was located in Carson city limits, near Dolores Street Elementary School.
Hundreds of reactions poured in after news of the quake was posted to KTLA’s Facebook page, with one user calling the temblor “a scary one.”
“I literally heard it coming,” they wrote. “The house was rumbling for a good 10 seconds.”
Another user doubted that even preliminary magnitude of 4.4 was high enough, adding that they believe the quake “Was way bigger than that.”
Contemptible cowards, I say. A 4.3 earthquake isn’t enough to frighten a little girl. Here’s what a real earthquake looks like: