Trevanian's Desk/On Compassion-fatigue

Compassion-fatigue

Trevanian writes. 'When I was still in academia, I remember a day in 1974 when I was at home with my son trying to fix a piece of broken pipe outside the house. I cut open a tin can and tore off a piece of the soft metal by bending a section back and forth repeatedly until it broke along the crease. I explained to my tweleve year-old how the metal crystallises along the bend until it weakens and breaks, and told him the story of metal fatigue and the British Comet aircraft that crashed in the 50s because of it before its importance was realised (although known about for 100 years).

I then went off to work where there was a discussion in progress in my department about 'persuasion', and particularly about how to continue persuading business and the middle classes in general to pay for opportunities in education and business for the under privileged.

For how much longer would they continue to pay up? I remember alluding to the fear that the push and pull of taxation on the middle classes might break their desire to accept it, and suddenly the idea was in my mind. I explained my fear that a kind of 'compassion-fatigue' would set in. It was not particularly remarked upon. It was an idea we ran with in the meeting the way we all do when talking conceptually.

The next day, when the notes of the meeting were circulated, 'compassion-fatigue' was mentioned in them. About six months later the uncanny experience of an idea one has set in motion coming round to hit you in the back of neck happened. The term was mentioned in an East Coast newspaper article, and suddenly it was everywhere.'