It’s not that I don’t care.

It’s just that my ability and will to do anything more than care is lacking.

Presumably if I cared enough I’d donate to some charity, but I feel fixing this kind of stuff is why we have governments with humanitarian aid programmes (which I happily pay for through taxes), which should theoretically be a thousand times more effective.

It’s also worth noting that many times we simply cannot do anything about it. Gaza does not have a food shortage because there are huge amounts of aid ready to be distributed, it’s because there’s a hot war and the Israeli government strictly controls access. Someone like Jeff Bezos could give the Red Cross a billion dollars and it wouldn’t matter unless that came with something only governments can arrange like a cease fire or military escort.

I reiterate that I can't care because my capacity to do so is limited:

* First priority is caring for myself. I can't care for anyone if I don't.

* Next is immediate family.

* Then it's my closest friends.

* Followed by my other friends and extended/distant family.

* After that are my professional connections: Co-workers, bosses, subordinates, clients, suppliers, and so on. They are who I derive a living from.

* Now I get to strangers I happen to meet during my life. This is actually an important group as, indeed, most if not all friendships, professional connections, and even family originate here.

* Finally, after all that, I can maybe care about strangers I have not met and will never meet during my life.

I'm sorry, my damns ran dry somewhere in "strangers in my life" before I got through them and I think that's actually being generous. I don't have any left for someone on the other god damn side of the world who is literally meaningless to me.

If you have a finite capacity for empathy, it probably isn't empathy you're measuring.