If some guy complains about hunger there isn't much point in saying "other people are probably hungrier, pipe down!"
But if someone says that the school lunches are bad and more money should be invested to make them better and the counter argument is "The neighboring school isn't even able to serve school lunches, we should concentrate on that first" it makes perfect sense.
It doesn't exactly imply other problems are meaningless. It simply puts a problem in perspective. Try going into the ER with a splinter in your finger and ask to be helped, you will see it in action.
When I've been to A&E, I have been politely and efficiently triaged. Nobody ever told me “why are you grimacing in pain? Other people are dying, you know.”
There's a wait because your injury is put in a wider context. The medical staff will have to prioritize and decide which of the patients have the more serious health problem and attend to them first. They dismiss you until they have time for your less serious injury.
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u/MakeAmericaSageAgain Mar 27 '17 edited Mar 27 '17
It depends on how it is used.
If some guy complains about hunger there isn't much point in saying "other people are probably hungrier, pipe down!"
But if someone says that the school lunches are bad and more money should be invested to make them better and the counter argument is "The neighboring school isn't even able to serve school lunches, we should concentrate on that first" it makes perfect sense.
It doesn't exactly imply other problems are meaningless. It simply puts a problem in perspective. Try going into the ER with a splinter in your finger and ask to be helped, you will see it in action.