WHAT IS A TRAGEDY ?........ ( Article by Professor Hu Chi Ku Chi as a tribute to the Chesterfield watchers )

A disaster waiting to happen ?  A sad and painful ending to a story , which was both unnecessary and avoidable ? An event causing great suffering and distress. ? A series of interconnecting events which as they unfold lead to an unhappy ending.
It seems there are as many definitions of tragedy as there are different kinds of tragedy , some personal and others affecting large numbers.Yet whatever type the tragedy unfolds , observers are left experiencing  fear and pity. They fear for the worst possible outcome , and they pity those who are the tragic victims of such unfortunate consequences. Bigger tragedies can involve a huge range of emotions , such as anger , indignation , nostalgia , desire and anticipation. Often this complicated mixture of emotions matches the unfolding sequence of events.
When tragedies are the consequence of people's shortcomings and failings , their ignorance , moral weaknesses , lack of foresight and/or personality defects , the finger blame is immediately pointed at those responsible. Yet the beginnings often appear as harmless , innocuous ,  small and insignificant events , but once the die has been irretrievably cast the tragedies can not be averted.
At present I am helplessly watching a tragedy unfold , which has been brought about by human folly. A fleeting almost theatrical act of petulant behaviour triggered an avalanche of prejudice and mistakes as severe and unwarranted reprisals were doggedly pursued. What started off as an insignificant incident at a bridge table has developed into a bitter legal battle , where there will be no winners ......only losers. 
The tragedy is that hindsight can never make up for lack of foresight , and that whatever disasters befall the two parties concerned ,  the fact remains they were both predictable and avoidable. Common sense was never allowed to prevail over prejudice , pride , self-denial and anger. 
Indeed , while the sheer scale of human folly increases ever more in a seriously insane world, tragedies will never cease to occur. People , despite best advice , continue to ignore history , the mistakes of others  and , of course , their own.