| Aug. 28th, 2007 @ 01:06 am a few comment about hurricane Katrina |
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to start off with, I am somewhat disheartened that Hurricane Katrina, an event that literally destroyed numerous small towns in southern Louisiana and MISSISSPPI, and also literally crippled a major United States city called New Orleans has been virtually forgotten. I've actually seen more coverage of Paris Hilton and Britney Spears than I've seen of this tragedy that efffected and is still effecting HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of americans. wake up AMERICA. I know you got tired of hearing about it.
lately, I've been reading and hearing comments made on the internet in blogs and forums and on youtube and Cable t.v. "TALK SHOWS" and "TALK RADIO" and stuff about hurricane katrina, and I realize that most people that write and call into these things are apparently idiots, but man, have I been shocked by what I've read and heard. no wonder the world thinks we are a nation of morons. fuck, maybe we really are a nation of morons.
a few comments about new orleans.
people seem to think everyone in the gulf south and new orleans are sitting around waiting for a hand out. this is so far from the truth. 99 per cent of people in new orleans are working thier asses off to do what they can to re-build the place, mostly with thier own time and money. spend a week on the ground in new orleans and you will find this out for yourself.
also, the same was true during and right after the hurricane. 90 per cent of people in new orleans evacuated by thier own means and of the people left in the city during the flooding most were busy helping rescue thier family and neighbors as best they could. if you spent five minutes talking to someone actually from new orleans, you would hear, amazing stories of courage and self sacrifice from people helping other people, regardless of race in the aftermath of the flooding. most of the often heroic rescue efforts were done by locals, saving other locals, and people that came from mississippi and baton rouge and lafayette and places, to help out. (and of course the coast gaurd, and doctors, and nurses, and firemen and other emergency agencies did an aweful lot to help people--eveyone knows this.---everyone is proud of them.--there are no local people that for one second complain about these people--these people are heroes to new orleans. )
you've got to realize that many of the people you saw on your t.v. set during the flooding after katrina crowding into the super dome and the convention center were really old people who couldn't get out of the city in time. , people in wheel chairs, sick people, mentally handicaped people, people trapped in old folks homes, people who were handicapped, people who chose to stay behind with thier old parents and take care of them. some of the people at the superdome where old guys who were gave so much to thier country as veterans of WWII and Korea and VIETNAM (veterans we supposedly talk about as being "HEROES" but when they are old and sick and need help and end up in the superdome, you call them LOAFERS LOOKING FOR A HANDOUT.--god, the HYPOCRICY--) many were people who simply didn't have the means to leave the city and were trapped--even some who were actually threatened by thier jobs to be fired if they left town. people don't own a car. etc.
yes, there are poor people in america. I'm not blaming that on anyone, it's just a fact. to blame them for being old or sick or poor is just pathetic. and very un-christian. didn't jesus talk about helping the sick, the poor, and the old??
yes, there were looters, (I'm not talking about the people who took some milk and medicine to help old and sick people eat---that is totally understandable, and you'd do it too in a pinch)
yes, there were people who looted Telivision sets and jewelry stores. and I'm in NO WAY DEFENDING THOSE PEOPLE. there were some horrible acts commited by some hardened criminals and wacko drug addicts. but, you've got to realize that this was something like HALF OF ONE PER CENT OF THE POPULATION commiting these crimes. if even that. it was maybe a few hundred criminals doing this stuff out of a population of HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS. but of course the t.v. camera's and media coverage is going to concentrate on this stuff because it's sensational and sells advertising time on thier cabel t.v. coverage. and anyway, such lawlessness is what the GOVERNMENT, both local, state, and FEDERAL is there in the first place to control. if the GOV. had been on the ball, such incidents could have been held to a minimum.
I hate how people can also say "oh, new orleans is below sea level so you are all just stupid for living there." I"ve heard this said by people that live in the Mid-Western states (which get TORNADOES AND FLOODS) the south, (which get TORNADOES AND FLOODS)HAWAII (WHICH GETS TSUNAMI's, volcanos's and Earthquakes), California (which gets Earthquakes and mudslides, and forest fires) and New England (which gets FLOODS and BLIZZARDS). so where the hell do you live which is so safe??? I'd like to see your house get hit by a tornado and then turn around and say (well, I"m sorry I said those things about new orleans, now I KNOW WHAT IT'S LIKE TO LOSE MY HOME---).
anyway, NEW ORLEANS WAS FOUNDED NEARLY 300 years ago!! it's been here this long, probably longer than the town you live in...... it's a national treasure, historic city, and if it's below sea level, well, if a tiny country like holland can protect thier cities that are below sea level, then why can't we? are we going to let holland show us up? come on man, where's your pride?)
I hate how this has become a BLACK VS. WHITE ISSUE in the popular mentality and in the media (wether "conservative" or "liberal") Of course conservative pundits lish rush limbough, and Hannity and the ugly blond woman (sorry can't remember her name right now) have stoked the so-called RACIAL aspects of this situation, but RAY NAGIN didn't help matters with his idiotic comments, and many so called Liberal leaders have played the race card here too. I'm not going to pretend that RACE and CLASS is not a factor in our universe, or in the new orleans situation(we could talk about that for hours) but most people talk about the "racial" aspects of this in such a simplistic and frankly, RACIST way.
the hurricane and the flooding caused by the leevee failure affected people regardless of race or how much money they had. yes, the lower 9th ward was terribly effected. but there was lakeview, mid-city. chalmette, new orleans east, parts of uptown, gentilly, and many, many small towns in southern Lousiana and mississippi.
just as many "european-american" as "african american" people died--in fact the death figures were somewhere around 50/50. and just as many "white" people as "black" lost thier houses, or where effected in million other ways. and there were many asian and hispanic people effected too.
HUMAN SUFFERING IS HORRIBLE REGARDLESS OF WHAT COLOR YOU ARE.
it's not about RACE PEOPLE. GOD GET OVER IT!! if you believe in CHRISTIANITY SO MUCH, then why are you so racist??? does JESUS care what color you are??
the vast, VAST majority of the rebuilding of new orleans HAS and IS being done by people who live there, both white and black. NOT by the government. individual home owners repairing thier own property, with little help from the outside. (and yes, PRIVATE groups including church groups from outside have come down to help, and every one in new orleans is very thankfull that they have. I'm not even religous but I thank these church groups. they seem to be doing alot more than the fed. gov.)
I also hate how, like everything else in america, this has become a LIBERAL VS. CONSERVATIVE issue. people who back BUSH can't admit he did anything wrong. people that Hate bush can't admit that maybe clinton made mistakes too.... the Government has done anything right. the truth is somewhere out there in the middle, people. Believe me, when the shit was hitting the fan and people where needing help during the aftermath of Katrina, no was asking "are you liberal or conservative" there were liberals helping conservatives off of roofs and conservatives in motor boats helping liberals out of the water. in the end we are all just people.
It's also funny to me how POLITICAL bullshit has surrounded the discussion, and how uninformed it all is. most people refer to GOV. Blanco and Mayor Ray Nagin as "LIBERALS." I usually vote democrat, but I DIDN'T VOTE FOR EITHER ONE OF THESE IDIOTS, EVER.
YES, they are DEMOCRATS, but niether one of them is in the realm of what would be called a "LIBERAL." whatever that's supposed to mean. Ray Nagin for one thing, is a pro big business candidate, and has recieved campaign money during both of his campaigns from the republican party, and private funds from many big time republican doners. (he was NOT backed by the democratic party either time, by the way.--he ran in opposition to the candidates the democratic party ran. ) NAGIN also PUBLICALLY in word and financially BACKED THE BUSH CAMPAIGN AND THE Republican Louisiana GOV. candidate who ran against Blanco. so, all of you Republicans who attack Nagin for being a "LIBERAL" don't know what you are talking about! he's YOUR GUY!!!Blanco, also a democrat, might as well be a republican....she also holds conservative stances (she is very anti abortion, etc...)
IF YOU ARE A REPUBLICAN and/ or a conservative, if you can't admit BUSH and Brown and Chertoff made some mistakes in the lead up to and aftermath of Katrina, then you just have blinders on. wake UP MAN.
to be fair, I'll even say it that if you are a liberal and you won't admit that some mistakes were made by democrats involved in the situation, you are also blind.
I personally think that whatever few people (and I don't really think there are many) really believe that the levees breaking were some kind of a conspiracy are totally wrong, uninformed and some of them are actually wacko. there was no conpiracy. BUT there WAS NEGLIGENCE in the building and maintianing of the LEVEES, by the federal government (who, if case you don't know, are in charge of most of the levees around new orleans) AND ALSO BY LOCAL AUTHORITES, including local levee boards, many of whom were crooks and or idiots.
man reading and hearing these comments you see on the internet and so-called TALK SHOWS on cable t.v. and on "TALK RADIO" about hurricane katrina makes me sad about humanity. it just proves how small minded people are and how they can't put themselves in other people's shoes for even once second. of course the racist comments are really shocking and sad, but some of the comments by "liberals' are just as stupid. both sides are totally uninformed about Katrina.
to end with I KNOW for a fact that many thousands of people from around the country and around the world came to new orleans to help out and had benifits and raised money to help. thank you. EVERYONE IN THE EFFECTED AREAS THANKS YOU. but also, it seems that many more millions of americans just literally don't seem to care. or worse yet, they attack people in new orleans as being LAZY and stupid for even living there. it's mind blowing. |
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