My Two Cents
Sorry KW, but I've got to disagree with you on a few items here. First of all, not everyone could evacuate, as they could not afford to, or had no means of transportation to leave. I have no problem with their looting to survive, not at all. Several of those people were smart enough to buy a week's worth of food beforehand, only to see it washed away in the storm. Can I blame them for looting for food to feed themselves? By no means. And even those who decided to stay on should not be given a death sentence for making a bad decision. Let them loot. I think that people are selfish, but most are not, and looting for orange juice is not a sign of moral failure.
We are about to see an ugly political firestorm. The left-wing will blame Bush, of course (they're like the party who cried wolf at this point), and the right will blame the local officials. I feel that they're enough blame to pass around to everyone, and only hope we can learn our lessons. Looking at some of the blog posts I've seen today, it seems that neither Clinton or the current Republicans put in the money to build a strong levee (or whatever else they could have done), and that the local officials didn't have good planning for this inevitable crisis.
One ugly side of humanity is our inability to prepare for tragedy. If it is not in front of us, we will usually ignore it. Just over one-hundred years ago in London, smog was a major problem, but no one did anything about it until scores of people started dying. Here, everyone who had heard any story about a hurricane threat for New Orleans knew what would happen in a storm of this magnitude. I thought the night before landfall that Katrina could cost tens of thousands of lives based solely on an NPR report I heard a few years back, and I'm afraid I'm going to be right.
Finally, as much as I agree with giving money, that can only go so far. I'm in the process of giving myself, and I think it's meaningful, but some things are far more valuable than money. Didn't we give so much for the tsunami that some of it had to be returned? If the NFL gave $100 million to the victims, it wouldn't help those in the worst need. What they need is aid, food, evacuation, whathaveyou. A strong plan created years ago to deal with a crisis such as this would have been far more valuable.
There - just my two cents. It's going to take years to sort out the mess this has made in so many lives, but I think we are up to the task of rebuilding New Orleans. In fact, I'm sure of it.
posted by Mike @ 9/02/2005 10:03:00 PM
4 comments
4 Comments:
Yeah--I never thought the looting as far as food is concerned was all that bad--especially considering that aid is slow and the length of cleanup would cause that food to spoil anyway. What I do have a problem with is the looting that has nothing to do with survival. Smashy smashy!
Mike--I have watched this unfold since last week (since I work from home I have been watching it 24/7). I do think that the looting is a means of survival. They are doing whatever it takes to survive and I think, if I were in their shoes, I would do the same thing). On Friday, NBC did a fundraiser with some high profile, key entertainers that hail from LA & MS. I was at dinner trying not to cry at the sight of those dying, etc. but I missed the whole Kayne West thing. He basically threw in the faces of America that Bush does not like black people. Now, you know my political leanings, but I was kind of shocked that it was said. I don't think Bush is to blame (at least 100%) but the reaction and lack of a concrete plan for a "worst case scenerio" is disconcerning. New Orleans is 2/3 black with a percentage in that demographic poor. The evacutation plan was nice but what about those who do not have transportation? I think the world is looking at us and shaking their heads. Here we are, America, the "we can fix anything for anybody" country and to look at the areas devestated by Katrina, it looks worse than a third world country. Sonia mentioned that Venezula and Cuba had offered help, but it was turned down? Huh? I am all about helping the world when it takes a hit, but what about us? Can we take care of our own for a change?
As for donating, I have a former co-worker (she lives in Memphis) whose family was greatly affected by the hurricane. Her niece is 8 months pregnant and lost everything. I am sending money to Tami, so when she travels back down there (she was there over the weekend) she can take diapers, food, clothes, whatever they need. I like the fact that I will be able to see a direct result in my helping. If I could go down there and help I would. Unfortunately, gas prices have pretty much kept me tied to Nashville. Anyway, just my two cents. I did hear that the French Quarter (Burbon Street included) was flooded but that it was pretty much dry now. They want to have Mardi Gras next year. Who knows, we may have to plan a road trip down to the Big Easy in Feb.
WEll said, Mike. I wrote my post rather quickly, and may not have worded this correctly, but I do not want to be pointing fingers at people who looted for food. I know there were thousands that couldn't evacuate. Thousands that ended up on their roofs, hungry and dying. And many of them took bread from somewhere to feed their families.
And I would almost surely do the same thing.
But, I think anyone that did that has an obligation (morally) to come back around later and make up for it. Maybe paying for it when they get back on their feet. I dont' know.
And, though many could not leave in time through no fault of their own....there were still thousands who could have left but stubbornly stayed.
For every one that took bread to nobly feed their kids...there were those stealing tvs and stereos....there were those shooting at relief helicopters.
I'm not trying to lump all the victims into one group. I'm just saying that we're seeing lots of the ugly side of America in this tragedy...right along side all the good. And that's sad.
Thanks for the comment Amy. Nice to hear from you.
And thanks for the clarification KW. I didn't know what you were saying! I do now.
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