Hurricane Katrina response

[Rosuav]

It's always easier to fix blame than problems, and if blame is pinned on "anybody-but-me", you feel like a victim instead of someone who should have done something. HINT: Blame a mythical entity, rather than a specific person or group of persons. It's easier, doesn't leave you at risk of having blame returned to you (due to "insufficient postage"), and won't get you roasted in the media (unless of course you blame the media, which would otherwise be all too easy a target).

DISCLAIMER: I'm joking. (This is for those few people who mightn't realise it's not serious, and might flame me in all seriousness. But go ahead and flame me in jest.)

[Raeghin]

As a country we catch a lot of flack for how fast we are to respond to a crisis here or abroad. We were flamed for not contributing enough, or fast enough when the tsumani hit. What doesnt get broadcasted are the John Q Publics that donate time and money right away, on both counts.

From what I have seen, the response for the aftermath of Katrina has been incredible. Now, I am sure if I were a victim, I would disagree only because my level of discomfort would be so high that even a day would seem like a eternity. The fact is that as soon as it was safe, our Red Cross had legions of trucks on the way to the effected areas. That just about everyone I know, in my small little world, has contributed in some way..be it money, food or time. The President has even commened our counrty for banding together to help these poor people who have been displaced, hurt or worse. I know that scores of trucks filled wtih water, dry goods and medications were on the road the day after Katrina hit. Before the hurricane, many of these Samaratian groups were already loading up trucks. Large companies (like the one my husband works for) are matching dollars contributed by their employees. My company is footing the bill for almost 1000 employees and there families to stay at surrounding hotels and donating huge amounts of product to help out. I could go on and on, and I am sure that most Americans reading this know of many other efforts too, but I think you get the gist.

Why was there no discussion thread directly afterwards? I have to think of this much like 9/11. I think a lot of the country mourns for what has happened and it is difficult to escape it, even for a moment. It is everywhere we look in the newspapers, TV, magazines, and basic dicussion. I also have to agree that the media does turn it into a political thing and it does get jammed down our throats.

Doesn't matter who gets blamed for this. That isn't really important. Rosuav is right, it is easier to blame than fix. Thankfully I am seeing more "Fixers". Whether the damage could have been lessened by fortifying levy's is moot now, anyway.

My point is the interest is there, it is just better spent acting on it or helping out than writing about it or blaming the government on what wasn't done, before hand.

I, personally, am proud of my country for its response to crisis. When the going gets tough for us, that is when we shine.

[Wrent]

I must express my utter disgust for the media and its politicalization of a DISASTER which has taken the homes, possesions, jobs, cities, and LIVES of people. Actual human beings who have just had their entire lives destroyed in a few
hours time.


The 'what ifs' and 'should haves' which are being plastered on newspapers and broadcast headlines.... the interviews of people who are literally hysterical with grief over their losses of loved ones.... the most recent icing on the cake is the slight quote unquote "script deviation" by Kanye West where he stated "George Bush doesn't care about black people" during a concert/fundraiser for the relief effort....

ALL MAKE ME SICK

How people can USE the SUFFERING and TRUAMA which are the results of an act of god as fuel for their policital agenda and to assign blame and shift popular opinion is simply revolting.

I take it back, there is a new icing on the cake. Just now, reading through an article on the diaster, there is a banner add


Replace Bush
Should Bush Be Replaced? Respond
And You Can Get A Free Computer!
www.willkerrywin.com


How absolutely TASTEFUL.

[Rosuav]

Originally posted by Wrent
I take it back, there is a new icing on the cake. Just now, reading through an article on the diaster, there is a banner add


Replace Bush
Should Bush Be Replaced? Respond
And You Can Get A Free Computer!
www.willkerrywin.com


How absolutely TASTEFUL.

When discussing the tastefulness of banner ads, it's worth checking their origin. 99.999% of such ads are stuck on randomly, occasionally with a bit of keyword checking to try to pitch slightly more appropriately. It's not someone trying to capitalize on the disaster; it's someone trying to capitalize on the fact that people read news stories. (The same notion, in fact, that leads to adverts in printed newspapers - you'll buy the paper for the news, and see the ads as well.)

Boycott banner ads, except when PROPERLY targeted. (For instance, the MUD ads on Top Mud Sites - if someone comes to TMS looking for a MUD, an advertising banner might actually be helpful.) Support true-to-content pseudo-advertising, like simply having a web site and being found by Google. Support true honesty in the business arena!!!!!111eleventyone

[Isaviel]

The country is responding to a disaster just like any other disaster we've had. Even here in Connecticut they are offering homes for people from the affected areas. Not only are they offering help to the people but the Connecticut Humane Society is heading down there to help their PETS that have had to be left behind because people were not allowed to take them with them.

The media is doing a horrible job and trying to point fingers.

The Country is doing what it does with any disaster... bonding and responding to a tragedy.

[Aerdria]

Having many relatives living in Baton Rouge and two cousins from New Orleans, I found the news of the hurricane’s devastation terrifying, and waiting to hear news painfully nerve-wracking. Especially in the first days, when we could get no news. I had to pray that it was merely the downed phone lines and busy circuits, and that they surely were far enough inland to be safe.

Late Wednesday night, my husband finally heard from his mother, from Baton Rouge. Everyone of our family is safe. Our cousins from New Orleans had evacuated before Katrina hit. They lost everything material, and have no jobs to return to now, as those companies also lost everything. Other friends I know have also finally heard that their relatives are safe, and living in hotels in Texas for the moment.

New Orleans government has now set up operations in Baker, an affluent city that’s little more than an overgrown suburb of Baton Rouge. Traffic in Baton Rouge is insanely congested right now. It can take an hour to go just a few blocks. If you do not need to be there, don’t go there.

For years, everyone in New Orleans KNEW that it would be a major disaster if a hurricane hit the city head on. It was, sadly, not a surprise that the levee broke and the city flooded as badly as it did.

People had been instructed to report to the Superdome for evacuation, and those who had arrived there at the time were taken out. Unfortunately many others reported to the OLD places that you USED to go to for things because they either didn't hear or didn't heed the instructions, and nobody arrived in those places to bus anyone out before Katrina hit.

And those who now go to help are often met with angry accusations, not to mention gunfire. And it is heartbreaking to see a child chanting for help in a refugee crowd. But the "We're going to have a concert to capitalize on what happened to those folks and blame Bush for not doing more" is what really ticks me off right now. That, and the f#@$ing snipers, who I hold personally responsible for anyone that died because they didn't get help in time when the rescuers turned back because they were being fired on.

[Salimar]

Elidia pointed out something important. My friends and I have been discussing this matter and we simply cannot comprehend why people are shooting at recue helicopters and engineers.

We never heard such thing. Especially in a country that is not in civil war. Why are people shooting? Do they think this is Armaggedon? Can someone give us an insight?



Salimar

[Aristotle]

Originally posted by Salimar
Elidia pointed out something important. My friends and I have been discussing this matter and we simply cannot comprehend why people are shooting at recue helicopters and engineers.

We never heard such thing. Especially in a country that is not in civil war. Why are people shooting? Do they think this is Armaggedon? Can someone give us an insight?

I ask myself this same question constantly. Why???? Why shoot at rescue helicopters?

[Gromgor]

Originally posted by Aristotle
I ask myself this same question constantly. Why???? Why shoot at rescue helicopters?

I blame El Nino

[Malacasta]

I heard some reporters say that these people firing at rescue helicopters might just have been firing into the air to get the attention of the rescuers who had flown by them six or seven times without picking them up (have there been any bullet marks found in any of the helicopters?). Some other out of the blue theories could be that they were panicked, that they were sociopathic or that they were drug users needing a fix.

Since none of the people accused of firing at rescuers have been interviewed to my knowledge, only they can know why they did it, if it even happened.

I've read about cannibalism, rapes of children, murders in the super dome and all sorts of horrific stories. I was pretty dubious about the cannibalism story, which makes me wonder about the rest of these unsubstantiated reports. They could well be true, but I think it's safer to say at the moment that all they are is rumours.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/katrina/st...563532,00.html