Katrina disaster
Sep. 9th, 2005 02:01 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
amalthiaI don't think I've posted at all about Katrina, I've responded to people's own journal entries. but I figured it's time I get my feelings off my chest....
Right now I feel mostly confused and worried. If this can happen in LA what would have happened if Houston was directly hit by a class 5 hurricane? We are at sea level and have many small towns along the coast. It scares me that our government which can go halfway around the world to help out people who didn't ask or want our help, can't even provide drop food off for our own citizens trapped in New Orleans. I can't help but feel that our government cares more about citizens of another country, more than it cares about us. Most Americans are just as poor as the average Iraqi citizen. Is it that muslims are less black??? so they get food, and the attention of 100,000 soliders?
After this I'm never going to depend on the government to take care of me in a disaster. In fact, I think people should pay more attention to the weather channel and depend on family and friends, because the people who depended on our government to help out in a crisis are either dead or on their way to detention camps, and are now being treated like 3rd class citizens.
I talked to my dad in Iraq and he says a lot of the soldiers are really stressed out because many of them have family and friends living in the areas affected by the hurricane, and they can't do anything to help because they are in another country, helping people who'd rather shoot at our soldiers than rebuild their nation.
I'm trying to avoid reading articles because everywhere I look it's just more bad news, with a few bright spots...it's amazing they can save dolphins but not let people bring their pets with them when they are rescued off rooftops.
I'd like to think that if Kerry won the presidential election we might have had better managers in charge of FEMA? I don't know why that organization exists. It seems like the Red Cross has the most experience helping out in a disaster.
I'm not sure what else to say. Last night I was reading news articles about how bad things got at the Superdome in New Orleans and I'm glad I wasn't there. What's tough for me is that I want to believe that people will do the right thing when times get rough, but the reality is people revert to cavemen like behavior, raping, killing, and mugging each other when there is no law and order to govern their behavior. I don't think Americans are any better than the people in third world nations we (admit it every american has at one point done this) make fun of because they can't get their shit together. We are one of the better educated nations, have technology and resources, and the money to help. Yet it took our government four days to transport people out of the city? They couldn't fly by in helicopters and drop off shipments of food? We have warehouses of food that are just sitting there. We have enough food in this country alone to feed the entire world, and people were starving and dehydrating to death. What's wrong with this picture?
Even after Bush won the election and I felt disallusioned that people were dumb enough to vote for him after his lies and incompetence, however, I still had some measure of faith that one person couldn't ruin the rest of the government. He hasn't ruined the rest of the government, I think it was already rotted from the inside when he took office and he's like the straw that broke the camel's back. This diaster showed me that our government is incapable of helping in a real emergency, in fact they don't appear to be of much worth. They take our money, squander it on roads in Alaska no one is going to use, then try blaming other people for their incompetence.
They should have spent 350million shoring up leevies. It wasn't like they didn't know this could happen. In fact that highway they build up in boston, that cost a billion...if not more. That money could have helped rebuild the leevies years ago. New Orleans isn't the only place affected by the flooding as a result of the hurricane, and it wasn't the only city damaged, but it was the most populated and now instead of spending millions on fixing leevies our government is going to spend billions, housing and feeding our citizens. Actually, that's our tax money, no our grandchildren's tax money, that's going to help our people, because the government lacks foresight and wisdom. Because our government would rather help people in other countries first. The Iraqi citizens aren't paying taxes to the United States, we are, and I'm surprised people aren't more pissed off.
Like the Roman Empire, we are on the last stages of whatever greatness we had as a nation.
Right now I feel mostly confused and worried. If this can happen in LA what would have happened if Houston was directly hit by a class 5 hurricane? We are at sea level and have many small towns along the coast. It scares me that our government which can go halfway around the world to help out people who didn't ask or want our help, can't even provide drop food off for our own citizens trapped in New Orleans. I can't help but feel that our government cares more about citizens of another country, more than it cares about us. Most Americans are just as poor as the average Iraqi citizen. Is it that muslims are less black??? so they get food, and the attention of 100,000 soliders?
After this I'm never going to depend on the government to take care of me in a disaster. In fact, I think people should pay more attention to the weather channel and depend on family and friends, because the people who depended on our government to help out in a crisis are either dead or on their way to detention camps, and are now being treated like 3rd class citizens.
I talked to my dad in Iraq and he says a lot of the soldiers are really stressed out because many of them have family and friends living in the areas affected by the hurricane, and they can't do anything to help because they are in another country, helping people who'd rather shoot at our soldiers than rebuild their nation.
I'm trying to avoid reading articles because everywhere I look it's just more bad news, with a few bright spots...it's amazing they can save dolphins but not let people bring their pets with them when they are rescued off rooftops.
I'd like to think that if Kerry won the presidential election we might have had better managers in charge of FEMA? I don't know why that organization exists. It seems like the Red Cross has the most experience helping out in a disaster.
I'm not sure what else to say. Last night I was reading news articles about how bad things got at the Superdome in New Orleans and I'm glad I wasn't there. What's tough for me is that I want to believe that people will do the right thing when times get rough, but the reality is people revert to cavemen like behavior, raping, killing, and mugging each other when there is no law and order to govern their behavior. I don't think Americans are any better than the people in third world nations we (admit it every american has at one point done this) make fun of because they can't get their shit together. We are one of the better educated nations, have technology and resources, and the money to help. Yet it took our government four days to transport people out of the city? They couldn't fly by in helicopters and drop off shipments of food? We have warehouses of food that are just sitting there. We have enough food in this country alone to feed the entire world, and people were starving and dehydrating to death. What's wrong with this picture?
Even after Bush won the election and I felt disallusioned that people were dumb enough to vote for him after his lies and incompetence, however, I still had some measure of faith that one person couldn't ruin the rest of the government. He hasn't ruined the rest of the government, I think it was already rotted from the inside when he took office and he's like the straw that broke the camel's back. This diaster showed me that our government is incapable of helping in a real emergency, in fact they don't appear to be of much worth. They take our money, squander it on roads in Alaska no one is going to use, then try blaming other people for their incompetence.
They should have spent 350million shoring up leevies. It wasn't like they didn't know this could happen. In fact that highway they build up in boston, that cost a billion...if not more. That money could have helped rebuild the leevies years ago. New Orleans isn't the only place affected by the flooding as a result of the hurricane, and it wasn't the only city damaged, but it was the most populated and now instead of spending millions on fixing leevies our government is going to spend billions, housing and feeding our citizens. Actually, that's our tax money, no our grandchildren's tax money, that's going to help our people, because the government lacks foresight and wisdom. Because our government would rather help people in other countries first. The Iraqi citizens aren't paying taxes to the United States, we are, and I'm surprised people aren't more pissed off.
Like the Roman Empire, we are on the last stages of whatever greatness we had as a nation.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-09 07:39 pm (UTC)It's terrible what's happening in New Orleans mostly because of the lack of proper aid. Tsunami victims were treated much better and it did not happen in the richest country in the world. It seems that the government is overlooking the fact that not everybody has a car and not everybody has relatives outside the area to help them in this disaster. It's just really sad.
Like the Roman Empire, we are on the last stages of whatever greatness we had as a nation.
I'm not giving up on Americans just yet. The world seems to forget that half the country did not vote for Bush and felt strongly about it, but I haven't. I will continue defending the goodness of so many Americans to the rest of the world who seem to jeer them any chance they get.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-09 08:11 pm (UTC)There are times I feel hope for our nation and there are times like these that I think the Americans are great, it's just our government that keeps letting us down. I feel let down anyway. I'm reading accounts of Americans who did their best to help. It seems to me that disasters bring out the best and worst in people. And there are some really good people here. My main concern is that the government knows the citizens aren't happy with their response. Maybe something in the government will change for the better. Like actually getting qualified individuals in charge of emergency response agencies.
I also thought the tsunami victims got faster service and better treatment. I mean the whole world kind of pitched in it seemed like the US was doing a great job at disaster relief. Maybe it's easier to help other nations than our own???? We already had the naval ships in the area...oh well I'm going to try not to dwell on this much and just wait and see what comes out in the investigations later.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-09 09:21 pm (UTC)I agree with everything else you've said. But I know that not everyone's bad in NO. There's always some assholes in the bunch. And remember, the media likes the put the worst in the limelight and leave the good ones in the shadows.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-10 08:14 pm (UTC)