Who Stole My Homeland?
I have tried to write about New Orleans every day for a week.
This disaster has stripped me of all perspective, and I can’t find any sensible place from which to address it.
The magnitude of our loss is heartbreaking.
The human suffering is unbearable.
The lack of preparedness is an outrage.
But the thing I can’t seem to process is this:
When did America become a place that would stand by and watch our poor, our sick, and our elderly die?
I realize I’m not the only American who is feeling betrayed and abandoned because of our government’s slow and apathetic response to the flood. (They had two days’ warning to get them out, for goodness sake! )
As much as it comforts me to know that the citizens of the U.S. are still kind and empathetic people- I just don’t know how to live with the realization that our elected officials do not share this basic respect for human life and dignity.
mom said,
September 10, 2005 @ 5:02 pm
I too am having trouble with the fact that the governer and mayors had done nothing to make sure that the elderly and disabled could get out BEFORE the flood hit. They had enough busses and two days to get every one out. WHY, Why didn’t they at least try. These two need an attitude adjustment and maybe (probably) an employment adjustment. Bush told them two days ahead to evacuate. MANDATORY evacuation. Why didn’t the leaders of those states get them out !!! Esp. Louisiana !!!
Patti said,
September 15, 2005 @ 9:57 pm
Well, Mayor Nagin did order an evactuation two days before the storm hit (not George Bush, who declared a state of emergency on Aug 26, after the storm hit) but unfortunately, the bus drivers evacuated, and there was nobody left to drive the poor, the disabled and the elderly out. It is inexcusable that Nagin didn’t have some kind of plan for that eventuality. It is also inexcusable that it took five days for FEMA to reaspond. When 9/11 happened, we had F-16 fighter jets circling the city in 3 hours.
Then again, Michael Brown, the man who headed up FEMA during this time, turns out to have had zero experience with any of this. His entire resume, checked out by Newsweek, turned out to be fake. I had to be fingerprinted and checked by the FBI, drug tested, and have all my references validated before I could get hired for my job, but for an important federal post- nothing!
His whole job experience was as a chairman of the international Arabian Horse Society for goodness’ sake!
I can’t believe nobody fired him.
The man was allowed to resign in his own good time.
I call that criminal negligence.
People are dead. He should be in jail.
mom said,
September 16, 2005 @ 3:28 pm
Just goes to show how self orientede our society has become over the years. Then there was the couple that owned the nursing home where all the residents died. They refused to accept help when it was offered and now they are being indicted on 49 counts of negligent homicide. If they really cared about them they could have gotten them out of there. I am SO disgusted with society today. what ever happened to helping each other, what about LOVE, what about decency and honor.
Eryn said,
September 22, 2005 @ 3:02 pm
Do you think they’ve learned? Or do you think Rita will turn Texas into another New Orleans?
Patti said,
September 23, 2005 @ 1:46 pm
I don’t think learned is the way I’d put it.
They will try harder, because they want to save their political hides.
I don’t think they’ll change their stripes and start caring about poor people anytime soon.
Cynical? Me?
Eryn said,
September 24, 2005 @ 8:58 pm
I think Dubya should watch his response time to Hurricane Rita. If he jumps too soon people are going to criticize him because it’s his home state and they’ll think that’s why he was in such a rush to help out. If he waits too long they’ll say that Hurricane Katrina should have taught him something about responding to a disaster.