Debate anyone?

[dontcryemoboy12]

Ok so this entry is mainly for Marina and Kyle. We had been discussing the Hurricane situation and the ineffectiveness of our emergency response to it. Now, these talks have always been more of a discussion rather than a debate, because everyone is pretty much on the same page that the government, on both the federal and local levels, just made a

Comments

[prosewitch]

Hey, let's blame the poor--not only are they morally inferior, but they're also unable to defend themselves because they lack access to the elitist media production levels! Neat!

... damn, that was tough to read. Funny how the author didn't mention the fact that the federal government was continually diverting funds from building levees over the last few years to making war instead. This was a totally preventable disaster... but now that it's happened, no, we can't blame the government, let's blame the poor!

Arg, sorry for the vitriol, I'm just really mad and sad about the whole situation. Can I post a link to this in my journal? (since lots of my friends are also very, very upset)

[itzwicks]

Yes, let's really blame the pooor.

Self responsibility is CRITICAL. You must know that if you elect to blow off an education, and make poor life decisions, you will ALWAYS be at the mercy of others. Never forget that.

That is why there is a culture war in the US today. Go ahead, listen to rap music which encourages poor English, negative attitudes, and hostile calls to action. Rally behind the hate mongers, the misogynists, and the anarchists. If you do that, over 80% of the good jobs and income generating opportunities will NEVER cross your path.

I'm not saying that people who engage in that stuff is bad, but they should know that the younger people will not be able to easily separate one reality from another, and will pay for it, big time.

All levels of government failed those folks. And since I didn't see a whole lot of able bodied neighbors helping their fellow citizens, you can bet that there are going to be recriminations going around for decades to come.

If it has to be said again, if you depend on the government for your

[prosewitch]

Hm, I'm uncertain how much of my sarcasm came through, and whether you were being at all sarcastic in parroting my phrase about blaming the poor

[oceandream9]

If I can't depend on the government to assist me during a natural disaster, why the hell do I pay taxes?

[itzwicks]

I am all over the map on the NOLA/Gulf Coast stuff.

Here is a post on some lessons learned from Katrina.

And here are some comments that I made elsewhere:

Oh yeah, I can see everyone is in full CYA mode now. Both parties. All levels of government. And all of their supporters.

It just goes back to my primary point: If you rely on your government to take care of you from cradle to grave, you will be eventually disappointed.

Let NOLA be an example as to WHY you first rely on yourself, your family, and your neighbors first when crisises strike. The choices you make in life matters, and the sooner we all embrace our commonalities, the sooner we can make things work for the better.

Finally, I hope that when they investigate the process, and what went wrong, people get fired, forced to resign, and are otherwised made to be held accountable for many of the preventable deaths that occurred.

[dontcryemoboy12]

I definately agree that no one should rely 100% on both the government and the welfare system to cover their basic needs. People need to be able to take care of themselves for the most part, or else as you said if you ONLY depend taking from others, it will probably hurt you in the end as well. The thing that got to me, was that the article was inferring that either ALL or an overwhelming majority of the people stuck there were doing this when most likely that is not the case. I'm sure many of them are working citizens, who simply do not have a high enough income to own a car. But they still WORK, and don't just abuse the welfare system.

[drydem]

While I agree that one should not rely 100 percent on the government throughout their life, you have to realize that there are many things that people should be able to rely on government for.
By your suggestion, the people of New Orleans should have, on their own, gone out and repaired the levy on Lake Ponchatrain. They could not have done so.
By your suggestion, the people of New Orleans should have been filling 3-ton sandbags themselves and preparing the helicopters rather than trusting professionals to do so.
There is an increasing degree of technical specialization in the modern world, and the days of the self-reliant settler are over. We have to be able to trust that the government to whom we pay our taxes will use that money to serve our interests.
I am not advocating a total welfare state, just that the government 'promote the general welfare', which is part of the constitution.

[dontcryemoboy12]

Nicely put. That is the main thing that I am stuck on too- that the GOVERNMENT should have completed the levee project rather than diverting the funds to the Iraq War.

[unikerrn]

Hi, remember me? I just wanted to let you know that I added you to my friends list.

As far as that article was concerned, ugh, it was very difficult to read. I agree with Jeana all the way. I also find it amusing that he cited The Washington Times, a well known conservative paper and then mentioned watching Fox News.

[dontcryemoboy12]

Of course I remember you! ;) I will be adding you back. Yea I mean it was definately a conservative who wrote the article and used conservative sources, but it was just interesting to get a different spin on things from what we've been hearing, wrong as some of it may be.

[oceandream9]

Show us your tits!!!

[oceandream9]

Ronald McDonald gave everyone AIDS