The thing is, though, that in the US, disaster preparation is a local/state responsibility, not a federal one. There is plenty to criticize in the way FEMA/DHS have responded, true, but the mayor of New Orleans failed to utilize the city's school buses and other resources to get people out, and the governor has been useless when it comes to stopping looters. I've got some links in my LJ with more information. But the private sector's not waiting for the government. And that's a good thing. :)
Please do, but only if I'm allowed to return the favour.
I stand slightly corrected. Honestly, though, I don't care who's supposed to be doing what, my point is, it wasn't done, and now, people are dying. No one will accept responsibility, all the politicians are patting each other on the backs for their encouraging speeches, and people are starving, dehydrating, living in their own filth and dying in the streets.
It sickens me that this can occur in North America. I've read some opinions that those people are left at the Convention Center because they're black, because they're poor. Who gives a flying rip what colour their skin is? How does their annual income change their basic rights? And who is the idiot (I wish I could use a stronger word) who's essentially locked them there, put up the checkpoint on the bridge and sentenced those poor people to live in such deplorable conditions?
I don't know who's responsible, but they'd better step up and face the facts. And then, fix the situation. Quickly.
You're absolutely right. The people in charge failed the citizenry, and now a lot of people are dying because of their negligence. And I've heard the race/class theory, too, but I don't quite buy it. The city administration knew well in advance what proportion of its citizens had no way out because they either didn't have cars or couldn't afford the gas (including a lot of poor blacks), and they did *nothing* to help them get out while the getting was good. And there was only so much the National Guard could do as a result. :S It just boggles the mind.
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But the private sector's not waiting for the government. And that's a good thing. :)
(Mind if I friend you?)
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I stand slightly corrected. Honestly, though, I don't care who's supposed to be doing what, my point is, it wasn't done, and now, people are dying. No one will accept responsibility, all the politicians are patting each other on the backs for their encouraging speeches, and people are starving, dehydrating, living in their own filth and dying in the streets.
It sickens me that this can occur in North America. I've read some opinions that those people are left at the Convention Center because they're black, because they're poor. Who gives a flying rip what colour their skin is? How does their annual income change their basic rights? And who is the idiot (I wish I could use a stronger word) who's essentially locked them there, put up the checkpoint on the bridge and sentenced those poor people to live in such deplorable conditions?
I don't know who's responsible, but they'd better step up and face the facts. And then, fix the situation. Quickly.
Reply
You're absolutely right. The people in charge failed the citizenry, and now a lot of people are dying because of their negligence.
And I've heard the race/class theory, too, but I don't quite buy it. The city administration knew well in advance what proportion of its citizens had no way out because they either didn't have cars or couldn't afford the gas (including a lot of poor blacks), and they did *nothing* to help them get out while the getting was good. And there was only so much the National Guard could do as a result. :S
It just boggles the mind.
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