Heartbreaking
September 2nd, 2005Katrina’s aftermath has struck our house silent with emotion. With every news report and today’s posting of a heartbreaking radio interview with New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, it just seems to get worse. I’ve been afaid to post anything for fear of backlash about not saying something earlier or to ask why we haven’t pledged monetary support. Let me say it here: we’ll be donating whatever we can to the aid of residents and the rebuilding of the Gulf Coast and other areas hit by Katrina. It will likely span several charities and organizations and span months.
It’s all we can do from here for now. There is a big part of me that wants to fire up the truck and head down there to volunteer, but that is not possible or realistic on so many levels. Perhaps if we lived closer. I so want to help, but have no clue what to do in the short term. There is such a sense of hopelessness. If ever there was time for a strong, courageous leader in the White House, it is now.
The Bush response to this horrible disaster has been pathetic up to this point. I hope that he can find it within himself to get out of his bubble of cronies and roll up his sleeves. He has the power to affect great change. I hate to say this, but if we weren’t in Iraq, would we have the military resources to have devoted more people more quickly here at home? I can’t help but think about this as I watch people struggle to survive.
I fear that the death toll from Katrina will eclipse that of any other tragedy in my lifetime. What a horror. Such a paralyzing sight to see so many without any place to go, except where they are told. That constant vision from the television is almost as tragic as the storm itself.
We have a long way to go in this country. Such a long way to go. o
Tags: news
this is the first thing i have read so far that accuratly describes my feelings surrounding this situation. i have been at a loss of words in attempting to describe where i stand, and it’s nice to know that i am not alone in my concerns and fears. thank you for voicing your view.
My frustrated feelings of helplessness have pretty much morphed into outrage.
I am positively ADD with fury at this administration. It is an absolute disgrace that people continue to suffer and die in the streets in 21st-century America.
An absolute disgrace.
We have said the same thing in our house. Bush has squandered resources and money and American lives in Iraq for the past two years and because of his decisions he is now affecting lives of American citizens. When is he going to do the right thing? I can hardly watch him as he struggles to put the right emotional response together when I truly believe it’s all an act. His smug, self serving behavior in the face of catastrophic destruction in his own country makes me beyond angry.
I’ve had the same feelings myself as I watch from the UK.
I’ve felt a little guilty voicing these from such a distance and its incredibly heartening to see them voiced by you.
Rest assured that not all foreigners view you by the actions of your leaders.
Our hearts are with the people affected by this horrendous disaster and by the disgusting reaction to it by your government.
I’m completely disgusted. Never in my lifetime would I have thought I would see American refugees. This is something that happens in the Third World, not in a country as prosperous as the United States. Reminds me of the Apocalypse described by Octavia Butler in her books Parable of the Sower and Parable of the Talents…
I lived in New Orleans for a couple of years. It use to freak me out when it rained too hard. The pumps would break down. The streets would flood, even then. This was all bound to happen.
I mean, we have the means to jump up and immediately assist the whole world when something goes wrong.
And you mean to tell me that we can’t keep our own country in order?
Someone fell asleep at the wheel…
I feel exactly the same way Jon.
I was watching the news last night (big mistake) and caught a story about a mother who had been trying to get on a bus to Houston. She was in line with her 2 year old son and when it was her turn to get on the bus she handed him up so she didn’t fall and then people pushed her down so they could get on the bus. By the time she got back up she was 4 people deep and the bus closed its door and left. Her 2 year old son was alone and on his way to HOUSTON! A reporter grabbed a Sherrif who in turn grabbed a Statie who drove her and the rest of her family to reach the bus. I hope to God they were reunited.
Firstly, thank-you for always being honest. Itís always refreshing to read how people feel, even if we don’t always agree. In this instance however, I definitely agree with what you’ve said and how you feel and wish that there was some tangible way to show my support to all of those affected.
I’d like to say to Anne who posted a rather long comment including an extract from elsewhere that when people (read: me) place blame on the shoulders of Bush, it’s because the administration that he runs is a reflection of him. His apathetic attitude to real issues and to his people is shown in the slow response to the crisis. People look to their leaders to lead them and unfortunately for him (even though he chose his position) the buck stops with him and he hasn’t shown the type of leadership that would change opinions about him.
More damaging than his lack of leadership is his lack of compassion and empathy. But I guess itís easy to be flippant when its not you that has lost everything.
VP
… and what Michael Moore has sent out about this isn’t flippant? Or it’s okay because you agree with him? Rhetorical questions.
(Thank goodness my post, reflecting a bit of a different perspective, is gone. Here’s to diversity.)
Anne, your post was long and seemed troll-like. I welcome differing views, but I find it difficult to have a diverse view about death and destruction. I think YOU are the one politicizing it by mentioning firebrands and being tacky.
If you leave another sucky comment, I’ll ban you. If you have something worthwhile to add to the discussion, you won’t be banned.
I was asking a question about national resources. Your victimhood of being conservative notwithstanding, you can’t hold a candle to the thousands of stories coming out of the south. You are either part of the problem or the solution at this point. Which is it, Anne?
I am in Memphis, with 10,000 reported displaced already here and most likely more to come. It is breaking my heart as I see few ways I can be of help . Talking to those who have escaped is hearwrenching. For any of those who may be refugees and in Memphis, we are at your serive. Many local restaurants are donating meals, my father’s included. We might not be able to do much else, but we sure can send you on your way with a full stomach. Head to Beale Street for food and job leads. My heart is in shreds right now.
While I consider myself a republican and bush supporter, I too can’t help but wonder why the support hadn’t been stronger and quicker. My husband is in the military and at this very moment is involved in a very strong effort to send more troops and supplies to the people in the Gulf coast, but I am upset that it has taken this long to start the “real” relief effort. While I am a huge bush supporter and disagree with lots of comments made about him and his “cronies”, I do agree that his support with this tradgedy has been slow and minimal at best. I am saddened that we have not pulled together as we did with the Tsunami relief, and am also wondering where are all the countries who helped then as well. Granted we are the strongest and most weathly country, but we certainly use the help “human captial” wise. Thank god they are finally getting on the ball, or at least I hope they are. I have heard of people signing up to let folks come and stay in an extra room or extra home (i.e. vacation home)until they find a more permanent place to live. I have been researching and hopefully will be able to do more than just send money. Thank you for your honesty and for letting me comment.
Good Lord! Please forgive the typos. I am in a bit of a state. Upset and mad to boot.
i am *so glad* heather’s blog, and now yours, have posts about this; ya’ll are widely read. IT.IS.SO.BAD.DOWN.HERE. i am about 55 miles away from new orleans, and my city has more than doubled in size in terms of residents. gas is *very* difficult to find. it is virtually impossible to have a phone call go through – the lines are *constantly* not working. radio stations programmed into my car now have dead air because they were new orleans stations. misplaced newscasters are now showing up on our local news stations. there was not ONE single parking space open at wal-mart. the streets are packed with cars and traffic lights that still aren’t working because some areas in my city *still* don’t have electricity. again, we are 55 miles away. we didn’t get hit by katrina; we got hit by the aftermath. they mentioned “gang rapes” last night, and i physically became ill. it is about 20 times worse in person than you see on tv. refugees here in our town make us somewhat nervous, tensions are high, police and other resources are very very low, NO ONE SENT busses to new orleans for the longest time…. it’s utterly and completely sickening.
there is no warning for things like 9/11 or earthquakes or tsunamis. bush *knew* this storm would be catastrophic and declared our area a natural disaster area *days before* it hit…yet NOTHING was done for us from them until five days AFTER it hit. huh? they should’ve gotten the troops in line, the MREs and water ready, the helicopters and busses organized last weekend!!! they had warning and plenty of time to prepare. i am a bleeding heart liberal, but this makes me want to scream “CLUSTERFUCK!!!”
I am disgusted and ashamed. I shudder to think what would not have been done if the media were not shining a spotlight on the Gulf Coast.
This is not my America.
I find it hard to get through days when traumatic things happen such as this. I just want to watch the news and mope around. I feel guilty if I am smiling and having a good day, Sounds silly I know.
When 9/11 happened I couldn’t tear myself away from NPR, it was like a disease. I have tried to not let this consume me as much this time….but at times it is very hard.
Thank you for your words. I live in Houston and have been completely disgusted with the lack of national support, let alone world support with regards to this tragedy. Houston is now saturated with relief victims and we are now working to bus people to shelters in surrounding communities. I would like to urge anyone that lives in Texas to give what you can to your local shelter, they’re everywhere and they’re going to need supplies for a long time.
Did anyone see Bush’s comment about how Trent Lott lost his house, but it would be rebuilt? Boo-F***ing Hoo. Let’s get the help where it’s needed the most.
Thanks for writing this. I have a link to a pretty great article written by Eleanor Clift (of Newsweek) that you might like to read. It pretty much sums up the absolute absurdity that lives in the White House.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9174806/site/newsweek/
I feel the same, being up here in Canada in a land locked province you sorta feel like there’s nothing that you can do to help. It’s so tragic, and yet somehow we all feel a family connection to all those strangers, and we still feel Human amidst the sadness. slso – There are so many of us Canadians up here rootin’ for you guys to get a new President. Good luck.
My entire office has spent the morning pondering most of the same questions each of you are asking. We have refugees here in Atlanta, and some of my coworkers have gone to the hotels and shelters around town and taken people to Walmart to buy them the things they need: clean towels, underwear, flipflops, tylenol, toothbrushes, diapers and formula. It has been frustrating and inspiring.
As for the person who questioned where the international community was, France, Italy and Germany (at the least) have all offered aid. All that has been accepted by our government thus far is fuel (gasoline).
The whole thing has me beside myself. I can’t hardly watch the tv – it took all of me to not wake my 8 month old son up and hold him last night after seeing all the STARVING AND ALONE children. My sweet Lord, they’re CHILDREN. Where is the help?? I am sick.
At least hurricanes give warning. While the disaster we have in front of us now is horrific, imagine what the scene would have been like if no one had been able to evacuate beforehand. I live in an earthquake-prone area, and it’s terrifying to imagine what would happen if “the big one” hits. I had no idea that electricity, shelter, plumbing, and clean drinking water are all that stand between us and… this.
I echo your sentiments. I feel mostly a shell-shocked helplessness, like this is somehow other-worldly, and at some point, someone will be able to explain how this is happening, here, on “our soil” and I’ll be able to understand, finally. I’ll understand why there are marauding gangs, why there are rapes taking place in the middle of a DISASTER and why people are shooting at doctors. I’ll stop being paralyzed at the thought of “What if that were my family?” “What if anarchy happened here?”
My brain just cannot connect the dots and I want my government to fix it. FIX IT NOW. My money to the Red Cross is a drop in the bucket. The billion + a day we spend on “promoting freedom” in Iraq is not.
Thank you for posting this. I know you and Dooce are both members of Flickr. Have you heard about the Hurricane Katrina Auction Group?
http://www.flickr.com/groups/katrina_auction/
Photographers are donating prints to raise funds for hurricane relief. The print goes to the highest bidder, and all funds go to the Red Cross.
Jon– just sent you an email about http://beenthere.typepad.com/been_there/2005/09/a_clearinghouse.html
And Amber– thank you for that info– I will put it on Blogging Baby.
thanks for the insightful words. i’m from new orleans, and am safe in baton rouge at my mom’s house now. i can’t say how lucky i am to have a mom so close with the resources to help me and my fiance and his family.
our home is safe for now. the floods and wind did no damage (we live directly across the river from the french quarter) but we fear the looters might do something to our home. but i don’t even care as much as i thought i might. things will never ever return to normal in new orleans, so why should i care if my clothes and books and everything else are taken or burned or destroyed? i just don’t care.
thanks again.