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
September 2nd, 2005 at 6:50 pm
p.s. for those interested, catholic charities gives a MUCH larger percentage of the donations to the actual cause and is non-profit. the red cross is getting SO many donations, but only gives about 60% of what they get. catholic charities gives a MUCH higher percentage.
http://www.catholiccharitiesusa.org
September 2nd, 2005 at 6:51 pm
Well said. And for the record, no one has the right to question whether, or how much, your family donates. “Each according to his means” should be the standard - we each do what we’re able to do. Some other good links:
Hurricane Housing (to offer or to find):
http://www.hurricanehousing.org
Finding survivors: msnbc.msn.com/id/9144525/
September 2nd, 2005 at 6:56 pm
Didn’t people elect Bush as a “war President” somebody who they perceived was strong and caring and would step up and lead the nation with confidence and command in a crisis?
I hope this is the blow that gets rid of him, his crew and the whole awful, intolerant, selfish, greedy conservative movement.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:00 pm
Being in Scotland theres so much we can do.. Does strike you as really odd though whats not being done! I don’t know whether the aid reaction took as long as it feels or not .. like compared to other humanitarian disasters. I seen a picture today of a lady’s body floating down a river face first, should I really be crying? Do I have the right? Its just like WILL SOMEONE PLEASE HELP THEM…
Kathleen
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:07 pm
Georgia Girl said it best: we failed the people living in poverty long before the hurricane took away what little they had.
FYI- charitynavigator.org will tell you more than you can want to know about how organizations spend their money. The Red Cross is at 91.1% going to operations, not 60% as someone said.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:15 pm
You couldnt be more right. I’m 2 hours from New Orleans in Lafayette, and disgusted by the Presidents basic lack of concern for the situation. He stood on rocks on 9/11 with a bullhorn, but basically had to be pushed out of the helicopter in New Orleans. Mayor Nagin is the cities only hope for a voice, as even our democratic state leaders have turned into typical politiciansk, patting themselves on the back. The best thing you can do from a far is of course to donate (regardless of size) but perhaps even more, to continue speaking out against the damage the feds have done. I fear many more have died in the last few days because of their lack of preparedness/concern.
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:49 pm
I find it ironic and disapointing how everyone sits around and bitches about what Bush isn’t doing.
It’s far easier to point fingers than actually having some grace and giving someone the benefit of the doubt. As an event planner, I know that getting things to work WELL is not a fast operation. Yes, the governement could have done something faster, but that would not have guarenteed it being done well.
One of our board members of our non-profit is a high ranking official in the Bush Admin. Ignorance can say that Bush doesn’t give a damn, but it’s just ignorance. But it saddens me that people say such horrible things about an actual person, as though they aren’t any more human than the person speaking.
We are just not accustomed to suffering in this country. There are people all over the world whose lives suck so very much more that ANYONES in america. Unfortunately, instead of being grateful that we collectively DON’T live that way, we immediately look around to blame others for it not always being the “way it should.”
September 2nd, 2005 at 7:57 pm
To those who don’t get why folks didn’t leave New Orleans, I’ll remind you that not everyone has the same access to transportation, or money, or can even move like you. Like it or not, almost everyone who stayed had no choice.
To those who wonder where the disaster plan was, I’m with you. The area was practically declared a disaster area before the hurricane hit. That (the original declaration) was over a week ago, I believe. There’s been more than enough time to deploy SOMETHING, yet here we are on Friday and the troops have just now landed, four days too late.
This whole thing stinks. It’s not like we’re talking about the USofA helping folks on the other side of Earth, we’re talking about the USofA helping the USofA… Shelter, water, food, etc. are withing DRIVING DISTANCE from the places that were hit, so why has it taken DAYS to get them help? Folks could probably sit on dry land and heave water to some of the people who are stranded for cryin’ out loud, or put a few cases of bottled water on kids rafts, inner tubes, whatever, and just float the damn things over, no human interaction or contact required. Could somebody please explain that to me? Why is this so hard?
Okay, I’ll shut up now. Feel free to delete this post. I needed to vent.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:03 pm
I’m sorry but - feel free to disagree- Mayor Nagin seems to be blaming everyone but himself. He should be taking some ownership and leading his city instead of playing the blame game. I feel like I’m the only one who was not impressed with him.
-Jen
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:04 pm
here’s a link to a blogger from downtown New Orleans. He also has webcams with some decent feeds too.
http://www.livejournal.com/users/interdictor/
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:07 pm
elentary: Right about now I don’t know that there are many folks in N.O. or along the Mississippi that give much of a rat’s patootie whether or not there’s slick organization behind providing water and food. Waiting for the well oiled relief machine to warm up is costing folks their lives.
Package up food and water in air tight containment, put the shit on a bunch of pallettes, throw a few parachutes on them and drop them out of a friggin’ bomber for all I care. It was good enough for Kosovo, it should be good enough for Katrina victims. Leave the “WELL” part for later. Right now bulk counts more than a clean post mortem in a board room.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:14 pm
Despite any of his faults, Nagin called the President out on his clear & simple failure to support his own people for at least three whole days, while they went hungry and without water in the blazing Louisiana heat, amongst rotting corpses. You know, as soon as the body expires it begins to decompose. I can’t even begin to imagine what that must be like, to drift amongst corpses, having not even stomached seeing my own great grandmother close to death last weekend.
In my mind, any action that should be taken at a time like this, when thousands are helpless, should be done immediately and without a formal go-ahead. If bin Laden popped up in Finland this very minute, there’d be troops swarming the area in twenty minutes. It took WHOEVER! FOUR DAYS to organize and get resources down there. If I was a refugee down there, I would be PISSED. Don’t tell me the National Guard was afraid of the citizens with guns; their responsibility is to the majority, who are literally helpless. They needed to take care of business.
I’m completely, totally empathic towards the millions of people all over the world who go starving every single day. I realize how fortunate I am. They shouldn’t be ignored, but neither should the citizens of the so-called Greatest Country In The World. Come ON. You can’t save everybody, but don’t claim to be protecting your own people and let them starve for four days. Get down to business.
Love the blog!
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:15 pm
Erat - Let’s go with the idea that not everyone had the means to get out of N.O. Why didn’t Mayor Nagin comandeer every public transportation & school bus when he ordered the evacuation and get people out that way? Aside from that, there were plenty of people that had the means to leave but decided to stay. Were they supposed to be forced out at gunpoint?
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:21 pm
My sympathy is extended to all those suffering because of this disaster both the natural and man-made. Not being american and having seen a couple of the comments I felt the need to say that the rest of the world isnt oblivious and is extending its hands to help. My own country has offered urban response units trained to deal with these situations and having recent experience in both the tsunami and east timor; the offer is yet to be accepted. Our news is full of your suffering, and we feel it with shock and pain, we do care.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:29 pm
It really helps to know people care about what’s going on here. In Baton Rouge, we’re right in the middle of the relief effort and feel so isolated from the rest of the world. We don’t hear any news of what’s going on around the world. My entire day has revolved around getting the word out about my nonprofit’s needs. Just a word–don’t send water–Baton Rouge tap water is fine. Don’t come down here unless you have a place to stay. Don’t send used clothing or canned goods. How can you help? Donate $$ to your favorite charity. They will purchase goods locally and help our economy and businesses. If you want to have a “drive”, our shelters could use mats and blow up air mattresses, back packs, or duffel bags.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:35 pm
I wish we weren’t in Iraq. I wish my husband wasn’t in Iraq. I don’t think it matters where they are. There is a tremendous lack of leadership and organization and that’s the biggest problem. Individuals and groups everywhere want to help, but no one is directing them effectively. It’s a huge, embarrassing cluster.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:43 pm
CD: I’ll answer your question with another question: how many round trips would it take for a fleet of busses to bus out tens of thousands of people? I’m going to guess more round trips than were possible (read: ONE, as the evacuation was called out not long before Katrina hit land. I don’t see how any round trips could have been made by anyone without a helicopter or boat). I’ll estimate a best case scenario of a few thousand people getting out of the area on busses. In reality, it probably would have been much less. Estimate how many busses are used in your local public transporation system, guess how many seats each holds, then assume none of them would have been able to come back for more people. It doesn’t add up to much.
As for the folks who stayed voluntarily, all I can say is there’s no accounting for sensibility. I seriously doubt they amount to much more than a smattering of people. The bulk of the people who are currently down there stranded and suffering are poor and would not have stayed if they could have gotten out, unless everything I’ve heard and read about the situation has been incorrect. I’m not there so I have to trust at least some of what’s reported.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:52 pm
Thanks for your post Jon. I’ve read you and Heather for some time; this is my first post.
For my part:
Another day passes, and I can’t help feeling that anything I say about the past weeks events would be somehow wrong; somehow selfish, or simply… insignificant.
But what I will say is this. As my heart breaks for those in need on the coast and New Orleans; the loss is something I can’t possibly comprehend or imagine; and I’ll hold my breath that l personally will never know such sorrow. But in the midst of the anger I feel, the anger we all feel at an event so monumentally out of our control; I wonder why we are all so capable to jump to action in such circumstances. Children are living on the streets where you live; they’re hungry, and sick. Many of those young, old, and in between go without basic healthcare for they have none; they simply can’t have it, and there’s no choice but to go without, and hope, and endure. Someone in your neighborhood probably cried themselves to sleep tonight. Could they have been helped with something as simple as companionship?; an understanding that they’re not alone? There are those this winter who will have to decide on heat, or food. There are victims of racism; and the prejudice of a culture who disregards those who have no voice. I could go on. We are so quick to respond when we feel helpless, yet we are so easy to took the other way when residing in the complacency of the status quo. If we could put forth such efforts in the wake of disaster to ourselves; our neighbors; our people; just imagine for a moment what we could do. We need to give of ourselves, and teach our children, show our children, what it means to be fortunate; to be blessed. Perhaps our future would be brighter. I’ll continue to hope. Here’s to those in need, wherever you are.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:58 pm
Blurb- you have a great way with words. I agree with everything you’ve said. I’ve had to limit my news exposure greatly because the situation is just so bleak there. When 9/11 happened, we were bombarded with so many images of people jumping out of buildings, and of the buildings falling etc. that I started to have major panic attacks and had to take two days off work because I just couldn’t function. (No big surprise that PPD was in my future).
I feel so badly for all the people down there. I wish I could do more, I’ve donated to several charities, but it doesn’t feel like enough. Somebody needs to bitch slap the looters. The way they’re taking advantage of a horrible situation is downright evil.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:02 pm
Something I think is worth mentioning is the root cause of a lot of the problems we are seeing in the aftermath of the storm–and that is poverty. Poverty that is rampant throughout the south and throughout many communities in this country. It’s disgusting. Most of these people would have been able to find their way out if they’d had the means to, like the million or so people who evacuated in time.
This is what happens when you bitch about paying your taxes. People are poor and sick and uneducated and in this case they are completely unprepared to get out. And then we wonder why they are so incredibly angry that nobody has come to help. Because nobody ever helps them. In addition, vitally important things like LEVEES don’t get paid for. So, anti-tax advocates, think about someone other than yourself and open your wallets for valuable services and a better society for us all. And not just after a disaster strikes, have some foresight.
I am not directly addressing anyone here–rather a segment of the population that infuriates me.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:04 pm
Thank you for your post, Jon.
You hit the nail on the head when you said that we have along way to go…indeed we do.
As an American I am very proud of the reponse to this disaster I am seeing from my fellow Americans. As for this bullshit administration…I am continually ashamed. This tradegy speaks volumes as to where we are headed not only as a country but as a culture. Yes, we are all humans…funny how we see very basic life and death issues, such as this, through such a ‘black and white’ lense. It cuts me to the core.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:09 pm
I posted part of this on my site, and part of this on another blog comments site, so I apologize if I’m being repetitive, but I feel the need to be vocal lately.
I have seen the husbands and wives, both black and white, that are standing there with pictures of their spouses, crying and saying that they have lost them, they have no idea where they are. I have seen families, both black and white that have had to jump off buildings and bridges, losing the child that was on their shoulders, and now not knowing where those children are. I have seen babies in hospitals born both black and white, and the parents nowhere to be found as they were ripped away by flooding and severe winds. I have cried with them all.
But today, I got really mad. I am a human being. I am a compassionate person. I have no care in the world what color a personís skin is when I see this kind of devastation and suffering. I see PEOPLE…black, white, skinny, fat, young, old, beautiful, ugly, kind and disgustingÖ..suffering and miserable in this mess. But today I saw a black man on TV telling me that the reason that there were so many deaths and problems was because the people there were poor and black. Excuse me?? I just watched a white woman cry because they got kicked out of a hotel and were denied transportation away from the area because they were not PAYING guests of the hotel. THAT WAS WRONG. There are 10 other people with her that were also kicked out…all white, in fact one couple is on vacation from Sweden.
I remember a comment that was made at 9/11 when someone said that they didn’t see race…everyone was ash colored….think about that. I have never looked at my TV screen and said, oh look at that black man, or that white woman…I said, OMG…look at those PEOPLE and what is happening and we NEED to get help in NOW. Bush made some mistakes, seriously, by not going in there sooner and getting help in there sooner…but to say it is a racial thing only, well, I watched reports also of how many local govt officials KNEW the danger beforehand of the levee’s and did NOTHING to fix them…guess now that will be something they HAVE to address. That’s not black or white…that’s MONEY and POWER, and playing with people’s lives. They should be held accountable for that. They could have handled that hurricane and been fine…the flooding…that was man made.
What would people think about using the closed military bases for a temporary shelter for the homeless victims of this tragedy? There are dorms, base housing, laundry facilities, schools, chow halls, and if they needed a police dept, the military could handle that. Just a thought, hopefully put in the hands of someone who might think this a good idea and know who to tell.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:10 pm
I agree with everything you and others have said about Bush. I’m not a fan of his and his reaction thusfar has not surprised me, even though I wish it would have.
However I don’t think what this country needs to focus on right now is the lack to federal aid we’ve had, but instead gathering together as a whole (like we’ve done so far) & helping out any survivors. I think as citizens, we are doing a marvelous job in donating and helping any way we can. I’m all the way up in Ohio and they’re flying victims in as I speak. Locals can’t wait to get out & help. People all over this country (and other countries as well) are pouring their hearts out, and I’d rather acknowledge that. It goes to show that no matter how weak our president is, we’re that much stronger.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:19 pm
Theres too many comments for me to be bothered reading but I made it to this one:
“… and what Michael Moore has sent out about this isn’t flippant? Or it’s okay because you agree with him? Rhetorical questions.”
Comments like this always irritate me and they seem to be a staple of conservative arguments.
I don’t know (nor care) what Michael Moore has said about this disaster. Why? Well apart from my personal opinion of him - HE IS NOT IN POWER. Should we expect something more from the most powerful man in the world? Yes. Is Bush’s weak reaction to the events somehow legitimised by some fat, powerless paradoy of the other side of the political spectrum? Fuck no.
Fucking conservatives. Its always the people with no power ruining everything, never the ones with the control.
Also - I apologise for saying ‘fuck’ a lot, im Australian.
September 2nd, 2005 at 9:44 pm
Responsibility starts within. Some people are poor for the sake of being poor and bilking the government. Sad, but true. I’ve known people to rise above seemingly hopeless situations and worse case scenerios and make something of themselves instead of sitting around lamenting “woe is me woe is me, where is my goddamn handout.”
That being said, there are worse things happening then being victims and survivors of a huge destructive natural disaster. Survival doesn’t mean rape or beatings.
Way up above in yonder post someone mentioned an able-bodied person doing nothing. I’ve donated money. I will donate more money when I can. That is MY responsibility–to help my ‘fellow man.’ But they also have a responsibility–help us help you. If I offer a hand, reach out. I’ll be there beside you, but I cannot do it for you.
I am so sick and tired of the finger pointing. We just need to cowboy the fuck up. I will point one finger though. My middle finger at Condi Rice for spending thousands of dollars on some footwear in New York (http://www.gawker.com/news/condoleezza-rice/breaking-condi-rice-spends-salary-on-shoes-123467.php)
Yeah, that’s fucking important.