I'm about as late writing this as the National Guard and Army's rescue efforts. I have not felt this frustrated or helpless or just completely bewildered since September 11,2001, and I spent the better part of that time in shock.
See, we weren't "warned" about September 11th. There weren't evacuations and scientists giving us moment-by-moment updates on the pending disaster.
But see, we had a tiny bit of warning with Katrina. We knew it was going to be fucking horrible. And yet, the level of unpreparedness was unbelievably shocking...
And then the super slow response...Artists were announcing benefit concerts, with venues lined up and everything, just as the National Guard was getting there. Something about that timing is revolting. The Army landed yesterday with food and water.
Yesterday. Four days post-disaster. WTFingF? We responded faster to the tsunami and that shit was in THAILAND!
They say New Orleans will never be the same, and this makes me truly sad. I don't think there's another city in the country so inherently proud of its culture and history and willing to share it with the rest of us.
I never got to experience New Orleans before Hurricane Katrina. However, I had never really experienced New York before September 11th, and I still made my way here, and still grew to love it. And I'm still proud of how hard every one continues to work to recover and also preserve the past.
So, yes. Like the rest of the country - and the WORLD, for that matter - I am outraged and stunned. But, as an American, I can't help but be hopeful and optimistic that New Orleans will one day get closer to herself again. And when she is, I'm going down there to celebrate!
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2 comments:
Such a travesty, both because of the devestation and because it was preventable.
Bush couldn't even help his own constituents. As the mayor of New Orleans said, he didn't even care to protect his own oil wells.
At times like this, it heartens me to remember that Bush is a born-again Christian, and therefore believes that the vast majority of us are going to writhe in everlasting agony, with our eyes plucked out and reformed and plucked out again for eternity, while he and his immediate family will ascend to a pillowy heaven and sit next to the gigantic throne of Santa Claus. In this light, his negligence doesn't seem so bad.
And you've got a free place to stay!
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