(no subject)

[quidditchgrrl]

I have decided that I have to view what is going on along the Gulf Coast (because it's more than NO that's affected) as though it's a movie; otherwise my head will explode from pure, unaduterated rage.

People in the United States of America should not be dying of exposure and dehydration 3 days after a disaster when we can mobilize and provide relief on the other side of the world within 24 hours. The head of FEMA says that his organization has no plan to deal with people who do not have bank accounts or check books. You know, because the only people who ever need federal disaster help are suburbanites.

Still, there are bright spots, like the young man who commandeered a school bus, picked up whoever he saw along the way, and drove to Houston. That's ballsy.

Gas prices are going up and it's possible that the economy may fall into a recession based on this disaster. But if there is one person out there who is willing to take control and do whatever has to be done to help his fellow man, then there has to be hope that NO will recover, whether it is rebuilt or not.

Night, y'all.

Comments

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

Well, we know right off the bat that person won't be George W. Bush. He's great at lip-service but pretty lousy with the follow through. Or else just a perpetual case of "Do as I say, not as I do" :(

I have to agree that it's astonishing that 3+ days after the hurricane hit, 2+ days after the levees broke (and you don't know how it's broken my heart to see this happen in my home town), nobody seems to be in control or in charge of the situation. Nobody from the President on down seems to have made any plans to try to deal with a disaster of this magnitude. It's like they couldn't imagine anything like this ever happening, DESPITE all the studies etc. predicting it.

Oh yeah, it DOES feel like we're watching a bad disaster movie. Kind of a cross between Planet of the Apes, Lord of the Flies and Waterworld. You wouldn't believe it if you weren't watching it, and even now it's hard to believe.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I can't imagine how sad this must be for native Orleaneans. :( I have been very, very sad over the destruction, and I am just a tourist. Biloxi was one of the best places I've ever been.

The lack of leadership in this has been frightening, to say the least. Some of the destruction/violence is directly linked to the fact that there has been no strong plan for rescue/evacuation. It's been chaotic at best. The tanks and troops should have been there 3 hours after the levees failed to take control of the situation. Medics should not have to fear for their lives when trying to rescue people.

I can understand the head in the sand (pun intended) view of the levees - this kind of hurricane comes along maybe once in a century, if that - but there seems to have been no contingency plan whatsoever. THAT is what is so upsetting - that they knew what could happen, but didn't plan for the worst-case scenario. Ticks me right off. And when everyone just stands there wringing their hands - gah - I just want to scream.

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

You know what gets me? I was just talking about this with my mom and we both got to talking about that post 9/11 study that was done. The one that said not enough was done and criticized the effort and reaction of NYC. That study made me angry at the time because 9/11 was just something that was unprecedented ... before that if someone said 'they're gonna fly airplanes into the WTC' it would have seemed impossible. Crazy, even. I mean yeah in hindsight (oh that horrible thing) there could and should have been some sort of plan for such an act of terrorism but since it had never happened on such a scale before -- I think NYC reacted as well as it could have.

But this? Hurricanes happen all the time in this region. If criticsm is going to be placed on how the NYPD reacted to 9/11 then there damn well better be some strong research and study on how FEMA and other officials reacted to this. Because this? So much of this could have been avoided and handled so much better.

And since the study was made -- was the whole thing pointless in the first place? Because what did we learn? Granted 9/11 is a completely different situation (Natural disasters vs. huge terrorist act) but the fact of the matter is that a lot of people lost their lives that day ... and right now many people are losing their lives here. Regardless of the how and why they're both disasters.

I'm rambling. I don't even know if I'm making sense or if my point completely works since, as I said, they're different situations, but it seems to me that since fingers were pointed that we could have learned something about how to handle a disaster.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I think there's a place for intensive study of catastrophic events. The 9/11 reports gave (in my view) a pretty respectful rundown of what happened and what "should" have been done. But, nothing like that had ever happened before - they did the best they could with what they had and what they were dealing with at the time.

Have you read 102 Minutes? Pretty gripping and heartbreaking account of what went on at the WTC without blaming or being heavy handed.

The hurricane was nothing like 9/11. Anyone who knows the geography of the US knew something like this was possible. If the head of FEMA isn't fired for bungling this, I will have lost all faith in our goverment. (And yes, it's still his fault, even if he wasn't qualified to have the job in the first place!)

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

I think there's a place for intensive study of catastrophic events.

Oh dear. I never meant to imply that I don't think there's a place for it at all. What bothered me about the study was that the media portrayed it as a blame game for all that went WRONG. Thing was they ("they" being the govt. govt. agencies, ect.) had no way to previously prepare for that sort of thing so the blame game wasn't really fair.

Do I think that a study was a bad thing? No because hopefully something has been learned and the same mistakes won't be made again. But the blame game that went on? No. I'm sorry that was not fair ... and it bothers me.

And while (as I said) the situations weren't the same I still think that a comparison CAN be made in the differences of reactions.

[annearchy.livejournal.com]

I'm watching MSNBC right now. Chris Jansing (co-host) said that Harry Connick Jr. said he drove down to the Convention Center with no problem and he can't understand why there aren't trucks of food and water coming in right after this happened. Some people have had no food or water for 5 days. No wonder people are starting to die in the streets. I'm glad to see the MAINSTREAM MEDA paying attention.

Oh, Bush is FINALLY going to tour the area today. FUCKTARD. Should have done it on Wednesday morning at the latest. You know why the aid didn't come sooner. Most of the people left there are black. That's my opinion. Soon we'll have thousands of people dying of dehydration and exposure.

Asshole FEMA head says "People are getting the help they need." SORRY CHARLIE, too little too late. *steams*

[azurerose.livejournal.com]

I know... I had to force myself to stop watching, because I was just so outraged/aghast at what I was seeing. I think at one point I started sobbing helplessly. That's when I knew I had to fill up the DVD changer and step AWAY from the cable news.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I took a 24-hour news hiatus for Wednesday, because I was so upset and angry about everything from the smug newscasters to the women holding babies. Stuff like this really upsets me, and I have to take about a day completely away from news to get back to normal.

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

I have decided that I have to view what is going on along the Gulf Coast (because it's more than NO that's affected) as though it's a movie; otherwise my head will explode from pure, unaduterated rage.


I keep having to remind myself it's not a movie -- it's like the images are so horrific and the lack of leadership is so infuriating that it feels unreal. Like it can't possibly be real, ya know? But then ... suddenly I'll be struck with the feeling of "God damn. This IS real ... " And then lose it.

[quidditchgrrl.livejournal.com]

I can't not picture it as real (I mean, I nearly threw up during the first part of Dawn of the Dead because it seemed so real, zombies not withstanding), but I'm trying to think, this is how it is, it cannot be changed. When I think of how this *should* have been handled, but wasn't...I just want to scream till I can't scream anymore.

[nmalfoy.livejournal.com]

We're already in a recession. I'm expecting a full-out depression.

[chickadilly.livejournal.com]

Yeah. It's a scary thing to think about ... but I think you're right.

Watching the news is just so heartbreaking and making me so frustrated. Why is it taking so long for these people to get help?

[megome.livejournal.com]

AGREE

It's a sign that we should stop worrying about other things and start taking care of ourselves. There is so much work to be done, and not nearly enough politicians/government officials willing to care enough to actually do something.

The whole experience really shows us how great people can perform under pressure, though... that really is amazing about that man who drove to Houston.

I don't even really know what to say anymore about it... I mean there's a lot I want to say, but I just can't even verbalize it yet.

[hufflepuffer]

People in the United States of America should not be dying of exposure and dehydration 3 days after a disaster when we can mobilize and provide relief on the other side of the world within 24 hours.

That's what I'm saying - but in a more random lashing out way maybe. The Japanese media do not seem to have realised until this morning that it is this bad.