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| Author | Topic: New Orleans |
 Pete
Registered User
From:
North Coast NSW, Australia
Registered:
3/20/2005 | posted: 9/6/2005 at 2:17:05 AM ET
I have held my mouse when reading the comments of others here, and as someone on the other side of the World who dares to draw judgement on US internal matters I will expect, and no doubt deserve a bucketing, but here goes:
I had the impression that racial division in the US was a thing of the past- the media coverage of this disaster has made it plain that there is a very real underclass in New Orleans, and it is almost without exception, black.
The other thing I find absolutly amazing is the degree of unpreparedness for what was predicted to be a major level of destruction.
If heads do not roll in the Department responsible for this tragedy, there should be at least a major enquiry into just how people, living in a first world country, who I assume pay taxes, at least on what they purchase if not their income, could be reduced to the level of animals fighting each other for a scrap of food or a mouthfull of water while surrounded by floating human waste and corpses.
Baruch 3:14
| suzyq
Registered User
Registered:
11/18/2004 | posted: 9/6/2005 at 8:52:34 AM ET
Pete,
Everyone has been highly criticle of the way this terrible tragedy has been handled.
The media has come down very hard on the administration. I really don't know what planet they are on - how could the head of FEMA say he wasn't aware of the severity of the storm three days later, the Prez is now running around saying how sorry he is - this just pure nonsense - what can we say - so much loss, what will happen to these people, New Orleans is a tourist town, and this storm wiped out jobs that many people just making ends meet had. If and when they return, what will they return to and what assistance will be given them.
So you see, sadly many of are on the same page as you. What more can be said ...
|  maintube
Registered User
Registered:
5/26/2004 | posted: 9/6/2005 at 12:04:39 PM ET
Breaking into a store to get food was one thing. Breaking into a store to steal Nike shoes, TVs and CDs I take exception to. Sniping at contractors, police, and military personal has no excuse.
There is blame for everybody. Telling people to go to the Superdome and the Convention Center and not having a method to get them out of town was the fault of the Mayor and Governor.
Nobody thought this would be this bad. From the President on down to the lowest street walker in NO.
| suzyq
Registered User
Registered:
11/18/2004 | posted: 9/6/2005 at 8:46:29 PM ET
Maintube,
You made some very good points. Not sure I agree with you about President Bush and the head of FEMA-but than I guess we can agree to disagree.
It's just such a tragedy that so many people have suffered -
| maintube
Registered User
Registered:
5/26/2004 | posted: 9/6/2005 at 11:06:40 PM ET
There is plenty of blame to go around, there's no debate there.
FEMA, however is not a first responder. They have no aircraft, no veheicles for the purpose that people think they should have had.
They said to day that NO had an evacuation plan. They did not use it. They have over 2000 school buses (now covered in water) that were part of the plan. They were never used. They have a mass transit system. It was never used. In this instance the Mayor of NO and the Gov. of LA screwed up big time.
As in every govermental agency there is a chain of command and/or plan of action. The heads of LA/NO let the ball drop on thier own people. Now everybody points at the Feds and Bush and blames them. Those people should not have ever been there. They should have been gone 2-3 days before Katrina hit.
I'm not such a conservative that whatever the GOP does I think is right. But we need to access and blame everybody who deserves blame,not just Bush and the Feds.
|  imnidiot
Registered User
From:
Ashley PA
Registered:
3/28/2005 | posted: 9/7/2005 at 10:57:27 PM ET
First, I would like to address Pete's comments on racial and social inequity. Sad to say, But I don't think racism in the south will ever vanish. It is bred from generation to generation, and festers like like an infection. Ask a person why he/she hates, and you won't get a rational answer. As far as blame goes, it doesn't matter, because in our society, unless it is a financial scandel of Wall street proportions, politicians and government officials rarely face any consequences for their failure to act upon a catastrophe in a rational and humane manner. Maybe in lite of the tragic events in the south this may change. Fortunately, compassionate people still exist in the United States, and around the world, and assistance in all forms is becomeing available to these people. Some of the same figure heads responsible for the misques and failure to act appropiately, will ultimately take credit for the aid and rebuilding of the ravaged areas. This is life in the United States. This is not the case everywhere though. There are other places prone to disasters which have well thought out plans, and use them appropiately and in a timely manner. I only hope that a valuable lesson has been learned here. I hope you can pardon my cynacism, but these situations happen all to frequently.
I am a fragment of my imagination
| Pete
Registered User
From:
North Coast NSW, Australia
Registered:
3/20/2005 | posted: 9/7/2005 at 11:54:58 PM ET
Very interesting to read your comments, Don, and those of Maintube and suzyq. Aside from the human tragedy, it is sad to think of the wealh of music history that has been swept away.
And the food of New Orleans is world-famous.
My wife's most-used cookbook amongst the dozens she has and uses to good effect, God bless her, is the Times-Picuane Cook Book, first published around 1900.
Baruch 3:14
| suzyq
Registered User
Registered:
11/18/2004 | posted: 9/9/2005 at 8:35:15 AM ET
The French Quarter is in good shape - that is good news and the music will always be part of us - Wynton Marsalis and others will keep it alive and I couldn't be happier.
The comcern now is what will the people being forced to leave find when and if they get back. Some people where we temp think that when they rebuild - it will be expensive homes that only the well-to-do will be able to afford.
It's in the news that many have found jobs and places to live in Houston and other locations - so who knows what the future will bring.
The music will live on and that is a "good thing".
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