Hurricane Katrina

[davidmarver]

Ultimately money=race

(x-post with Irish)

The subject of race went through my head more than once, although not in relation to crime. I was imagining if the victims in NOLA were largely middle/upper middle class folks, how much faster and better would the govenment be reacting? After all, the current population that is left are not the ones that are going to invest and rebuild NOLA. They aren't the ones that are going to be filing claims on their homes since few of them owned homes. They aren't the ones who are going to be contributing to political campaigns when re-election comes up. There is a term for what is taking place; it's called genocide.

The only jobs that will be created will be for govenment contractors. Not too many of the folks I see on television look like professional who will be working for the government. NOLA will be rebuilt--using federal money. But it will probably be those upscale boutiques and high rise condos.

FYI, Haliburton's stock has risen since this disaster, and you know how fond of no-bid contracts the Bush administration is.

Food for thought.

So, let me get this straight, the government should re-build the ghetto?

I hear so many people complain that not enough money is put into the ghettos to clean them up, but now it's a problem if what once was a ghetto is upscaled into nice property after the ghetto (along with everything else) was destroyed?

And how exactly is this genocide? The people in New Orleans decided not to leave town. I could have summersaulted to safe ground within 48 hours. Anyone with the ability to move should have left town: you and I both know that. This is closer to suicide than it is to murder, let alone the selective, strategic murder that is required for genocide.

[PlayingWithFire]

who here volunteered?

[TheRock]

Oh for crying out loud! Nobody foresaw a disaster of this magnitude, so nobody was standing by with enough relief supplies and transportation to evacuate AN ENTIRE CITY which has just lost almost every major roadway! There aren't enough cops, buses, helicopters, and relief workers to handle this crisis in the entire southeastern US, let alone standing by in New Orleans just waiting for something like this to happen. So stop blaming local government, stop blaming George Bush, stop calling it racism, and stop saying people are dragging thier feet. Everything that can be done is being done. People are working around the clock and have been since this happened. No, they wouldn't find a way to work 26 hours a day if there were more white people. Good grief people.

[JTWood]

I found this article on the hurricane that hit Galveston, TX in 1900 - the deadliest hurricane so far. I thought there were a couple portions of the article that were particularly relevant to our discussions:

"People in Galveston knew that there was a storm in the Gulf of Mexico. It was reported in the Galveston County Daily News but they didn't know where the storm would make landfall," said historian Casey Greene.

Some historians say people's attitude increased the number of fatalities.

"That's one of the reasons so many people lost their lives: complacency," said Greene.

In 1900, Galveston was stuck on itself, boasting Texas' first post office, telephones and medical college. There was more money in Galveston than in Newport, Rhode Island.

Downtown was packed with ornate office buildings, many on The Strand, known then as the "Wall Street of the Southwest." Galveston was the hub of a booming cotton export trade because it had the only deep-water port in Texas at the time.

City streets led to imposing Greek Revival, Romanesque and Italianate mansions. Street cars ran along the beach. Bathhouses jutted out like sentinels in the gulf.

"There was this great sense of hubris that America and Galveston -- Galveston in particular --was going places, could do no wrong," said Erik Larson, author of "Isaac's Storm."

Months after the hurricane, Galveston started construction on a 17-foot-high, 3-mile-long sea wall. Phase one of the project cost $1.6 million dollars, an astronomical amount at the time.

Civil engineers also raised Galveston's elevation, the highest point of which before the storm was less than nine feet above sea level. Thousands of homes and buildings were propped up so earth could be filled in underneath, a method that raised some structures as high as 17 feet.

Galveston is a city built on sand at the eastern end of a 30-mile-long island, two miles off the Texas coast. It remains vulnerable today despite the sea wall.

Constant vigilance is maintained during the June-November hurricane season because it would take more than 40 hours to evacuate the 65,000 people to the mainland.

Anyone who failed to heed a call to evacuate would be at the storm's mercy because the causeway to the mainland is closed when winds reach tropical storm strength of 39 mph.

"We have a name for people like that. We call them statistics. There's nothing that important to risk your life for," said city emergency management chief William Zagorski.

While Galveston succeeded in rebuilding after the storm, it would never regain its former prominence as one of the wealthiest communities in the nation.

Here's the link to the full story.

[wrveres]

Nice to know that city officials there at least have a plan.

The city Officials in New Orleans have no clue.
None.
They don't even have control over the areas that they claim to control.

[bleach168]

Some cop on CNN said that about 20% of the cops from his department went AWOL when the hurricane hit. He says some other departments may have a 50-60% AWOL rate.

Dunno how you maintain order when up to half the police force flees.

[CubsFan7724]

Military. That's how you maintain control, and they freaking need it. Rapes, fistfights, general theivery, are all running rampant.

[Pablo975]

Rapes, fistfights, general theivery, are all running rampant.

Ehh. Sounds like a normal Thursday in the 504.

Seriously, it is bad there, but all that can be done is being done. Those adult people knew the risks of living there. All of them. I've NEVER lived there and this is EXACTLY why. I knew the risks of living in NO (crime, poverty stricken areas, hurricane flood risk) and decided that it wasn't for me.

Now, is there racism in NO? Of course. Same as anywhere else. But no greater than anywhere else though. NO is like 70% black anyway, so there would naturally be more black people in any tv shot, be it at a Saints game, Mardi Gras, or this horrible occurence.
However, since black people are statistically: the least educated, make the least money, and are more likely to have a criminal record and therefore low paying or criminal enterprise jobs they would be the last to leave in such a situation. White people are just statisically more likely to have the resources to fly out, gas up the car and drive to Florida or Texas and get a room or stay with family. So, it is not strange that the majority left in NO are black and it is not a racist conspiracy.

Last I saw, both black and white officers and citizens were working their butts off over there.

I must also comment on how some people on tv are crying why they were 'left" there. I see this way: The able bodied, resourceful people who just sat in their house waiting for Uncle Sam to come get them out have no right to complain. They could have left and rolled the dice and lost. Suck it up. We'll get to you when we get to you.

This, to me, is the worst example of how modern Americans often are raised to think the government should tend to their every need.
We raise people on the government teat, so why should we expect them to not whine when they don't get their milk? These people have to do SOMETHING for themselves. Somehow, ancient people (ummm...as recently as 100 years ago) did just fine without runnng water, electricity, and walked everywhere or rode an animal around.

Once you're out of harms way and put on a dry surface you have two choices: Go your own way and make the decisions you feel are best or stick with the rescuers and accept whatever they give you. You can't have it both ways. Sadly, we've raised many people to believe they're entitled to that and when it doesn't happen, it's someone else's fault or someone is out to get them.

[wrveres]

Some cop on CNN said that about 20% of the cops from his department went AWOL when the hurricane hit. He says some other departments may have a 50-60% AWOL rate.

Dunno how you maintain order when up to half the police force flees.

amazing isnt it ..

could be one of the worst run cities ever. EVER

The mayor has now taken to the radio the last three nights to blame everybody in the world.
Nice to see he is helping the situation.
What Mayor in his right mind wouldn't call for calm in a situation like this, but no. This joker takes to the radio everynight screaming and throwing temper tantrums.

Once this gets settled, they should find any obscure law to bring this mayor up on charges.

Derelict of Duty. what ever.

what a joke.

I feel badly for the citizens of New Orleans.

please donate to the Red Cross People. Anybody reading this thread, please donate
25.00 ... anything.

here is the link.

Red Cross

[wrveres]

Rapes, fistfights, general theivery, are all running rampant.

Ehh. Sounds like a normal Thursday in the 504.

Seriously, it is bad there, but all that can be done is being done. Those adult people knew the risks of living there. All of them. I've NEVER lived there and this is EXACTLY why. I knew the risks of living in NO (crime, poverty stricken areas, hurricane flood risk) and decided that it wasn't for me.

Now, is there racism in NO? Of course. Same as anywhere else. But no greater than anywhere else though. NO is like 70% black anyway, so there would naturally be more black people in any tv shot, be it at a Saints game, Mardi Gras, or this horrible occurence.
However, since black people are statistically: the least educated, make the least money, and are more likely to have a criminal record and therefore low paying or criminal enterprise jobs they would be the last to leave in such a situation. White people are just statisically more likely to have the resources to fly out, gas up the car and drive to Florida or Texas and get a room or stay with family. So, it is not strange that the majority left in NO are black and it is not a racist conspiracy.

Last I saw, both black and white officers and citizens were working their butts off over there.

I must also comment on how some people on tv are crying why they were 'left" there. I see this way: The able bodied, resourceful people who just sat in their house waiting for Uncle Sam to come get them out have no right to complain. They could have left and rolled the dice and lost. Suck it up. We'll get to you when we get to you.

This, to me, is the worst example of how modern Americans often are raised to think the government should tend to their every need.
We raise people on the government teat, so why should we expect them to not whine when they don't get their milk? These people have to do SOMETHING for themselves. Somehow, ancient people (ummm...as recently as 100 years ago) did just fine without runnng water, electricity, and walked everywhere or rode an animal around.

Once you're out of harms way and put on a dry surface you have two choices: Go your own way and make the decisions you feel are best or stick with the rescuers and accept whatever they give you. You can't have it both ways. Sadly, we've raised many people to believe they're entitled to that and when it doesn't happen, it's someone else's fault or someone is out to get them.

solid post