Katrina Survivors Take Government to Court
http://www.vibe.com/news/news_headlines/2007/07/katrina_government/
The long laundry list of "anti-Capitalists" but the very same people who remind us that "The United States is the most wealthy nation in the world" reference WHAT SHOULD HAVE HAPPENED during the recovery from this storm which took out an entire region and not just New Orleans. There is some magical response in their mind which says "If mostly White folks were in danger, the response would have been better".
Monday floods, concerted rescue on Friday.
If someone could articulate to me what a "Non racist response" would have looked like during this week I would love to see it. Would a Tuesday rescue have done it? What about Wednesday? What about more than what happened on Thursday?
Please note the difference. We can hear very detailed accounts of the experiences of various VICTIMS in this storm. Likewise I have documented the rich texture of the resource challenges noted by the various first responders who I have worked with over the past few years (hospitals, fire departments, police departments, federal government agencies). In my view it is the lack of details over what allows a 15 minute response during normal times that causes these various activists to be enraged. They have been indoctrinated to expect an "American standard of response" even IF it is the case that their response in the poor Black communities was 20 minutes to receive an ambulance rather than 10 in the rich White community. The bottom line is that Hurricane Katrina which wiped out ALL OF THE INFRASTRUCTURE IN MANY KEY SYSTEMS THAT THESE FIRST RESPONDERS RELY ON made the entire Gulf Coast seem more like the coast of Sri Lanka after their tsunami.
No worry. The key activists pushing this issue have less concern or knowledge of the logistical challenges that these agencies face. This is of no interest to them. Sadly instead of being able to step in and be ADMINISTRATORS in these organizations, thus improving the operations and fail-safe abilities.....they instead are rock throwers. One thing that is for sure - if and when the next disaster happens the activists will be relegated to their same role which is to be an after the fact critic because they offer nothing constructive to the process before hand. To the Administrator they are CRITICAL FORCES who's attack they will face if they lose focus on their key mission. At the same time these activists will never be bound by the real world impact of a storm's wake.
So buses that are needed to cart people away need drivers who have not left town for their own safety to operate them and roads who's bridges are not washed out bridges in order to ride over. Police 800 Mhz radio needs towers that are still standing and power to these towers in order to allow these first responders to coordinate. Louisiana National Guardsmen need barracks and equipment that are not under water to allow them to reach out and conduct an effective response. Helicopters need a close supply of fuel to keep them from falling out of the sky. Water soaked fuel after their fuel storage tanks that have been submerged do them no good.
I notice that Spike Lee and others tell the tale from the viewpoint of the civilian victims. They have every right to do so as there was a large community of people who were gravely impacted.
I am left, however to depend on the Discovery Channel, the History Channel or personal contact with various agencies as part of my job in the telecommunications industry to get the perspective of those who were charged with providing rescue services. For some reason these people were to have "walked on water" and not be impacted by the same powerful force that covers two thirds of the world.
Someone should take the critics to Sri Lanka for a reference to what life is like 2 years after your natural disaster. From the stand point of the average Katrina survivor they would be forced to say to the Sri Lankan who still sleeps in tents..."there but for the grace of God I go".
http://www.bengarvin.com/tsunami/index.htm
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