OK, as a sort of general rule for myself, I tend to stray away from commenting about disastrous things such as the situation down in Louisiana right now. Why? Well, it is just too touchy of a subject and other than sending my condolences, I really have nothing else to say towards it. well I am sure people are wondering how exactly I have managed to not comment on the troubles present. Well, to be honest, I just do not want too. I personally am still in shock at the fact that a whole city can just up and disappear in a few hours, and I am just somewhat speechless about the entire event. So no, I am refraining from making any type of statement towards the hurricane or its victims. However, I do have a question/comment geared towards the rest of the US about the situation. I cannot take credit for it, as I stumbled upon it by browsing the net (like I usually do). However, I felt it was very appropriate and got me thinking and eventually a little pissed off.
So, the questions is … how can we be so unprepared? I know, I know. It sounds completely stupid at first read to expect anybody to be prepared for a natural disaster. However, this is not what I am referring too. I personally think the city was well prepared for a hurricane, with all the levees, pumps, etc. However, once those failed, and the city flooded, why was/is everyone just sitting around going “umm?” To be more precise, why is it, that some three or four days later, people are still stranded on their roofs and being evacuated? Where are all the helicopters? The national guards? The rescue teams? The military? Extra police? etc? Why was it that for days our government, and the rest of the country, just sat idley by and watched as New Orleans was first destroyed by the Hurricane, and then trashed by looters (both civilians and police)? I just simply do not understand it. I understand that a huge portion of our military is currently occupied across seas, but still, we have to have some left here, right?
And do not think that I solely blame our government for this. Why is it that the major studios (CNN, MSNBC, NBC, etc.) are flying reporters and photographers into New Orleans, but not flying any civilians out? How come I can turn on any news channel and see more than a handful of people stranded on their roofs? Why the hell are they not being evacuated by the fucking helicopters video taping them. The only helicopters I have seen doing any sort of rescue mission on any television station are Emergency Response team related (Fire Departments). I hate to be rude, but when the Towers fell, there were all sorts of emergency vehicles in that area looking for survivors in a matter of hours. But when an entire city fell, it takes days to get anybody anywhere close. I simply do not understand it, and it makes me a little angry that our system was so slow to respond.
To make matters worse, why is it that there is no FOOD & WATER for these people? I mean, I can still go to any fast food restaurant and purchase a trillion cheeseburgers if I wish. I can go buy bottle water by the dozens, but they cannot get the supplies down to people who are stuck in the middle of a fucking tragedy? It just pisses me off. To get a better understanding, check out this article on CNN which talks about how dead bodies are just lying around the Superdome. Why is it that people are dying? They cannot transport folks 50mi north, drop them off at a hotel, and let them fend for themselves? They have to leave them in a fucking building to die from starvation. I am just upset…beyond fucking upset.
Anyway, I could go on for hours about my disgust with our government and the media, but I digress for now. It just pisses me off more and more as I think about it. Ya know, some things really make you question your faith in your country. Or at least, this one is making me question mine.
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