Many of the people of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama are helpless victims. Some had no means for fleeing the oncoming storm. Some had no way to prevent 10,000 of their National Guard troops from being shipped overseas to invade Iraq. Some had no way to prevent funding for FEMA and the New Orleans levees from being slashed to pay for Bush’s war. But for the rest of you, I have little pity.
Jesse Ventura warned against using the National Guard to fight a war when they should be protecting the homeland. He said this just before the Presidential debates last election. John Kerry sided with Ventura. But, hey, Republicans, maybe you figured you wouldn’t really need the National Guard. After all, isn’t it more important for them to be dying in Iraq? In fact, now that I think about it, maybe the Republicans who are dying from Katrina because the National Guard is absent are dying for their country, just like they wanted. Good for you guys.
Of course, I’m not blaming Bush for the hurricane, but he made the choice to get involved in a war that would leave us unable to handle a disaster at home. He made the choice to divert troops and funding away from real homeland security. Should he have known better? The rest of us did.
I’m being more than a little cynical, but let’s be honest with each other. We warned people that Iraq would strain both financial and military resources at home, leaving us more vulnerable. We warned people, as Katrina approached, that she would bring death and destruction. We warned people to evacuate. So guess what? If you voted for Bush and ignored warnings to get the hell out of town, this is exactly what we told you would happen. You were warned.
To the rest, my condolences.
Entries (RSS)
September 1st, 2005 at 4:05 pm
Wow- I’m not sure what is most offensive, your ability to hyper-politicize such a horrific event or your complete inability to feel anything for anyone who disagrees with your political beliefs. You say in your last paragraph that “We warned people that Katrina would bring death…we warned people to evacuate…” almost as if you believe that people who stayed deserved what they got. Should people have heeded the warnings and left? Of course. But maybe you should take a look at who is left. I would venture to say that 90% of the people who are at the SuperDome and the Convention Center are the “urban poor”. They’re the ones who are being recruited to go to Iraq and fight this ridiculous war because they need the food and a job and they can’t find enough of either in New Orleans — how’s that for insult to injury? They are the people who couldn’t afford to get out because our government- FOR YEARS- has neglected the poorest citizens and people least able to help themselves. I’m a democrat through-and-through. And I agree, like most dems do, that this is a perfect example of all of the terrible situations that weren’t vetted properly or thoroughly when Bush decided to deploy National Guard troops overseas. But even those people who voted for Bush, are anti-choice, pro-gun, homophobic and everything else every good democrat loathes don’t deserve this. These aren’t Democrats or Republicans dying in front of us on CNN and MSNBC - they’re people.
September 1st, 2005 at 4:47 pm
Colleen,
You are right to be offended, and I certainly expected this post to upset people. I agree with you that it’s inappropriate to politicize a tragedy for the sake of personal gain; I gain nothing from this post, not even an immature “I told you so” kind of gain. It’s sad and infuriating what’s happening to people down there. Despite your beliefs to the contrary, it makes me sick inside to watch it all.
We are also on the same page with respect to the fact that these are human beings who are suffering, many of whom have been suffering for a long time. The “urban poor” are certainly a major contingent of the victims, and many could not do anything to evacuate. You’ll note I opened with the statement that many of them are helpless victims; I am not talking about them.
But just because it is offensive to point out that we could have done a great deal to prevent this tragedy doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be done. Yes, the victims are people. Many of them made a series of extremely stupid decisions in light of overwhelming evidence that they were being stupid. Would I still help them? Of course. Do I empathize with their pain? Yes. But at the end of the day, they were still stupid. Parents who didn’t evacuate their children despite warnings and the ability to do so are criminal. Leaving millions in such a poor position to deal with this kind of disaster is criminal.
I feel for them, I really do. And I don’t know what makes you think pro-choice or pro-whatever has anything to do with it. If you voted for a man who you knew would continue to put these people in a dangerous position, you contributed to their suffering. Sorry. It’s not politics. It’s not mean. It’s a fact.
September 1st, 2005 at 11:25 pm
You guys should read the NYTimes editorial today.
For the record, I am watching CNN, and I am outraged.
September 2nd, 2005 at 8:12 am
Gillian,
Thanks for the heads up. Here’s the link (free registration required) and a choice quote:
“One lasting lesson that has to be drawn from the Gulf Coast’s misery is that from now on, the National Guard must be treated as America’s most essential homeland security force, not as some kind of military piggy bank for the Pentagon to raid for long-term overseas missions.”
September 4th, 2005 at 12:40 pm
Sean and I were discussing this the other night; he came by to hang out with Colin and I. Sean’s response to my outrage that the National Guard are over in Iraq was thtat there are still plenty of them here and I have no reason to be angry until we’ve exhausted those National Guard troops who apparently aren’t yet called into active duty. As you’re aware, I don’t follow the news meticulously enough to have a comeback for everyone who disagrees with me, but instead just enough to get very angry at the world. You thoughts? (Sean also insisted that the notion that basically everyone left in New Orleans is poor, black, and helpless was “pure conjecture,” but, again, I couldn’t pull up any news sources to back myself up. I was also blamed for feeling helpless when in theory I could have left right then to join up with the red cross, but that’s beside the point.)
September 4th, 2005 at 10:36 pm
Heather,
Hi, nice to “meet” you. For what it’s worth, I can offer you a little second-hand ammo against Colin (Sorry Colin). A good friend of mine is from New Orleans (he lost everything, but his family’s all ok), and he basically confirmed that there was pretty much no way for the very large poor, black population of that city to evacuate prior to the hurricane. There were no buses, and those people don’t have cars. Also, you only have to watch the continous stream of images on CNN to notice the fact that there aren’t any afluent white people being airlifted off their roof.
September 4th, 2005 at 10:40 pm
PS:
Adam, the editorial I was referring to was from Sept. 1, titled “Waiting for a Leader,” but the one you cited is equally worth reading.
September 5th, 2005 at 10:05 am
Gillian,
Thanks for all the great articles, and damn the Times Online with their multiple editorials.
Heather,
The claim that there were not enough National Guard troops on the ground in the Gulf Coast is easy defend. First of all, many members of the Guard also serve as police officers, fire fighters, and paramedics when they aren’t serving as Guardsmen. When Katrina struck, the fact that 10,000 of them weren’t there meant not only that there was only a fraction of the National Guard there to help, but it meant that many emergency services people were also missing.
Second, it doesn’t matter how many are in reserves outside of the Gulf Coast, because no outside help arrived for days. It also doesn’t matter how many were in reserves inside the region, because communications were essentially dead following the hurricane. Those people couldn’t exactly mosey to their local Guard office and get some equipment. If they weren’t prepared beforehand, it wasn’t going to happen after the fact.
Third, it’s very difficult to defend the statement that there was enough ANYTHING in the Gulf Coast. Listen to the mayor of New Orleans curse out the government for leaving his people helpless while thousands died. Listen to people on the ground pleading for buses and gasoline. Watch videos of even the local police removing their uniforms because people were so desperate for help, and the police could do nothing. I heard one story (on NPR) from the Superdome in which a group of National Guardsmen were forced to stand and watch a young girl die; none of them could help because they were too busy preventing violence from breaking out.
Yeah, plenty of Guardsmen. My ass.
September 7th, 2005 at 9:06 pm
Good to know I’m not as crazy and uninformed as Sean might have me believe :o)
(To Gillian: Nice to “meet” you as well, and to clarify, Colin is my boyfriend - and a good friend of Adam’s since high school. Sean is another mutual friend that Adam, Colin, and I share, whom I respect quite a bit but who tends to differ from me in certain arenas. Colin, with whom I didn’t dispute this time, usually sees things the same was I do pretty often.)