Tragedy In New Orleans
posted in General |TRAGEDY IN NEW ORLEANS
Few if any Americans can truly appreciate the terror, frustration, anxiety and suffering of the victims of Hurricane Katrina. The aerial photos are truly mind-boggling. No food, no water, no medicine, no car, no help, no transportation, no bathroom facilities, and nowhere to go. Comparisons are being made to 9/11 in New York City but they may be inadequate. In NYC the damage was done all at once and help was immediately available. No so in New Orleans.
One of the differences is that New York City had a Mayor (Giuliani) who took charge. Neither City was fully prepared for such a calamity, and indeed it is hard to visualize a degree of preparedness that would have averted either of the disasters. The Mayor of NO and the Governor of Louisiana clearly did not take charge and come to the rescue of the thousands of trapped citizens. Was the Federal response slower than might have been expected? Yes, indeed. But how do you go about a crash rescue program for thousands of people scattered over a large City in water ranging from knee deep to maybe 20 feet? Trapped in buildings 5-10 stories high??And if you want to drop supplies of water and food, just where do you drop them? It would be a lot easier said than done.I personally think that the media are having a blame-fixing field day trying to make matters worse. Face it. Mother nature went on a rampage, and when that happens there is only so much that can be done. Perhaps that is the origin of the term “ride it out”. Closer to home, the question might be, “What did the City and State do in immediate response to the tragedy? Just call Washington??
The Bush bashers and black racists are at their best (worst) – to wit, the deaths and damage from Hurricane Katrina are George Bush's fault! What else? Who else? And of course, the Sunday TV talk shows trotted out the experts on global warming, the melting of the ice caps, black bias, and a long litany of “I told you so's” about levees. A more pressing problem is what the governments –Federal, State and local – are going to do about thousands of displaced people for the next six months.
The tragedy of Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans and along the Gulf Coast will be with us for a long long time.