Tuesday, October 04, 2005
Mixed Message - Hurricane Response
There are a number of issues and arguments being made about the recent hurricanes which do not make a whole lot of sense to me.
1) Ever since I was a kid, the education system in the "deep south" has been a sort of running joke. Even as a youngster I could have told you that the gulf coast region of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisianna were the poorest and least educated section of the Union. So if I knew that as a kid, why are all the adults running around saying how this storm exposed the poverty of the gulf coast? The poverty has always been there and we all know it. So, a note to the media, please stop treating these storms as some kind of life altering wake up call - you can't wake people up to things they already know and intentionally ignore.
2) People trashed the president for not responding quickly enough to Hurricane Katrina. But, when he is totally involved and on top of Hurricane Rita, he was accused of over compensating. Before the next national disaster strikes maybe we could take a Gallup poll and see how the American people would like our president to respond.
3) For hypothetical reseasons, lets say that those who were stuck in New Orleans had no way of getting out. Plus, since they survived so many storms in the past, lets even say that they had the historical precedent to assume they were safe. Now fast forward to Hurricane Rita. The entire world watched Hurricane Rita for a week as it crossed the Gulf and headed toward Texas. I could have driven from Chicago to Texas, grabbed some provisions, and driven back to Chicago in that amount of time. So, that being said, can anyone explain to me why after Hurricane Rita passed by I watched people crawling out from under their houses wondering what happened? Furthermore, why were reporters spending time interviewing these "victims," talking about property damage and how lucky these peolple were to be alive?
4) Speakin of people left behind in Texas, did anyone notice the race of most of the people left behind in Texas, they were white. So, even after plenty of notice, a large number or poor/uneducated white people stayed at home to take their chances with Hurricane Rita. Yet, not one politician has been accued of racism, or classism, or any other "ism" with respect to the white people left behind. Yet, when the people left behind in New Orleans were just as poor and just as uneducated, it was obviously racism that motivated politicians to be poorly prepared since the victims are primarily black. Yep, I didn't think that made much sense either.
5) Now this is the biggest point I would like to address. Given the magnitude of our recent national disasters, many people have said that the military is the only organization ready to respond in a timely and efficient manner to sucure an area and save as many lives as possible. Now, this may be true; however, I warn people of the potential ramifications of such a decision. Going back to revolutionary times Americans have been strongly opposed to the military getting involved in domestic affairs. Now, with something as "once in a life time" as Katrina, I think the military should be used (and was used) to restore order to an area. However, be wary of any power you give our president when it comes to deploying our troops in the USA. Someday, the very people who (using the full benefit of hindsight) wish they would have had the military in New Orleans earlier, may be the same people complaining when a future president send the US Military into a domestic situation without asking permission or being asked for help. A president with our military in hand, running all over the country using military might to fix everything may sound a little scary. But, was George W not attacked for not being to formal with government procedure? Didn't people say he should have been more proactive and just taken over the situation; stomping on states rights with one hand and bringing the military in with the other? Okay, maybe those very words were not spoken, but there underlying meaning was just the same.
Be careful what you wish for America, someday you may just get it.
1) Ever since I was a kid, the education system in the "deep south" has been a sort of running joke. Even as a youngster I could have told you that the gulf coast region of Mississippi, Alabama and Louisianna were the poorest and least educated section of the Union. So if I knew that as a kid, why are all the adults running around saying how this storm exposed the poverty of the gulf coast? The poverty has always been there and we all know it. So, a note to the media, please stop treating these storms as some kind of life altering wake up call - you can't wake people up to things they already know and intentionally ignore.
2) People trashed the president for not responding quickly enough to Hurricane Katrina. But, when he is totally involved and on top of Hurricane Rita, he was accused of over compensating. Before the next national disaster strikes maybe we could take a Gallup poll and see how the American people would like our president to respond.
3) For hypothetical reseasons, lets say that those who were stuck in New Orleans had no way of getting out. Plus, since they survived so many storms in the past, lets even say that they had the historical precedent to assume they were safe. Now fast forward to Hurricane Rita. The entire world watched Hurricane Rita for a week as it crossed the Gulf and headed toward Texas. I could have driven from Chicago to Texas, grabbed some provisions, and driven back to Chicago in that amount of time. So, that being said, can anyone explain to me why after Hurricane Rita passed by I watched people crawling out from under their houses wondering what happened? Furthermore, why were reporters spending time interviewing these "victims," talking about property damage and how lucky these peolple were to be alive?
4) Speakin of people left behind in Texas, did anyone notice the race of most of the people left behind in Texas, they were white. So, even after plenty of notice, a large number or poor/uneducated white people stayed at home to take their chances with Hurricane Rita. Yet, not one politician has been accued of racism, or classism, or any other "ism" with respect to the white people left behind. Yet, when the people left behind in New Orleans were just as poor and just as uneducated, it was obviously racism that motivated politicians to be poorly prepared since the victims are primarily black. Yep, I didn't think that made much sense either.
5) Now this is the biggest point I would like to address. Given the magnitude of our recent national disasters, many people have said that the military is the only organization ready to respond in a timely and efficient manner to sucure an area and save as many lives as possible. Now, this may be true; however, I warn people of the potential ramifications of such a decision. Going back to revolutionary times Americans have been strongly opposed to the military getting involved in domestic affairs. Now, with something as "once in a life time" as Katrina, I think the military should be used (and was used) to restore order to an area. However, be wary of any power you give our president when it comes to deploying our troops in the USA. Someday, the very people who (using the full benefit of hindsight) wish they would have had the military in New Orleans earlier, may be the same people complaining when a future president send the US Military into a domestic situation without asking permission or being asked for help. A president with our military in hand, running all over the country using military might to fix everything may sound a little scary. But, was George W not attacked for not being to formal with government procedure? Didn't people say he should have been more proactive and just taken over the situation; stomping on states rights with one hand and bringing the military in with the other? Okay, maybe those very words were not spoken, but there underlying meaning was just the same.
Be careful what you wish for America, someday you may just get it.
