Friday, September 02, 2005

Cynic or just Observant?

Am I the only one who thinks that if the New Orleans Convention Center were filled with mostly rich, white people that help would have been there a lot earlier? But since it's mostly poor, black people we aren't in any hurry?

Is it the poor thing or the black thing or both? Who knows. I just know if it had been rich white women on the roofs of their mansions in the garden district that things would have happened right away. Call me a cynic if you must, but you and I both know it's true.

I am livid, sad, horrified and a few dozen other things.

In the midst of all this, Bush says the results are "not enough." Geez... no shit. He gets the award for understatement of the year. We treat people we were bombing the day before better than we have treated our own citizens.

The fact that we can drop supplies from planes everywhere else in the world, but not in New Orleans, mystifies me. The fact that officials can't get to places the media can also surprises me. Media people are telling one story after another of trying to help people, but they have no supplies. These busses that are coming in to get people at the Superdome... Why are they not stuffed with food and water on every return trip for the people who are still there?

People are talking about the violence - well, studies have shown for decades that that is exactly what happens when people get this frustrated and stressed. Again, it should be no surprise whatsoever. If we'd acted quickly, that probably would not have been a problem. Looting? Hell yes. If I have no food or water and am baking in the hot sun and can steal some, I'm going to. Call it looting if you wish.

Officials have known the levees were a problem, and money was earmarked for upgrading them... and then that line item was zeroed out. The money was used for the war in Iraq instead. The New Orleans newspaper has done a series of articles about this over the last few years. So, once again, the problem is not local officials, or even federal officials - but the burning desire to fight a war in Iraq.

Much of the problem with getting help is that the equipment and resources are in Iraq. The planes, personnel, specialized equipment, etc. are all in Iraq.

Until we elect officials who want to stop fighting wars, we're going to have this sort of problem over and over again. For some reason, people are unwilling to believe that wars cost money and lives - and not just on the battlefield. And, they're unwilling to believe that people who demonstrate over and over that they have no compassion will not change.

Whole towns were destroyed, and in some cases huge percentages of the population, because they could not afford the gasoline to evacuate. For some reason, as a society, we have decided this is acceptable. When you vote for people who have no compassion - who do not care about the little guy - or when you choose not to vote and thereby increase the power of others who agree with that mentality, you are saying that you agree.

I do not agree. I tried everything I could think of to get others to see that we were creating a situation where things like this - lack of care and compassion - would be rampant. But, to no avail, unfortunately.

So, here we are. We created this situation by electing people who have no compassion, and then we act surprised that they don't care about the mostly poor, mostly minority, people left behind. So, now while we're all home because we can't afford gasoline, we can try to learn to live with ourselves and the fact that we have tacitly given approval for this kind of treatment of our fellow Americans.

Thank You

Thank You to those who are running our country who know so well what we all need.