I Could Do This Better
I'm just really appalled by the lack of coordination. There's no leader, and that's the problem. We have the Homeland Security douche going on every channel, talking about what he's going to do. No one's doing anything quick enough. We have that incompetent religious nut of a Governor in Louisiana talking about National Guard troops coming in and shooting looters. That's lovely, but looting is not the main problem. The main problem is getting these fucking people out of the city and doing whatever you can to ease their suffering. That should be the main prerogative here. And it's not happening.
They're not letting reporters into the Superdome. Do you know why? It's because it's fucking deplorable in there. There is fucking shit and piss everywhere. There's thousands and thousands of people in there and they have nowhere to shit. It's just one big room at this point. There's no power, no restroom facilities, and no showering capabilities. They're living in less than human conditions, and they're not the main focus. Why does it take 3-4 days to get these people out of there? It shouldn't. Everyone has their head up their fucking asses as these people are suffering.
I will certainly admit that I enjoy watching hurricanes smash the shit out of towns, and I am entertained by the site of boats being driven around where the sky would normally be. It's entertaining. I may be an insensitive asshole, but I am certainly not a sadist. I do not enjoy watching people suffer, even if they did bring it upon themselves. This lack of coordination is killing hundreds of more people than necessary.
There is a hospital that needs to be evacuated because drug addicts are ceasing it. Dozens of patients are on the roof awaiting a chopper to move them. A chopper can't land because these fucking drug addict pieces of shit keep shooting at these helicopters. 200 patients are waiting to be evacuated and these choppers can't get them because of fucking sniper fire. So why aren't these motherfuckers dead yet? Lack of coordination. Of course, 9 patients have already died sitting on that roof. But that's OK. I suppose the idea of American soldiers killing American criminals is a bit too extreme in this liberal nation of ours. I suppose the idea of letting patients die on a hospital roof is a better scenario than killing those fucking drug addict criminals.
I'd love to find out who is responsible for this decision. I haven't read one report of a looter being killed. Someone is giving an order not to kill looters. I saw a shotgun wielding New Orleans police officer point his weapon at two looters, and then walk away after they dropped their clothing. They should have been fucking shot. Someone is responsible for this choice, and someone is saying "Do not shoot looters." If that was not true, then at least one report would have come out by now. I do nothing but read news when I'm not writing for this website. I read hundreds of news reports every day. I am an addict, so if something was out there, I would have read it.
It's just an absolute disgrace. What if this were a terrorist attack? Is this an example of how the government would react? I am just very disappointed in our President, and the entire government in Louisiana. This is America, and these are elected officials. They should all be doing much better than this. New Orleans Mayor Ray Nebin demanded martial law, and when asked if he had it, he basically replied with "I don't know." This is ridiculous, and that very same mayor is ten times more pissed than I am. He's pissed at everyone, and completely killing his political career in the mean time. He doesn't give a shit, because this is far above politics. He gets that, and I wish everyone else involved would get it as well.
Bush is about to give a press conference, and I'll be commenting on it as I write this. I have extremely high hopes from him. He needs to be doing a lot more than he is, and I'm beyond disappointed in George Bush. I could write mile long list of what he needs to be doing instead of what he has been. He's flopping around like a fish out of water. I just can't believe how unpresidential he appears every single time I see his face on TV or hear him talking. I can't believe how little he's doing. He's about to goto Louisiana. That's lovely, but I do believe he should have been there a while ago. I would have been there the day of. Sure that fly-over by Air Force One was nice, but that cheesy photo op that he handed out took away all sincerity that could possibly been involved in that action. I don't fall for the photo ops, these eyes are constantly open. I normally support Bush, but I am just in awe of how un-presidential he is acting. He's the fucking leader of our nation, and he's doing nothing of significant value with his power or his time. Time for his press conference.
He walks in with Homeland Security Douche. He said nothing. I have no idea why he was standing there. He said he met with Rumsfeld, Meyers, and other members of his cabinet. Why this was necessary, I do not know. I hope he was yelling at all of those stupid fucks, because anyone who has any sort of power involved with this situation should be fucking ashamed. From the President to the Governor of Louisiana. He stuttered often, saying "uh" at least 9 times. This is what I'm talking about. He has no charisma and gives off no sense of "I'm in charge." He's like a scared child. But it gets interesting. He thanks everyone for their efforts, but then says in these plain words: "The results are not acceptable." Nice! So far, we have one good act from our President. One thing I'm proud of. And I'm really trying here. He plainly said, with no emotion what so ever, in a very monotone way, "The results are not acceptable." He even sped through it nervously, I would go as far as saying. Regardless, I am very pleased to see him say this. But talk is fucking cheap, and he needs to start doing. I want to see him screaming at people to do their fucking job. I want him to tell us he's screaming at people to do their fucking job.
But hey, at least I have that one simple statement to cling to. Let's hope that it creates action quickly. I really wish I knew the power architecture so I knew who to bitch about. I want to declare enemies here, and I have no idea who to blame. I really wish he would have uttered something about these fucking gas prices. I wish he would elaborate on why every oil companies stock is shooting off the charts, bringing their previous 3-4 day numbers to the very bottom of the chart. I'd love to hear him talk about supply and demand. I can't expect that from such an oil connected president though. He needs a job after 2008, right?
I'm just fed up with all of this. Bush's lack of action, the relief effort being coordinated by incompetents, gas prices crippling the economy, not to mention costing me 25% of my weekly income. And I have to point the finger at Bush. If he was doing his best, I'd be very supportive and understanding. But in my estimation, his efforts are unacceptable.
posted by Matt The Sick at 8:17:00 AM
11 Comments:
Matt,
I seem to be seeing only African-Americans in the many photos from New Orleans.
As an outsider, that seems to be the reason for this (excusez-moi) niggardly response.
I heard somebody say that they were watching the news and saw a woman interviewed who said she came to the conclusion that no one was going to help her so she was now going to help herself and she walked away. Those people would have been better off if they would have started walking to Texas 4 days ago. Let this be a lesson that we should never rely on the government for anything.
Cupcake.
Shastrix-
Where are you from? Just so you know, Al Sharpton and Jesse Jackson are nuts and do not have a good grip on reality. I do not believe that they speak for anybody in America with any intelligence or reasoning abilities!
Cupcake.
Brooksie-
Are you referring to my comment? If so, you misunderstand me. Do not twist my words. Also, your comments about white people are offensive and just plain stupid.
Cupcake
Cupcake-
I completely agree with you on the white people comment. I don't think it makes a difference what their race is.
This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.
Still chuckling, Anon, or should I call you Moron*. Why are you hiding, anyway?
The opposite of love is not hate, it's indifference. Just check out BBC News to see who's the racist.
* All you have to do is to click on my link to see where I am from.
Q: Why is a moron called so?
A: You always have to tell him more on something!
msbrooksie
People certainly need help there. I know cameramen and news crews do help out as much as they can, and a lot of stuff happens off camera. But they can't be expected to give up their own food and water to these people. What they need is their elected government who has been being paid with their tax dollars to give them the help they need.
It isn't the reporter's responsibility to help these people. He is, in effect, helping these people by reporting the news. Just imagine if this was 1900 and there were no such thing as television. We can't assume he did nothing, though.
Someone should have helped these people days ago. And you can only point your finger at the government. They are the ones responsible for this effort, and they are the ones with the power. I don't think the blame lies within reporters and celebrities. The reporters are doing their job, and I've seen nothing but caring and compassion from everything on Fox News. I don't think they're as heartless as you think. But I definitely understand your frustration.
Shastrix
I don't quite understand "niggardly response." 50% of New Orleans is black, and most of the people who didn't evacuate are black. I don't understand though, even in racial rhetoric, how a response could be "niggardly." I just don't get that.
Cupcake
I'm not so sure he was being racist since he said "African-Americans." He's from another country, and often times people don't understand the racial sensitivity in our country.
You make a good point, but the more important lesson to be learned here is that if a hurricane is hitting anywhere near your state, it's better to spend the money to leave and take a chance of it hitting opposed to taking a chance, staying, and hoping it doesn't hit.
And of course, I fully admit that the response to this crisis has changed my outlook on the reputation of my country. This is nothing to be proud of. You know what, I'm gonna throw this out here and see if it sticks. I just don't think that a woman is emotionally strong enough to handle a crisis like this. I think that's one of the problems, and it's time to get real. Women make great politicians, but girls have very fragile hearts. You don't see female generals for a reason. And in this instance, we need a general. That's why I think we need to supersede our currect political system in the south and put one General in charge of everything. Set up a team down there and give them the authority.
And obviously, since the Homeland Security department is the last stop when it comes to responsibility of this issue, the buck stops with them. Michael Chertoff needs to be fired. Period, the end. I wonder why Tom Ridge resigned? Perhaps it's because he saw his department was a waste. Good comment, Cupcake.
msbrooksie
I know that the fact that they should have left is irrelevant to their current situation at this point, but it is a truth. Part of the reason this is such a disaster is because these people were too ignorant to leave. It's sad but true but that doesn't mean they should be left to suffer by our incompetent government.
When a natural disaster of this magnitude hits a major US city, of course there are going to be deaths. I'm sure there were indeed people who were so poor that they didn't have the means to leave. But there were buses picking people up. They could have at least gotten to the Superdome. And many of them did.
In 2004, four hurricanes hit me. I evacuated for two of them. My family didn't take chances. I was certainly inconvenienced. I had no computer, no comfort, and I'm not the type of person who likes to be away from home. I know what goes through these peoples' head first hand. They don't want to leave because they either want to prove their manhood or because they're ignorant. It's one of the two. And in this world, only the strong and the smart survive.
So I definitely have a very good idea as to why they stayed. I'm sure a very small percentage actually physically couldn't leave, and unfortunately those people are casualties of mother nature. And that's that. The people who chose to stay, who have children, are another different story. These people are irresponsible. But that doesn't mean they deserve to be living in these inhumane conditions. They're lucky they survived and their suffering needs to be eased quickly.
I am indeed sitting in a dry home, eating dinner every night, writing ion my computer. I'm doing this because so far, I've made decent choices in life. Maybe if I stayed from one or two of those hurricanes, I wouldn't be here doing this. I was out of power for over a week last year. That was no picnic. On a post I made over a year ago, I talked about how I'm like a lost child without electricity. It's true, so I know all about this first hand. Most people have a way out. There's not too much involved in getting in your car and leaving, and getting a hotel in another state. At this point, if those people are running low on money, they would have no problem at all getting assistance.
People should have left, and the people who didn't are now suffering because of their choices. They could have avoided their misery if they would have made better choices. But like I said, my life is "so fucking grand" compared to theirs only because I've made the right choices when 3 hurricanes slammed me last year. This doesn't mean I don't feel horrible for these people. Obviously in my post, I'm bitching because I feel terrible for them.
It's like this. If i crossed the street without looking and got his by a bus, that would suck. It would be my own fault, but people would still feel bad. Compare that to me crossing the street and a bus running a red light and hitting and killing me. I would have no fault, and the sympathy would be much deeper because I had no fault. So because these people share fault in their fate, it takes away a bit of the sympathy.
As for your comment about whites msbrooksie, come on. I know you don't really believe that. There is no race angle going on here. If anything, it's a class issue. Regardless, I would have even preferred this happened to 75,000 rednecks opposed to 75,000 black people. I really don't like rednecks.
I understand your compassion msbrooksie, and I absolutely appreciate your emotional comment. I'm just sorry we disagree on this issue.
Cupcake
I think she was more so referring to my post than your comment. Also, people say things they don't mean when they're upset. I don't think she really believes the response would be any different if it were white people. Then again, I have to wonder if this problem would be so incredibly massive if there weren't so many black people in New Orleans.
Sorry, it's true. This is part of a whole different issue, which is the downfall of the black ("urban") culture caused by their culture. This is a whole different issue here, when you get into this area. I'm not being racist, nor am I anything close to a racist. I'm just telling the truth. There's a big problem in black society. Bill Cosby talks about it all the time. If he can, then so can I.
By the way, "niggardly" means half-hearted., limited. I guess he chose that word to be clever.
Cupcake.
Matt, thanks for that balanced response. From your and other analyses on the Net, I guess it's more of a class issue rather than a racial one. Many ask if race a factor in New Orleans' crisis has some interesting points:
~~~~~
New Orleanians were divided not so much by race as by economic class, a daily fact of life in a city where birthlines mean much.
When 80 percent of the city's population, according to the mayor, evacuated before Hurricane Katrina, that left behind those with no cars, no resources, no way out.
"The message is that these people are in some sense abandoned, and that's why they're so angry," he said, "but that abandonment occurred not just around this storm. They've been abandoned by our society in the last decade. That's something as a society we have to acknowledge and grapple with."
~~~~~
I'll pass, on the Moron's comments.
The whole thing is sad.
The response has been dreadful and many have died because of it.
But you have to remember the conditions these rescuers are trying to work in. No communication, people taking pot shots at you. It seems that every worst case scenario that could have occured in this situation did.
People didnt evacuate like they should have (sorry its a fact)
The Hurricane was really bad and hit the worst possible areas.
The Levees broke and flooded New Orleans
The looting and violence
No communications
No power
Response teams werent prepard for this kind of devestation.
I really hate when I look and see that people are still stuck six days after but I dont know if we could have ever been prepared for this. Hopefully if there is a next time we can be more prepared because of this.
As for the race card it makes me so fuckin mad. Just an hour after I donated money to the red cross I was greeted by Al Sharpton on TV saying nobody cares because these people are black. This bug fat prick who looks like he combed his hair with a greasy porkchop just makes me wanna puke. It made me wanna call and take my money back but I know the ones who really need it cant help it. He is cut from the same cloth as the looters.
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