both on a personal and a national level.

i have spent the last week juggling the news (both internet and television) along with my first week of school. Katrina evacuations were happening while I was at a full day orientation for my teaching escapade, the hurricane hit while I was at the 1L orientation, and the flooding happened while I sat through a 10 hour day of classes. This situation has been so horrible. Every day it's something else. Flooding, stranded residents, the Superdome falling apart, then the looting and scavenging, then thet shooting, the starving, the fires, the contaminated water.

And the huge irritation that in one day, both the President, and the aid shows up. Was the aid waiting for the President? Or the President for the aid? George Bush riding in on his White Horse of water, food, and helicopters and buses.

I heard about the musician Kayne West going off on television (NBC) about the fact that Bush doesn't like Black people - that the media is portraying Black people as "looting" and white people as "surviving." I was angry that NBC felt that the only proper response was a disclaimer -- he deviated from the script! Those are not our views!! Eegads, no! You will not find truth here! You will not find an examination of the feelings and the realities that this tragedy is bringing to the surface! We are singing songs, pretty songs, to make money, nice, helpful, money!

As if there is no help, no solution, to be found in confronting these underlying truths. Whether the truths are that his accusations are in fact reality, or if the truth is that a large part of our population feels that way, it SHOULD be confronted. It should be investigated, and explored, and made apparent.

There are people out there accusing the media of being "liberal" throughout this ordeal. Liberal. I would like to know what is liberal. Having an interview with the Mayor of New Orleans? Is that the liberal aspect? Despite the fact that several FEMA representatives have also been given air time? Or perhaps they're "liberal" for putting the camera on those who are suffering? On the babies who can't wake up due to heat and dehydration and lack of food? For explaining the fact that the stench of human feces surrounds a 5 block radious around the convention center where people are waiting for help? What would a non-liberal media look like? One who shuts up, and "supports the government" by hiding the photos (kind of like not showing the coffins of those killed in Iraq?)? One who does not allow those who were negatively impacted by this disaster, and the failure of whoever was able to help them, to speak?

I am angered by those who snarl accusations about those who "refused" to leave the city. They refused to have better employment opportunities? They refused to have a savings account, and the ability to go and live in a hotel for a week (which has now turned into, what? 6 months?) They refused to keep from being poor -- so poor that they did not have the means to own a car? And for those who chose not to leave ... how they have possibly known what they were up against? None of the involved or responsible governmental agencies were able to adequately fathom the situation. How could individuals? How could ordinary citizens understand ... FATHOM that this is what would happen? The Government knew enough to declare a state of emergency beforehand ... but big whoop. A lot of good that did.

I read this article as the storm as approaching New Orleans. I saved it, because I wanted to check the hype of pre-storm to the reality of post-storm. Unfortunately, on the structural level (because it did not try to address the social ramifications, the human lives and human suffering), it was very accurate. On Monday. Well, published on Monday. This information was there! People knew this could happen. CNN had the information ... if I could find it, so could FEMA.

With such possibilities existing, why?! can't "mandatory evacuation" mean that for those who can't afford to get in their car and go to a hotel, or go stay with families or friends outside the danger zone, those very helicopters which we're seeing today (and yesterday) would pick them up? Take them out? Why were things allowed to go so far?

Today, MSNBC reported that the federal government decided to deploy some airborn unit of military people. They were there within 9 hours. To me, this points to the fact that the slowness of help and aid had nothing to do with inability, and everything to do with ..... well, i guess i'm not willing just yet to put a label on it. But it wasn't an example of people with the power to do so "doing their best." or "doing all they can."

i just find it all so upsetting.

posted by Zuska @ 12:06 PM

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