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How to Destroy an African-American City in Thirty-Three Steps - Lessons From Katrina
Please check out Bill Quigley's brilliant essay in a recent installment of Truthout.org. This sardonic analysis of how the victims of Hurricane Katrina have been treated is a must-read. It chronicles the hell that these people have endured in an unusual and thoughtful approach.
http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/062907N.shtml
And please give to Truthout, as they are grassroots and one of the best sites to get the full story. They could use your help to stay active.
https://secure.entango.com/donate/pkXd5Fr9GE4
5 comments:
I think that you should read Rev. Jesse Lee Peterson's account of the Katrina debacle "New Orleans Went Under - A Black Man's Comments" for a far more consise and realistic view of what actually happend in New Orleans.
Cheers!!
I appreciate that you read my posting, Mykl, as well as your comment. However, I must disagree with the opinion of the Reverend, which I Googled and did read. Once again, the blame is laid on the victims. The response to the people of New Orleans was, and still is, unacceptable. I witnessed the condition of the lower 9th Ward one year after the disaster and virtually nothing had been done. There was no electricity and no potable water in much of that area and I understand that those conditions have not changed nearly two years after the calamity. Infrastructure falls squarely on the shoulders of the government. Also, New Orleans was expected to match 10% of the needed funding for the rebuilding of the city in order to receive government funds. Of course, this was an impossible task. Here was a city whose hospitals were closed (still are) and police stations were being run out of trailers. This requirement was omitted, as it should have been, for New York City after the 9/11 attacks. Tragic as that incident was, it decimated far less of the city. New Orleans was 80% underwater. There are entire towns along the Gulf Coast that no longer exist. The handling of the events of Hurricane Katrina and its aftermath is something that each of need to take seriously, as we could find ourselves in a similar situation at anytime, and virtually none of us are prepared. The bottom line is that we are all Americans and New Orleans, and the other towns affected by Katrina, are part of us. We should have been and should now be there for them.
Wonderful words tkelly.
Your words are so true: "we are all Americans and New Orleans, and the other towns affected by Katrina, are part of us"
There was just a news story on one of the cable stations yesterday about the problems that the schools are dealing with. They were interviewing one of the principles of the school and he said they are having a lot of problems with many of the kids who are basically living on their own without any parents around. It seems that many of the parents are still in Texas and other parts of the country trying to work and make enough money to come back and re-build. In the meantime the kids are back in New Orleans and living with siblings that are only 17 or 18 years old, certainly not old enough to be responsible to take care of younger children on a full time basis. They are living in the trailers that they got from FEMA.
I think like everything George Bush has done in his life, he leaves the mess for someone else to clean up. My fear, is that they will be hit again and we will see even more of the same.
I don't understand, with all the money that the government had to allocate to the rebuilding of this area, and it is still sitting in a bank, not being used. Truly a shame.
Yes, shameful indeed. What's really sad is that these poor kids are some of the luckier ones. From what I was told when I was in New Orleans, only homeowners received FEMA trailers. Renters were out of any luck they thought they might possibly have. Housing has skyrocketed so that only the well-to-do will be able to afford anything that is in livable condition. The city has the burden of matching 10% of needed funds for rebuilding. Needless to say, they don't have the money. And you are justified in being fearful of a reocurrance, as the ACE knowingly installed into the levees faulty pumps that they purchased from the company that employed Jeb Bush. How fortunate that last year was mild, but we are currently in the midst of hurricane season. Pray......
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