Sep. 2nd, 2005

itsallovernow: (Default)
The Bad - I don't qualify for unemployment. Fuckers.

The Good - Because I've been paying for two accounts for two years (yes, two years, yes, I know) without realizing it, SBC owes me the equivalent of next month's rent. This is very good. It also made me laugh so hard at both them and myself that I got over a lot of the feeling sorry for myself, feeling worthless, etc.

The Even Better - Captain Trips seems to be saying his final hurrah.

The Best - Multiverse is up! Go forth and read. I have read my story, Catch a Tiger By the Tail, liked it muchly, and shall go send feedback to my lovely author.

There are an absolute slew of stories this year, and many many Farscape crossovers. I'm gonna be busy reading them this weekend.

Watching people - those left behind, those trying to get out, those who are helping, even those who are scavenging, salvaging, looting - watching all of those people, well there's nothing like that to put personal problems in persepective. That's all I'm saying. My mom got a hold of her friend, and she hadn't gone to New York. She stayed until Tuesday night or Wednesday, determined not to evacuate until she had to. She lived over an animal hospital and rescued 49 cats. She said it was like armaggedon, and she sounded so exhuasted according to my mom. She was driving to Shreveport, not stopping, no time and no place to rest, just going and going until she couldn't go any more.

My heart goes out to everyone - except, really, the people shooting at each other, or helicopters (if that really was happening. NPR expressed some uncertainty), and really anyone brandishing a gun right now.

There's some interesting discussions going on about looting, largely at the ever thoughtful [livejournal.com profile] leadensky's LJ. I do think that taking necessisities is absolutely justified. I do not see an ounce of immorality in taking food, water, diapers, formula, etc. And I think in the grand scheme of things, taking other things that don't belong to you is not the worst of all possible crimes. Do I approve? No? Do I understand? To the degree that I can follow the variety of mentalities that would lead there, yeah, I think I do. We want to remain civilized, we want to remain cognizant of personal rights during a disaster, we want to believe that of ourselves and each other, and while I think disasters can bring out the best of humanity, they also bring out the worst, and I don't think that stealing stuff is the worst of humanity. I think it's the basest element, but not the worst. Crimes against persons will always hold that place in my book. Not only because I don't consider personal property the sacred thing that other people may. Important, yes, symbolically as well as physically, but it doesn't rank up there with harm, any sort of harm, to a person. Of course I wish it weren't happening. Of course I wish as people we didn't fall somewhere between desperate dumb and greedy when we see an opportunity, but stealing a TV, knowing you aren't gonna get caught, is not the worst crime I can imagine.

And, this is related, I watched Je Souhaite today before I taught dance, and was reminded of why it's one of my favorite XF eps. It's not about fate so much as the sense of humor that the universe has, the ironic, bitter sense of humor. Be careful what you wish for, be careful what you do when you think there are no consequences, when you think no one's watching. Karma's a bitch and she has sharp pointy teeth.
itsallovernow: (Default)
I keep saying that the events in New Orleans and Biloxi and the Gulf Coast are putting my own problems in persepctive, and sometimes that's true and sometimes that's not.

But when I read CNN, or the papers, when I watch the news, when I hear about the devastation and the hopelessness and the fear and the conditions that people are living under, I start to cry.

When I read journalists, many of whom I've lost respect for over the past four years, show that they are human, that they finally have recovered a moral center, a place for real outrage - misguided or not - I cry harder.

When I read about the people in Texas and in other states and places and countries sending aid, wanting to do what they can, when I look around at my flist at all of these people who want to do what they can, I just can't stop myself.


Yes, I want someone to blame because somewhere gross incompetence happened. My guess is it's happening in a lot of places at a lot of levels. My other guess is that some of this couldn't have been prevented and the scope of this tragedy lies somewhere between those two places. The government is not currently inspiring a lot of faith in me, and that's regardless of the support (or lack of it, more importantly) that I feel for the whole administration. But I know that the lack of help, the lack of evacuation or food or water for the people still in the city has nothing to do with George W. Bush personally. But there are a lot of things about current American politics across the board - Republican,Democrat, local, state and federal - that are adding to this disaster, making it worse intsead of better. And for that, yeah, I'm angry.

I feel like much of what's happening in NO has to do with race and class and money. Can't say it for certain, but it's a bone deep feeling. And that has nothing to do with Homeland Security, or levees or press conferences. It has to do with people being to poor to get out, with people not having anywhere to go, and it's going to be a hell of a thing once people can return, and have to start over and find that while they thought before that life couldn't get worse, they were wrong. And then the crying starts all over again.

People in California are rallying to do what they can. The Rose Bowl was open two days ago to collect Red Cross donations. Animal Planet is already setting up things to help all the stranded animals, and people are doing what they can. And I hope it's enough. I hope we're expansive enough to help, to do whatever needs to be done, to listen to the people who know what's going on, who know what can be done on a tangible level moment to moment. And I hope for those people still in the city, or those hoping to go home again someday, that we as a country will help enough so that they have somewhere to go back to.

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