Friday Evening
Sep. 2nd, 2005 06:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
itsallovernowI 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.
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.
