A few thought about Katrina
Katrina and it's aftermath has been garnering a lot of my attention these days. I've watched and listened to more news this last week that I probably did the entire year. There's a lot I could say about the situation, but the thing that struck me most was the lack of understanding about the folks who couldn't evacuate. There seems to be a huge population in this country that doesn't know what it's like to live paycheck to paycheck and have no savings, no transportation and no money to get out of town, nor have the money to stock up for a possible weeks worth of groceries and water until help can arrive if you can't leave. Rob and I are a lot better off than many people in the affected area and we would have a hard time getting of town if we needed to do so. And I disagree that the lack of response was a matter of race, but you'd be hard pressed to convince me that it wasn't a matter of economic status. I don't think it was as simple as someone thinking that it's just a bunch of poor people so we can drag our heels, but rather the fact that there was a lack of existing infrastructure and resources to draw from in the first place which hampered relief efforts even further. This country has a long history of ignoring the poor and impoverished whether it be on our own soil or in our foreign policy. You see it in the cry to "free" the people of Iraq (they have oil), but we ignore Rawanda and the Sudan (they have nothing.) I saw a hell of a lot more ass-busting to get the employees from 9-11 back to work than I see for the victims of Katrina. God forbid that someone making $50,000 or more a year might be out of job, but we don't care so much about restoring the minimum wage worker's livelihood. I'm sure it's not as simple as that, but still, I have to wonder what world our policy-makers live in. It sure as hell ain't the same world as mine.