My first reaction was "Shit, I can't even begin to think about what it's like to be a refugee."
And if you think about it, it's completely understandable why someone would want to risk it not being the worst case scenario to not be put into that situation. There's really nothing that seems to bother us more than uncertainty, and for good reason. There are reasons that refugees typically have to be forced out, rather than fleeing of their own volition.
The problem, of course, is that it was the worst case scenario. For New Orleans, the levees breaking, letting Lake Porchartrain flood in, is probably a pseudo-death knell on the level of the 1900 Galveston earthquake: the city will survive, but it won't be the same. And I really can't fathom what all those people, with their lives completely shattered, are going to have to go through to try to piece them back together. My heart's certainly bleeding right now.
I saw, on MSNBC yesterday, edited footage that made me break down and cry. They showed pictures from the New Orleans Convention Center and then talked with the photojournalist who took the pictures. He said he saw two men who died of dehydration. There were no police or National Guardsmen anywhere. And this is the goddamned United States of America. I heard, perhaps incorrectly, that I-10 is open to the west. Why are we just standing there and letting people die in the streets for lack of water?
I do have to say, though, that it's times like this that tend to put the lie to anyone who claims human beings are ultimately driven by selfishness. There are those, sure, who take advantage of situations like this, and there are those who are indifferent, but when charity websites are completely jammed and people are offering to send supplies and give up their time and livelihood to go to New Orleans and help out, how can anyone be that cynical? That is, of course, why the Gandhiji quote you've got over there is so apt.
Anyway, if people want to help out, Habitat for Humanity is going to be stepping in, and some other charities:
no subject
And if you think about it, it's completely understandable why someone would want to risk it not being the worst case scenario to not be put into that situation. There's really nothing that seems to bother us more than uncertainty, and for good reason. There are reasons that refugees typically have to be forced out, rather than fleeing of their own volition.
The problem, of course, is that it was the worst case scenario. For New Orleans, the levees breaking, letting Lake Porchartrain flood in, is probably a pseudo-death knell on the level of the 1900 Galveston earthquake: the city will survive, but it won't be the same. And I really can't fathom what all those people, with their lives completely shattered, are going to have to go through to try to piece them back together. My heart's certainly bleeding right now.
I saw, on MSNBC yesterday, edited footage that made me break down and cry. They showed pictures from the New Orleans Convention Center and then talked with the photojournalist who took the pictures. He said he saw two men who died of dehydration. There were no police or National Guardsmen anywhere. And this is the goddamned United States of America. I heard, perhaps incorrectly, that I-10 is open to the west. Why are we just standing there and letting people die in the streets for lack of water?
I do have to say, though, that it's times like this that tend to put the lie to anyone who claims human beings are ultimately driven by selfishness. There are those, sure, who take advantage of situations like this, and there are those who are indifferent, but when charity websites are completely jammed and people are offering to send supplies and give up their time and livelihood to go to New Orleans and help out, how can anyone be that cynical? That is, of course, why the Gandhiji quote you've got over there is so apt.
Anyway, if people want to help out, Habitat for Humanity is going to be stepping in, and some other charities:
http://www.feedthechildren.org/site/PageServer?pagename=usw_hurricane_katrina (the one I'm personally getting involved with for those tragedy, phone number 1-800-525-7575)
Second Harvestor Food Banks: 1-800-344-8070
Baton Rouge Red Cross: 225-291-4533