lunatics yelling in the streets, it's the end of the world, yes

[jaina]

I can't stop reading Katrina coverage. It's heartbreaking that things just seem to be degenerating further and further, and I don't think we've seen the worst yet. More than anything, though, I'm furious with the sanctimonious, self-righteous asshats looking down on the chaos in NO and squawking, "Why didn't they leave? There was a mandatory evacuation order! It's their fault! It's their own fault that they're in this situation!"

OH MY FUCKING GOD, YOU MORONS. Can we please just leave aside all the reasons why people might not have left (like say, oh, HAVING NO MEANS TO LEAVE!?) and just focus on the fact that these are our fellow HUMAN BEINGS who are suffering *terribly*? Can the blame and recriminations maybe wait a little while, and we can all just focus on saving lives, getting these people out of the city, and making sure they have somewhere to go? It just sickens me how some people have reacted to this, that their own need to feel superior has asserted itself in this incredibly disgusting way.

Of all the weeks for the Daily Show to be on hiatus. (It kind of disturbs me how dependent I've grown on Jon Stewart, but it helps, so for now, I'm not going to question it.)

ETA: Everyone, if you haven't already, please go and read interdictor for a firsthand look at the situation in New Orleans. It should be required reading for everyone on the Internet.

Comments

[gmtarkin.livejournal.com]

I couldn't agree more; the situation is both criminal and heartbreaking. I compare to the response for Hugo and Andrew, and the disparity is unforgivable. Certainly NO is a unique situation, but the rest of the gulf coast is equally under-served, and for no good reason that I can understand. 36 hours after Hugo there were trucks pumping water, food stations, Red Cross and Salvation Army areas all over the Carolina coast. Every little mini-mall had a water truck. Why can't they truck water south of 90 to the coast? The area of devastation really isn't that wide in MS and AL. (Don't even get me started on the disparity with the Indian and Thai response to the tsunami last year.)

On the other hand, as someone from a family of the "I'll never evacuate" stamp, I admit that I'm using the events of Katrina to try to pressure my mother into changing her stance. Most people don't want to leave because they are afraid of getting stuck on the highway for hours, afraid someone will break into their home, afraid nothing will happen but they won't be able to get back for days. All true, but compared to this? I'd much rather my mother was in some Motel 6 in Columbia, annoyed, than at home with a dwindling supply of food and water, people roaming the streets, and who knows what else. People *should* evacuate, and the government should provide the transportation to help those who don't have cars. Instead, they issue the order and then leave it up to you to figure it out or ignore it as you see fit. There's no excuse for there being thousands of deaths in a hurricane -- almost all of them are preventable. The only possible good that could come of this is that people take those orders more seriously, and the states come up with plans to make it possible to evacuate.