Viewpoint: New Orleans crisis shames US

http://news.bbc.co.uk./2/hi/americas/4210674.stm

Some snippets:

The only difference between the chaos of New Orleans and a Third World disaster operation, he said, was that a foreign dictator would have responded better.

The havoc of Katrina had been predicted countless times on a local and federal level - even to the point where it was acknowledged that tens of thousands of the poorest residents would not be able to leave the city in advance.

When President Bush told "Good Morning America" on Thursday morning that nobody could have "anticipated" the breach of the New Orleans levees, it pointed to not only a remote leader in denial, but a whole political class.

(Once again, Georgie boy shows his ignorance.)

The truth was simple and apparent to all. If journalists were there with cameras beaming the suffering live across America, where were the officers and troops?

Katrina vs WTC

I got to thinking today about the differences between Katrina and the WTC attacks (aside from one being a deliberate attack and the other an attack of nature) and why the feeling behind them feels so different. I think I'm struck more by the natural disazter in New Orleans than the terrorist attack 4 years ago this month. (That's right folks, in the first year of each of Dubya's reigns, we've had massive death in this country.)

I think the biggest part of it is survivors. Since I don't know the numbers and don't care to look, I'm going to base this on memory. The Sept 11 attacks left more dead than Katrina did. However, Katrina left more people displaced, took more homes and did more widespread damage. There is nobody we can go and beat up because of Katrina (although I'm sure Bush will spin this into the reason we need to fight harder in Iraq or something). We see the faces of the afflicted on TV and they are crying and screaming, not just a photo to remember them by. WTC didn't take (to the best of my knowledge) people's homes, only their lives. Their suffering ended while many more people's suffering must continue through the wake of Katrina. The choice to rebuild their lives where their homes were, or to move on someplace safer. Katrina effected more lower class minorities, while the WTC attacks most effected upperclass whites.

I think this came to me in listening to all the calls for charity and contributions. I recall during the Sept 11 attacks people had to make appointments to give blood, only they didn't need blood. Blood is for survivors. There weren't any (or many anyway). I don't know if they need blood for this disaster, but once again people are giving out of their own pockets. Both effected the economy, but in different ways. It seems that big oil companies have taken this natural disaster as an excuse to gouge us even further at the pump. Last year, it was less than $20 to fill my tank. Yesterday, it cost me nearly $50. The price of gas has more than doubled since a year ago. It is price gouging pure and simple. As soon as the disaster hit, prices of gasoline went up. Did the gas they already had in the tanks suddenly become more expensive? No, they knew that prices were going to skyrocket. The most disgusting thing is people are still willing to pay whatever it costs. I'm no different, I do look around for the lowest price, although it's really only maybe $1.50 in savings overall if I can find it ten cents less per gallon. I do a lot of driving and it's painful for me. I wish I had a hybrid, but I can't afford one. Those people who can, generally, can also afford the increase in gas prices. I've seen more cars with low MPG ratings with for sale signs in their windows.

The WTC collapse coincided with an already declining economic condition, so it made an easy scapegoat. I lost my job the year after that attack. But I have no reason to believe the two were related.

They do have something in common. Federal government agencies predicted both. And George W Bush ignored them.

EDIT: The death toll for 9/11 was nearly 3,000. They are estimating more than 10,000 for Katrina. Makes Katrina deadlier than 9/11 and counteracts my statement above where I thought 9/11 was responsible for more deaths. So Katrina is not only responsible for more homeless, but also more dead.

CITE: http://www.dispatch.co.za/2005/09/05/Foreign/abody.html (WARNING: While not graphics in nature, the photo with this article may disturb some.)