 |  |  |  |  |
Typically, we see a disaster and we see Americans at their best. Last
year, after the tsunami, Americans rushed to aid those with lost loved ones
and destroyed homes. This year, Americans are still lending out a helping
hand to those who are suffering, this time from Hurricane Katrina. But is that
what the media has chosen to show? In some cases, yes; but the majority of
the footage shown proves that the answer is in fact no. This tragedy has
shown the darker side of Americans and attitudes that we had hoped were
long since waning.
New Orleans is a poor city. Sure, money pours into it every year from
tourism, but it is a city where most people are extremely rich, extremely poor,
or just visiting. Those we see on TV are the extremely poor ones. The
people who did not evacuate are those who were either too poor, too old, or
too crippled to do so. I would say too stupid, but I’d fear that the remaining
people would loot my home, too. But life is more important than
possessions. True, New Orleans has had several false evacuation warnings
in the past, but never from a storm of this magnitude.
So the city was left with primarily its less fortunate occupants. They were
There is a reason the city has gone under martial law. Looting for supplies
is one thing. Stealing TV's is another. What are you going to do with a TV
when there is no electricity in the city? What good does shooting at supply
trucks and helicopters do? How does raping people in the Superdome
garner sympathy for a dying city? These are the kind of people who are
hardening the hearts of other Americans
Luckily, Americans have gotten a reputation globally for helping other
countries in times of need. Who would have imagined that Iran would be the
first country to lend us a hand and donate millions of dollars for our relief
fund? Venezuela has extended their sympathy and offered money, food,
and supplies. This is only a week after Pat Robertson clamored for the
assassination of their leader. Kuwait is doing what they can to get us
supplies, money, and drive the price of fuel down. Their leader, Sheikh
Ahmad al-Fahd al-Sabah, says Americans paid the ultimate price with the
blood of our sons so they could be free. This is the least they could do to
repay us. To all those countries, I say thank you.
I’m not going to go on a tangent about faults or solutions. I have way too
many friends affected by this who are going through so much. Their ways of
life are changed forever. Some do not want to return to New Orleans for
fear of it ever happening again. That, and they’d just rather start over. I
don’t blame them.
I give Texas a hand as I haven’t seen one city who has turned away the
victims (I hate the word refugees) of Katrina. Sure, some are turned away,
but only because they cannot hold any more. The good thing is that there
Many who are lending a helping hand are turning away the news crews.
Some of them are turning them away because they don’t feel the need for
credit for showing love for our neighbors. Others turn them away because
the victims have had cameras in their faces all week in the hardest times of
their lives. All they need is rest, comfort, food, and hope that their loved
ones are still alive, not some news station trying to get a story.
I’d like to go on, but as I am only one guy who is relatively unaffected by it, I
have no business bitching. To my friends and family who are suffering from
this loss, my thoughts and prayers are with you. To those who are doing all
they can to help out those people who are in need, God Bless you. And to
those who are acting like animals and making life hell for everyone involved,
shame on you. There may be a worse place than this reserved for you.
Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama: This “T” is for you!
T-BONE!
