· Sep 5, 09:11 PM by Andy
A brief departure from the realm of pop culture today and, instead, a little talk about the mess that is now New Orleans.
I have been reading the news about the devastation that has been heaped upon New Orleans and so many thoughts go through my head. The destruction is awesome – awesome in the sense of large, remarkable, ginormous, pick your adjective – and the level of human suffering… the human suffering is difficult to really grasp. I am inclined to think of that time-honored chestnut: there, but for the grace of god go I.
Problem with that one is I don’t believe in god. Kinda strange idea, this god thing. So many true ones to choose from and this heaven, hell, spiritual limbo, zen, reincarnation and uh, forget it, let’s not even bother spinning too far off on pros and cons of believing in a fictional character.
I do believe, though, that there is an intrinsic need for balance in the earth’s forces and processes. I’m not going Gaia or anything like that, except when I am of course, but more of just a kinda evening out of energy or something like that that balances out the planet. It’s a huge system that we are all involved in, one that is always searching for balance. When this and that happen over here and there then the whole system starts self-correcting in order to balance things out; wherever here and there are, and… well, you get the point.
So this brings me to New Orleans. Horrible, isn’t it, to see so many people floating around face down in the flooded streets of what use to be a city. Volunteers and rescue workers are finding others drowned in their attics or other previously high spots where they thought they would be safe. To top this all off, there are some yahoos (props to J. Swift) taking pot shots at rescue workers to protect their looting activities.
Horrible, awful, whatever other ways the talking heads on the tv are describing it, ain’t it. The thing is, I just can’t seem to develop a whole lot of sympathy for the people of New Orleans as a group. I have this feeling that they got what they deserved and probably got off a little light.
Don’t agree? Let’s go to the tape.
The people of the great city of New Orleans were warned how many times to leave? They most likely even tuned into whatever they choose as their news sources and read how the hurricane was bearing down on them with winds are 100 miles per hour, the Caribbean was getting churned up into a frenzy yet many decided they could ride it out. Brilliant. Mr. Darwin let me introduce you to some former residents of New Orleans. Strike 2.
But not everyone could afford to leave, right? That’s why the government made some half-assed, poorly thought out options available like opening up places like the Superdome as a refuge. Points for effort but it falls into the too little too late department leading to, yep, strike 3.
So there are a couple strikes against the city and those who died right off.
OK, but what is strike 1? How about the fact that the city is 2 fucking meters below sea level! Now, I’m no professional on this here subject but at some point in the history of this fair city a few million people in and out of government should have realized that building a metropolis below sea level was not the best of ideas.
But ok, I’ll give you that history has a way of making previously poor choices, or at least not well thought out, turn into facts we’re dealing with today and the city was built and expanded.
Once that happens the city elders should have gotten together and continued to get together on a weekly/daily/hourly basis to talk about contingency plans for disasters and made sure everyone from the Elders of Zion on down to Blanche DuBois know what the fuck to do when a hurricane comes or when the levee breaks. Fucking Led Zeppelin knew this was going to happen and it seems they were better prepared than just about every elected official in Louisiana or the federal government including the clowns at FEMA. But hey, emergency management isn’t their bailiwick, is it?
I could go on and on about this but, as seems painfully obvious, that the city fathers were more interested in keeping the streets safe for Girls Gone Wild: Mardi Gras than thinking about a heavy rainstorm or one of those bigger storms, what do we call them in these parts? And if you’re relying on federal help – regardless of who’s in power, donkeys or elephants – you’re pretty much admitting you’re screwed.
So sorry New Orleans, but it looked like you got what you deserved and, once again, maybe didn’t get enough of it.
Finally, on a political note, I want to comment on his eminence George II. I’ve been reading that Condi is out there talking about how the Grand Poobah isn’t a racist. I’d have to agree with her and all the other black folks who have been trotted out before her to reassure the United Statesian public that we don’t have a card-carrying KKK member running the country. For once and for all, let me make this clear THE PRESIDENT IS NOT A RACIST.
It is not black people or any people of a particular color that he doesn’t like, it is poor people he doesn’t like or, for that matter, understand. They don’t contribute money to the republican party, they typically don’t vote for his friends or him, and they keep expecting his government to do something to help them out – asking him to create more jobs or just understand that not all poor people are trying to put one over on the government, that sometimes bad things happen to people really trying.
