There are so many things wrong with the media coverage and disaster relief response to Hurricane Katrina that I cannot even begin to vent. Let's just say that:
If 100,000 rich white people were deemed "low mobility" in New Orleans, FEMA, the Department of Homeland Security, Alan Greenspan, and George Bush himself would have strategerized an evacauation plan. In fact, even Dick Cheney would have been involved--just to ensure a huge contract for Halliburton to provide the transport vehicles and undertake the rebuilding.
How incredibly fucked up is it that there were cops stationed on every corner of the French Quarter to protect property while people were still stuck on their rooftops and old ladies in wheelchairs are lying in the street?! This is why in Lunamania corporations do not have more rights than people.
"I hope people don't play politics during this period." HELLLLOOOOOO! This coming from the president made a consciencious choice to gut disaster preparedness and levee maintenance funds while spending to date $191,744,800,000 on the war on Iraq. All this while full well knowing that FEMA had listed the flooding of New Orleans as one of the "top 3 most likeliest disasters." But that's not political.
AND, Bush chuckles as he dreams of sitting on Trent Lott's porch when it's re-built. Dude, does this fool ever stop stumping for those segregationists? I really think this is not the time for Bush to be fantasizing about living some sick antebellum dixieland fanatasy with some man who proudly stood by Strom Thurmond and said, "I want to say this about my state: when Strom Thurmond ran for President, we voted for him. We're proud of it. And if the rest of the country had followed our lead, we wouldn't have had all these problems over all these years, either."
While I spew uselessly, my friend as Escapevelocity has spent the last 12 hours volunteering at the Astrodome. Her account of the day is inspiring, yet a distressing reminder of how the lived experience of people on the ground are so skewed by politicians and the media. It gave me strange 9/11 flashbacks. I was remembering walking around Manhattan and feeling so disconnected from the manufactured patriotic CNN coverage calling for revenge and military responses. I guess just like back then there is so little meaningful coverage of the collective shock, mourning, and the truly newsworthy acts of compassion.
ARGH.