I have a feeling that if the Red Cross has not already asked for people to donate blood in response to Katrina, that it will soon. Blood donation website. They probably also need monetary donations.
A lot of people have lost their homes. Poor people probably don't have insurance and have lost everything. And a lot of them died, because they didn't get evacuated. What did they get? The Superdome, which quickly filled up and where they had to bring their own food and the damn roof came off.
From boing boing:
The poorest 20% (you can argue with the number -- 10%? 18%? no one knows) of the city was left behind to drown. This was the plan. Forget the sanctimonious bullshit about the bullheaded people who wouldn't leave. The evacuation plan was strictly laissez-faire. It depended on privately owned vehicles, and on having ready cash to fund an evacuation. The planners knew full well that the poor, who in new orleans are overwhelmingly black, wouldn't be able to get out. The resources -- meaning, the political will -- weren't there to get them out.
And so people with no food or drinkable water are desperate and at risk of death and so are grabbing what's available. Looting! Well, the black people are looting, the white people are "finding." (Click the link for examples of picture labeling).
The wonkette quotes Rich Lowry, with a wry comment afterwards:
"Talking about any possible looters in Mississippi, the governor said (I'm quoting from memory) that they would be dealt with 'ruthlessly,' that they are 'sub-human,' and that they would get 'a lesson they wouldn't soon forget.'" The fact that most of the looters are black is just a coincidence, we're sure.
A bad situation made worse by fucked up racism. ("Sub-human"??? Well, only if they looted, not if they just "found" the necessities of life.) Not exactly shocking coming from the south, but completely fucked up.
At least we didn't bring this natural disaster on ourselves (cue Pat Robertson talking about feminists and homos), as Democracy Now reports that the Atlantic Hurricanes of the last few years don't seem to be the result of global warming.
So, of course, it's tempting. We have had this very active last ten years, along the U.S. and gulf coasts to blame that on global warming, but looking at it statistically, that's a very difficult connection to make. I think what you are seeing mostly is a natural cycle in this case.
Right, so give blood, give money to the Red Cross and the NAACP. The south needs our help.
No comments:
Post a Comment