So Not Politically Correct
Sep. 2nd, 2005 11:45 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
rangersylFirst off, hats off to the Republic of Texas for showing us all how it's done.
Secondly, anyone who has not done so, please find a way to help out.
I have to say it, though I know it's not popular. My opinion is as valid as anyone else's.
What irritates me the most, I think, about all the finger-pointing going on right now is that it insults the first responders, volunteers, and all good people who have been on the ground from before the storm. Politic if you must, but don't demoralize these wonderful people who are risking their lives to save others.
It hurts as an American to see the devastation and the agony of the Gulf region. It is, quite frankly, embarrassing. But let's put it into perspective: this storm has literally obliterated 90,000 square miles of the country. It is equivalent in scope to a tsunami wiping out the whole of the British Isles. Very few countries on earth could have absorbed this hit without complete collapse of the government. No one on earth, not even the US, could mobilize aid fast enough. What has been done so far is truly remarkable. We have plenty and then some of resources to send to help out, the problem is simply logistics. They will get there.
But as many seem to want to point fingers, I'll join in. There's so much blame to go around, let's share the love.
1) The Entire Population of the United States of America. In short, precious few of us seemed to think the levee system in New Orleans was serious enough to force our elected officials to abandon some of their pork to get the proper funding to the Army Corps of Engineers. There's more than enough short-sightedness to go around.
2) The President. Let me get back to him.
3) The Congress. See 1 above.
4) The Department of Homeland Security. I work with these folks every day, and while they are great and try hard, this massive groaning bureacracy is severely dysfunctional and suffers severe morale problems. In the coming days we may learn if FEMA has been been strengthened or weakened by its being swallowed up by this behemoth. See #s 1, 2, and 3 for responsibility for this mess.
5) The State of Lousinana. Mississippi was devastated on a far, far worse scale. The storm ran straight through the length and breadth of this state. Yet the governor made it quite clear that looting would not be tolerated; he mobilized and effectively used his resources, and there was very little evidence of rioting or other problems. Alabama was smacked too, and they seem to be doing fairly well. In fact, AL and MS have provided their National Guard troops to Lousiana! This smacks of poor planning on the part of the state government in LA. Newsflash: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS AS THEY ARE ALWAYS FIRST ON THE GROUND AFTER A DISASTER.
These people had as many as 5 days to realize that a hurricane may be headed their way. As time passed, the strength and direction of the storm was tracked minute by minute. The state of LA has a lot to answer for in terms of why all of their Guard was not mobilized on the ground, why the emergency communications system collapsed, and why they didn't ask for additional troops from the other states in the union or the federal government. The scale of the potential disaster was quite apparent to me sitting in my living room and watching the news on Saturday. Surely somebody in LA must have had a premonition.
6) The City Government of New Orelans. In the best of times, NO is a corrupt and dangerous city, like so many others in our country. The city government threw up their hands and lost control of the situation. Why did the mayor give an evacuation order and then not use public school buses to transport the poor and sick out of the city? Right now, hundreds of school buses are sitting in a yard under five feet of water, useless. Why were the police precincts and firehouses not adequately stocked with food and supplies? Evacuation plans and first responders are the responsibility of the city government.
7) Citizens making poor choices. Let's inject some personal responsibility here. People who chose, for whatever reason, to stay in the city made a terrible mistake. Bad choices have consequences, and these consequences are heartbreaking to behold. People who had the means should have left and taken others with them, freeing up resources for those who truly had no choice (see #6).
In my earthquake-prone region, we are constantly reminded that we should be prepared to be on our own for a minimum of three days before government help arrives. These guidelines are on the FEMA website, the Red Cross, Ready.gov and anywhere else you'd care to look. Never has it been made more apparent than in this disaster. It took three days (from the time the flooding started) for massive help to pour into the city.
150,000+ people sitting around waiting for immediate government help them are bound to be disappointed.
8) Lawbreakers. The entire relief effort was stalled for at least one full day by the looters and armed gangs. Nobody has a problem with folks taking food to survive (or even an entire school bus for a makeshift evacuation as was actually done by an enterprising young man) but stealing dvds and jewelry, taking potshots at rescuers and placing whole hospitals under seige is inexcuseable and precisely the reason that there are laws on the books to shoot looters on sight.
Let's remember that it was these lawbreakers who are willfully responsible for holding back the tide of relief, not the people who were trying to get the relief in. If #s 5 and 6 had been adequately prepared -- and who but the Mayor and Police Chief of New Orelans understand better their own crime problem -- then the relief we saw today would have been marching in yesterday.
Back to 2) The President. He is, ultimately the point man for all this and as such as a responsibility to be enaged and quick to react. He does not, however, have the ability to magically teleport troops and material into a region where the roads are impassable. Which apparently, #s 5, 6 and 7 expected him to do. The laws of this country do not grant him the authority to put the National Guard under federal command unless #5 requests. He must go through numerous legal hoops to get around the commitas posse laws that prevent active duty military from taking on law enforcement duties. Should he have begun the process sooner? Yup. We'll have to see if FEMA performs adequately, and if not, he should remove them from DHS. Should he have pushed #3 to fix the levees? Yup.
What do I want from him? He needs to step up to the plate and clean up the mess he inherited from numbers 3 through 8. He should tell the citizens of the country in no uncertain terms to conserve energy -- which he seems to have a kneejerk reaction to NOT do. The 8-mile long convoy that arrived in New Orleans today is a first step. We need to see troops restoring order in New Orleans. The city needs to be evacuated and the citizens of New Orleans need to go to temporary shelters so that the good people of this country can take care of them. And lastly, he needs to find somebody who understands how to design a city in a flood plain so we don't ever have to deal with this again.
Rant over.
I've made my donations, and while I'm still depressed about the horror of it all, I feel better having done something.
And on a personal note, our family is reviewing our disaster preparedness plans, and I encourage everyone to do so.
Secondly, anyone who has not done so, please find a way to help out.
I have to say it, though I know it's not popular. My opinion is as valid as anyone else's.
What irritates me the most, I think, about all the finger-pointing going on right now is that it insults the first responders, volunteers, and all good people who have been on the ground from before the storm. Politic if you must, but don't demoralize these wonderful people who are risking their lives to save others.
It hurts as an American to see the devastation and the agony of the Gulf region. It is, quite frankly, embarrassing. But let's put it into perspective: this storm has literally obliterated 90,000 square miles of the country. It is equivalent in scope to a tsunami wiping out the whole of the British Isles. Very few countries on earth could have absorbed this hit without complete collapse of the government. No one on earth, not even the US, could mobilize aid fast enough. What has been done so far is truly remarkable. We have plenty and then some of resources to send to help out, the problem is simply logistics. They will get there.
But as many seem to want to point fingers, I'll join in. There's so much blame to go around, let's share the love.
1) The Entire Population of the United States of America. In short, precious few of us seemed to think the levee system in New Orleans was serious enough to force our elected officials to abandon some of their pork to get the proper funding to the Army Corps of Engineers. There's more than enough short-sightedness to go around.
2) The President. Let me get back to him.
3) The Congress. See 1 above.
4) The Department of Homeland Security. I work with these folks every day, and while they are great and try hard, this massive groaning bureacracy is severely dysfunctional and suffers severe morale problems. In the coming days we may learn if FEMA has been been strengthened or weakened by its being swallowed up by this behemoth. See #s 1, 2, and 3 for responsibility for this mess.
5) The State of Lousinana. Mississippi was devastated on a far, far worse scale. The storm ran straight through the length and breadth of this state. Yet the governor made it quite clear that looting would not be tolerated; he mobilized and effectively used his resources, and there was very little evidence of rioting or other problems. Alabama was smacked too, and they seem to be doing fairly well. In fact, AL and MS have provided their National Guard troops to Lousiana! This smacks of poor planning on the part of the state government in LA. Newsflash: DISASTER PREPAREDNESS IS A RESPONSIBILITY OF LOCAL AND STATE GOVERNMENTS AS THEY ARE ALWAYS FIRST ON THE GROUND AFTER A DISASTER.
These people had as many as 5 days to realize that a hurricane may be headed their way. As time passed, the strength and direction of the storm was tracked minute by minute. The state of LA has a lot to answer for in terms of why all of their Guard was not mobilized on the ground, why the emergency communications system collapsed, and why they didn't ask for additional troops from the other states in the union or the federal government. The scale of the potential disaster was quite apparent to me sitting in my living room and watching the news on Saturday. Surely somebody in LA must have had a premonition.
6) The City Government of New Orelans. In the best of times, NO is a corrupt and dangerous city, like so many others in our country. The city government threw up their hands and lost control of the situation. Why did the mayor give an evacuation order and then not use public school buses to transport the poor and sick out of the city? Right now, hundreds of school buses are sitting in a yard under five feet of water, useless. Why were the police precincts and firehouses not adequately stocked with food and supplies? Evacuation plans and first responders are the responsibility of the city government.
7) Citizens making poor choices. Let's inject some personal responsibility here. People who chose, for whatever reason, to stay in the city made a terrible mistake. Bad choices have consequences, and these consequences are heartbreaking to behold. People who had the means should have left and taken others with them, freeing up resources for those who truly had no choice (see #6).
In my earthquake-prone region, we are constantly reminded that we should be prepared to be on our own for a minimum of three days before government help arrives. These guidelines are on the FEMA website, the Red Cross, Ready.gov and anywhere else you'd care to look. Never has it been made more apparent than in this disaster. It took three days (from the time the flooding started) for massive help to pour into the city.
150,000+ people sitting around waiting for immediate government help them are bound to be disappointed.
8) Lawbreakers. The entire relief effort was stalled for at least one full day by the looters and armed gangs. Nobody has a problem with folks taking food to survive (or even an entire school bus for a makeshift evacuation as was actually done by an enterprising young man) but stealing dvds and jewelry, taking potshots at rescuers and placing whole hospitals under seige is inexcuseable and precisely the reason that there are laws on the books to shoot looters on sight.
Let's remember that it was these lawbreakers who are willfully responsible for holding back the tide of relief, not the people who were trying to get the relief in. If #s 5 and 6 had been adequately prepared -- and who but the Mayor and Police Chief of New Orelans understand better their own crime problem -- then the relief we saw today would have been marching in yesterday.
Back to 2) The President. He is, ultimately the point man for all this and as such as a responsibility to be enaged and quick to react. He does not, however, have the ability to magically teleport troops and material into a region where the roads are impassable. Which apparently, #s 5, 6 and 7 expected him to do. The laws of this country do not grant him the authority to put the National Guard under federal command unless #5 requests. He must go through numerous legal hoops to get around the commitas posse laws that prevent active duty military from taking on law enforcement duties. Should he have begun the process sooner? Yup. We'll have to see if FEMA performs adequately, and if not, he should remove them from DHS. Should he have pushed #3 to fix the levees? Yup.
What do I want from him? He needs to step up to the plate and clean up the mess he inherited from numbers 3 through 8. He should tell the citizens of the country in no uncertain terms to conserve energy -- which he seems to have a kneejerk reaction to NOT do. The 8-mile long convoy that arrived in New Orleans today is a first step. We need to see troops restoring order in New Orleans. The city needs to be evacuated and the citizens of New Orleans need to go to temporary shelters so that the good people of this country can take care of them. And lastly, he needs to find somebody who understands how to design a city in a flood plain so we don't ever have to deal with this again.
Rant over.
I've made my donations, and while I'm still depressed about the horror of it all, I feel better having done something.
And on a personal note, our family is reviewing our disaster preparedness plans, and I encourage everyone to do so.
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no subject
Date: 2005-09-04 06:20 pm (UTC)Thanks.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-05 03:01 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-04 11:52 pm (UTC)Oh, and we're reviewing our disaster preparedness plans ourselves -- going through the earthquake kit and replacing what needs replacing.
no subject
Date: 2005-09-05 03:02 am (UTC)Kudos on the earthquake kit! I need to replace the expired items in my car kits, too.