sotus katrina

Katrina.. I'm inclined to ignore that issue, not because Bush screwed up (he did), but because the entire thing was bungled by government at any level. Disasters are handled best, in my observations, when ordinary people work together to resolve their common fate and when government speaks out for patience and cooperation, not "we'll take care of it". The blizzard here in Ohio several years ago, we were not plowed out from under it for several days by the city. But many people worked together to free cars from parking lots, shoveling snow with pure strangers, etc. I was very pleased by the feeling of community that unfolded unbidden, without influence, on its own (9/11 was a different story). Katrina has been handled well by ordinary citizenry, in many instances (just look at the private $). Where there is a problem is where people have taken advantage of the system or demanded the system take care of them, instead of themselves taking some responsibility first (Nagin is a perfect example). People who have taken the money and time and patience of a nation, and have done nothing to repay it through their own efforts.

While the shock and pain of losing a home and possessions, even loved ones, is a difficult and recognized issue. This cannot have been prevented by the current government. They don't control the weather. They do however issue instructions for people to get out of the way and take precautions when it's bad. To be honest, the thing I was most upset about was the stories about dogs/pets left behind. What with the toxic water, some would leap into it when they saw rescue workers on boats. The rescuers could do nothing but bite their tongues and pretend not to see the dog. Once in the water, that dog was going to die. Bringing it on board would put them at greater risk too. They were the helpless ones. People have feet, cars, planes, trains, buses to move with and hotels or friendly homes to stay in. Even we're stuck, we have stores to raid for supplies of water and food, and at worst, weapons to defend what's left of our abode. Animals have the zoo (which did fine) or a kennel (which wouldn't have). Some hotels, to their credit, looked the other way on this issue.

Certainly it will take years for the city to recover. But the situation is not helped along by the circumstances of the city's refugee population. It is not impossible to use the relocation to find work, to go to schools, to be honest and hard-working people and move on with life, even temporarily as a displaced person in our already mobile society. Many have done so. Some have not. Houston for example took in many thousands of refugees. Some of these have used the relocation to start gang wars. Others have been accused of fraud or have misused appropriated funds which were intended for relocation and assistance. I'm not surprised. But I can be disappointed too. I'll boo every time we talk about using more government money to 'lift New Orleans' out of the wake of Katrina. Considering all the money that has already been wasted. And all the money we've donated. I'm not interested in rebuilding a place that doesn't belong there (Americans are stubborn and build, and re-build, cities in stupid and dangerous locations) for people who seem to take rather than earn. Just wait your turn San Fran or LA, you're not getting any love either if a huge quake hits and this is how you act.

Addendum: The San Francisco Quake in 89 during the WS still gives me chills seeing people working on the collapsed bridges where a multi-story highway crushed motorists and workers were doing all that work with little hope of anything more than recovering bodies. The post-9-11 world we live in forgets about such things quickly, but the people that were there don't. I doubt SF would react the way it did then now however. And that's the sad part.