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No Where to Go
Aug. 31st, 2005 01:53 pmSo now, NOW they are gonna bring in buses and transport the survivors at the Superdome to Houston so that they can live in the Astrodome. Nice. Really nice.
I'm just -- yeah, I went through evacuations and what not when I lived there and it is true that the population tends to accept/deny the level of danger kinda willy-nilly. But I don't think that with this HUGE thing getting bigger and bigger in the Gulf, that this was one of those times that the people who stayed behind did so because they under-estimated the seriousness of the situation. Not all of them.
People stayed because they had no where to go. I will keep harping on this and coming back to this and focusing on this and never ever getting over this because we need to have this drilled into our heads: People Had No Where to Go.
There was no big meeting place with buses that would transport the sick and the elderly (those living independently or with family members) and the poor and the carless. That does not exist. If you cannot leave town of your own accord and by your own means -- you don't leave town. Simple as that.
Because giving people an option as to whether they might like to protect their children or their elderly parents or themselves would just be coddling - don't you think? In a city ruled by poverty, it is obvious that the people left behind have some serious issues with their bootstraps. If they cared about their children then they should have had a good job that allowed them to buy a car and insurance (and let us not ever forget that New Orleans is one of the most costly cities in the US to insure a car) and gas and arrange to stay with family out west or in a hotel up north. Yeah - if you love your family you will do all these things, right? Cause it isn't as if finding a job is a hard thing to do -- New Orleans has tons of jobs. You could be a hotel maid or... a hotel maid... or... a busboy or.... huh. Wait, no - getting a job in New Orleans is actually kinda tough. Getting a job with a living wage is next to impossible.
I know because I was there. And as much as I loved living there, I could not find a job (even with a college diploma) that would allow me to make a living wage. And I tried. I really did but it was so hard. For a long time the trade-off seemed worth it: I lived hand-to-mouth, but I could ride my bike to the Quarter and I woke up every day knowing this. My 11 year old car was stolen and my house was broken into more than once, but the Maple Leaf Bar was 2 blocks away. My job was hard and the hours were long and I physically hurt from picking people up and caring for them and more than once I was attacked or bit or hurt or covered in waste but I was needed and the people I took care of were safe as long as I was there. And I did it until I couldn't.
But I also had a lot of benefits that no one else there did -- I was in New Orleans by choice and I always had a safety net if I couldn't make it. And I couldn't. I wanted to and one of the big regrets of my life is that I didn't make it work - but I did try as hard as I have ever tried to succeed at anything. And it was not enough.
And the kind of poverty we are talking about here isn't even the kind that I experienced - this is ingrained and deep down and generations back. It is - I don't even have the words right now - it is a part of life.
And none of this is news to anyone. The poor people of the Deep South are not putting on a brave face saying, "Oh, no. Now, y'all go on without us. We'll be fine right here." They had no choice. They had no options. The Superdome was a shelter of Last Resort but for most people it was the only other option.
And it wasn't much of an option. I could start in about the sheer stupidity of opening a shelter in which you expect thousands upon thousands of people to be trapped for at least a few days without even adequate food or water supplies for these numbers. The people that came to the shelter? Were expected. There just wasn't any supplies for them beyond what they brought in for themselves.
But what twists me up inside is that none of this was really a surprise. There are Worst Case Scenaro Disaster Model television shows shown weekly in the city during hurricane season. Those in charge new what to expect. FEMA knew what to expect. Katrina hung around in the Gulf and got bigger and bigger and slower and they knew it was coming. And yeah - the contraflow of traffic got evacuating motorists to Baton Rouge in under 4 hours instead of the usual 11. Great. That is nice evidence of planning ahead. NOW - what about everyone else?
Cause, I'd hate for George Bush to have to cut his vacation short a few days. That would be fucking tragic. And I'd hate to think that our society actually cared about protecting the lives of all of its citizens before a rescue operation had to be mounted because where is the cost-benefit in that?
And it really fucking sucks to be reminded that life is not really viewed as precious by all those pompous assholes who cry in front of abortion clinics for the camera and try to control choices I make with my body. Because apparently life is only precious if it is comprised of fetal tissue. Once born it is every man, woman and child for themselves in this unlevel playing field of life, class and geography. You fuckers.
And did anyone get the feeling this morning that Baghdad looked over at New Orleans and said "Shit, another city is trying to claim our title of Suckiest Place to Live Ever. Quick - a mass dying is in order!" cause I just feel surrounded by a surreal cloud right now. This can't be right. This can't be real. Somewhere along the way we got trapped in a movie and I really would like it if the reel would stop now. At least -- intermission. An intermission will be nice.
My god. Have you seen the pictures? To just anywhere? Everywhere. Have you seen the pictures?
I'm just -- yeah, I went through evacuations and what not when I lived there and it is true that the population tends to accept/deny the level of danger kinda willy-nilly. But I don't think that with this HUGE thing getting bigger and bigger in the Gulf, that this was one of those times that the people who stayed behind did so because they under-estimated the seriousness of the situation. Not all of them.
People stayed because they had no where to go. I will keep harping on this and coming back to this and focusing on this and never ever getting over this because we need to have this drilled into our heads: People Had No Where to Go.
There was no big meeting place with buses that would transport the sick and the elderly (those living independently or with family members) and the poor and the carless. That does not exist. If you cannot leave town of your own accord and by your own means -- you don't leave town. Simple as that.
Because giving people an option as to whether they might like to protect their children or their elderly parents or themselves would just be coddling - don't you think? In a city ruled by poverty, it is obvious that the people left behind have some serious issues with their bootstraps. If they cared about their children then they should have had a good job that allowed them to buy a car and insurance (and let us not ever forget that New Orleans is one of the most costly cities in the US to insure a car) and gas and arrange to stay with family out west or in a hotel up north. Yeah - if you love your family you will do all these things, right? Cause it isn't as if finding a job is a hard thing to do -- New Orleans has tons of jobs. You could be a hotel maid or... a hotel maid... or... a busboy or.... huh. Wait, no - getting a job in New Orleans is actually kinda tough. Getting a job with a living wage is next to impossible.
I know because I was there. And as much as I loved living there, I could not find a job (even with a college diploma) that would allow me to make a living wage. And I tried. I really did but it was so hard. For a long time the trade-off seemed worth it: I lived hand-to-mouth, but I could ride my bike to the Quarter and I woke up every day knowing this. My 11 year old car was stolen and my house was broken into more than once, but the Maple Leaf Bar was 2 blocks away. My job was hard and the hours were long and I physically hurt from picking people up and caring for them and more than once I was attacked or bit or hurt or covered in waste but I was needed and the people I took care of were safe as long as I was there. And I did it until I couldn't.
But I also had a lot of benefits that no one else there did -- I was in New Orleans by choice and I always had a safety net if I couldn't make it. And I couldn't. I wanted to and one of the big regrets of my life is that I didn't make it work - but I did try as hard as I have ever tried to succeed at anything. And it was not enough.
And the kind of poverty we are talking about here isn't even the kind that I experienced - this is ingrained and deep down and generations back. It is - I don't even have the words right now - it is a part of life.
And none of this is news to anyone. The poor people of the Deep South are not putting on a brave face saying, "Oh, no. Now, y'all go on without us. We'll be fine right here." They had no choice. They had no options. The Superdome was a shelter of Last Resort but for most people it was the only other option.
And it wasn't much of an option. I could start in about the sheer stupidity of opening a shelter in which you expect thousands upon thousands of people to be trapped for at least a few days without even adequate food or water supplies for these numbers. The people that came to the shelter? Were expected. There just wasn't any supplies for them beyond what they brought in for themselves.
But what twists me up inside is that none of this was really a surprise. There are Worst Case Scenaro Disaster Model television shows shown weekly in the city during hurricane season. Those in charge new what to expect. FEMA knew what to expect. Katrina hung around in the Gulf and got bigger and bigger and slower and they knew it was coming. And yeah - the contraflow of traffic got evacuating motorists to Baton Rouge in under 4 hours instead of the usual 11. Great. That is nice evidence of planning ahead. NOW - what about everyone else?
Cause, I'd hate for George Bush to have to cut his vacation short a few days. That would be fucking tragic. And I'd hate to think that our society actually cared about protecting the lives of all of its citizens before a rescue operation had to be mounted because where is the cost-benefit in that?
And it really fucking sucks to be reminded that life is not really viewed as precious by all those pompous assholes who cry in front of abortion clinics for the camera and try to control choices I make with my body. Because apparently life is only precious if it is comprised of fetal tissue. Once born it is every man, woman and child for themselves in this unlevel playing field of life, class and geography. You fuckers.
And did anyone get the feeling this morning that Baghdad looked over at New Orleans and said "Shit, another city is trying to claim our title of Suckiest Place to Live Ever. Quick - a mass dying is in order!" cause I just feel surrounded by a surreal cloud right now. This can't be right. This can't be real. Somewhere along the way we got trapped in a movie and I really would like it if the reel would stop now. At least -- intermission. An intermission will be nice.
My god. Have you seen the pictures? To just anywhere? Everywhere. Have you seen the pictures?
