Day Five of Fury

I read another comment today - this time from someone in the UK whom I summarily blasted - about the deplorable way in which New Orleans and Louisiana responded to the needs of their impoverished citizens prior to the storm, not taking the necessary measures to evacuate more people, save more lives. I am again appalled at the simplicity of thinking that generates these sorts of comments. The dilemma of poverty in America is not so simple, the blame neither so easily placed nor so readily deserved.

There were many reasons for people remaining behind to await the storm - very few had to do with the ability to leave, except where transportation was truly lacking, but rather with the lack of choice of where to go. The impoverished were offered transportation - to the shelter of the Superdome, which only afterward became a poor choice. In previous storms, the Dome has been a semi-comfortable shelter for many people. Not home, but not desolate. It was the best we had to offer, considering the unpredictable nature of the storm. What if the city had sent people in the direction the storm chose to take? What then? What would have been the analysis then?

And this storm was mightier, much mightier, than any storm for many years. For the first time in 25 years, I evacuated. I felt this one was different. I was scared, and I have never feared a storm in my life, having grown up with tornadoes and having lived these past years with hurricanes. I am one of those who sit on the porch to watch the fury of nature. But this one ... my god, it was big. So big. To see the map and this damned storm covering the gulf from shore to shore, filling it to overflowing, no sign of the ocean waters beneath ... and to see that eye, tight, powerful, holding on to so much force. And to see just how far from the eye were the winds. No one should have been able to look at that and stayed behind. No one. But anyone looking at that must have wondered, as did I, just how far must I go to get away?

We drove, my daughter and I, for twelve hours. Due north. Roads to the west were jammed and roads to the east were still in the possible path for far too many miles for me to trust them. We drove north, into Arkansas; the first hotel available was 9 hours away. I have friends living a few hours beyond that, so we drove further.

I am sure the world will always believe that the poor were left to perish. But the world sees what the media shows and only that. After all, how newsworthy are the white folks who stayed behind because they didn't want to leave? Of course, that would put an entirely different spin on the story.

Not that poverty isn't an issue, but not for the reasons the media implies or the world infers. The reasons are much more complicated. I strongly believe that if the city had offered free lodging in hotels in Houston and Dallas and Memphis and had presented a streamlined charter bus with full-screen TVs for in-route movies, and all the food they could eat, very few of the impoverished would have remained in the city. The fact is, riding out the storm was a helluva lot more exciting than sitting it out in the Superdome.

I also strongly believe a certain contingent of those who remained behind in the center of the city did so in order to take advantage of the situation. If you are a thief and I tell you everyone in town is going to be gone for twelve hours ... everyone ... would you not stay? Yes, I am quite sure there were many of those who are looting now - for merchandise, not for food - who saw this as an opportunity.

As for the wealthy white population ... I suppose it is because they are so rich that so many are still awaiting evacuation, still in shelters, still wondering where they are going to live.Yes, the wealthy have more options. It has always been this way, and it will remain this way. With means comes opportunity. It is this that inspires people to achieve wealth. It is this that is the basis for our democratic, economically republic society. We have, as a country, denounced economic systems that prohibit or even limit the commerce that makes wealth possible. We actively seek to force our economic system and standards onto other nations. We can't have it both ways. If we have economic competition, we will continue to have those who achieve and those who do not. How can we, then, pass judgment when the system works in exactly this way?

Yes, the wealthy had a place to go and the means to get there on their own. The poor had the option of public transportation to public shelters. Many of the poor did stay because they could not afford to go anywhere but to these shelters, and shelters are not attractive in the best of times. I am curious as to what supports other countries - which are so quick to criticize - have in place to accommodate one million plus evacuees. I am sure we could learn from your example. What do you have set up to offer them as immediate, emergency housing? What do you have to offer for transportation to the sites, other than buses?

Remember, although we know these storms are coming, we cannot predict exactly where - and the when is predictable within only a few days, most of the time. I suppose a mobile evacuation site would be the answer. I suppose other countries have this - to accommodate one million plus people? And of course they have reserves of food and water stored there, with bedding and blankets? And doctors, hundreds of doctors and nurses, waiting for days, just in case ... And of course they have enough vehicles to provide the transportation?

As for the looting ... remember, most of those looting had nothing before the storm damage. Now many of them have wide-screen TVs. The local news media has made little reference to those who are looting for food, water, essentials, other than to say it is happening and to comment on the desperation. It is the looting for electronics, jewelry, guns, etc, that most of us living this madness have a problem with. And to tell you the truth, I have little problem with that. Where the heck are they going to plug in that big ol’ TV? How are they going to protect it from the rising water? How are they going to escape the typhus and other dreadful diseases they will contract from walking in that polluted water? My theory is, let them loot and drown with their plunder. But then, I have never believed we can "fix" everything. Some things are way too far beyond our control. Let nature take its course. It usually wins.

Was poverty an issue in the number left behind, the number left to be rescued, the number left to die? Of course, it is an issue. It is always an issue. Poverty has been an issue for years in this country. However, where was the indignation of the national leaders, the national black leaders, before the storm? How many millions of dollars have other nations sent to the US to save our starving children? How man of those in this country raising money for those in others have acknowledged that we have a huge problem with poverty and hunger and the diseases they beget right here on our one doorstep? Why did you wait until now to get angry about this? And when are you going to DO something?
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