This entry brought to you by Captain Obvious
This has been said over and over throughout the past week. I still feel the need to say it myself, though.
I cannot imagine what today would be like if my home were New Orleans. I can't imagine having to leave everything behind and now know I wouldn't be coming back for weeks or months, to suddenly have no place to call my own, to not know what had happened to all of the people I knew, if I was lucky enough to be able to account for all of my close friends and relatives. To know that my home might be under water, or if not, had probably been thoroughly looted. Or what if I hadn't gotten out of the city before the storm? We've all been seeing images and film that give an inkling, but then people who are lucky, like I am, can turn off the television or close the newspaper or get off the internet.
I don't have any close friends or family in New Orleans, but as of this morning I've learned that everyone I do know in the area is fine, though some are displaced. That's good news.
The thing I can't let go of, though, is anger at the people who were supposed to be in charge of all this ... the evacuation, the immediate (yes, immediate) response, and the relief in subsequent days. And also the anger at people who are not angry. I have heard so many people argue that what we need to do at a time like this is band together, to do what we can to help out, to not criticize the relief effort or the president. And that, my friends, is bullshit. Not the first part. Of course we need to help out in any way we can, but the idea that helping out and demanding accountability for the intolerably slow and inadequate response to this tragedy are mutually exclusive is ridiculous. Not to mention dangerous. I have donated to the Red Cross and scouted volunteer opportunites; do I have permission to speak?
From people in New Orleans and people in Houston and other areas where evacuees have been taken, I have heard stories of total disorganization and lack of supplies. It has been nearly a week. The speed and magnitude of this response have been unacceptable; it's that simple. And the accountability falls on the heads of our government. The president doesn't make decisions in a bubble, but guess what? The buck stops with him. Coaches of teams get fired when a team does badly. Players get traded right away. That's the way things work. I wonder if things wouldn't be better sometimes - and if we'd see more accountability between elections - if things were the same in government. (Yes, I know there are many, many problems with this scenario, but I wonder all the same.) No, I cannot give a detailed tactical plan of everything that needs to be done, but the idea that I should need to is absurd. If a surgeon killed all of his patients through ineptitude, would anyone suggest that I shouldn't find fault with him because I wouldn't be able to perform the surgery myself?
I expect an apology to the people of New Orleans when this calms down, and I expect explanations of what was done wrong and what will be done correctly in the future. Sadly, I doubt we will get either one.
I cannot imagine what today would be like if my home were New Orleans. I can't imagine having to leave everything behind and now know I wouldn't be coming back for weeks or months, to suddenly have no place to call my own, to not know what had happened to all of the people I knew, if I was lucky enough to be able to account for all of my close friends and relatives. To know that my home might be under water, or if not, had probably been thoroughly looted. Or what if I hadn't gotten out of the city before the storm? We've all been seeing images and film that give an inkling, but then people who are lucky, like I am, can turn off the television or close the newspaper or get off the internet.
I don't have any close friends or family in New Orleans, but as of this morning I've learned that everyone I do know in the area is fine, though some are displaced. That's good news.
The thing I can't let go of, though, is anger at the people who were supposed to be in charge of all this ... the evacuation, the immediate (yes, immediate) response, and the relief in subsequent days. And also the anger at people who are not angry. I have heard so many people argue that what we need to do at a time like this is band together, to do what we can to help out, to not criticize the relief effort or the president. And that, my friends, is bullshit. Not the first part. Of course we need to help out in any way we can, but the idea that helping out and demanding accountability for the intolerably slow and inadequate response to this tragedy are mutually exclusive is ridiculous. Not to mention dangerous. I have donated to the Red Cross and scouted volunteer opportunites; do I have permission to speak?
From people in New Orleans and people in Houston and other areas where evacuees have been taken, I have heard stories of total disorganization and lack of supplies. It has been nearly a week. The speed and magnitude of this response have been unacceptable; it's that simple. And the accountability falls on the heads of our government. The president doesn't make decisions in a bubble, but guess what? The buck stops with him. Coaches of teams get fired when a team does badly. Players get traded right away. That's the way things work. I wonder if things wouldn't be better sometimes - and if we'd see more accountability between elections - if things were the same in government. (Yes, I know there are many, many problems with this scenario, but I wonder all the same.) No, I cannot give a detailed tactical plan of everything that needs to be done, but the idea that I should need to is absurd. If a surgeon killed all of his patients through ineptitude, would anyone suggest that I shouldn't find fault with him because I wouldn't be able to perform the surgery myself?
I expect an apology to the people of New Orleans when this calms down, and I expect explanations of what was done wrong and what will be done correctly in the future. Sadly, I doubt we will get either one.
Labels: politics
posted by BeeKay at 1:44 PM
2 Comments:
For the record B, i'm plenty angry and there really is plenty of accountability to be asked of people in lieu of how horrible everything is playing out. I guess in some cases it just seemed like there was more complaining than discussion on ways to help...which goes way beyond a donation of $. Plus, reagrdless if some will admit it or not, it's being used to spout off on their own politcal agendas...making it about themselves versus the people suffering...and as much as I hate W, that's just cold.
So, yeah, I hear what you're saying and I get it. Just had to respond, as that post had my name written all over it. Love the blog BTW, good stuff. Peace.
Yeah, I hear you Kev. I just don't like the implication (which I've been hearing a lot, from many sources) that any sort of criticism and the "blame game" is out of line right now. It's unfortunate that some people are using this to further their personal political agendas, but there is also plenty of warranted anger. I don't think that this is a bad thing. I think that pissed off people tend to get a lot accomplished, actually.
Some of the more ridiculous things I've read against W (unfortunately, much has come from good old Michael Moore) make me kind of angry as well, since they're so over the top that they just give the "other side" plenty of ammo in saying that the frothy liberals are all crazy, and feeling free ignore any actual valid criticism. For the record, I know a lot more went wrong than just W can account for. There are plenty of people who need to answer for their action/inaction.
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