Posted by
Catmman on Wednesday, August 29, 2007 1:24:12 PM
A tale of two locales, one still mired in blame, hate and morass; the other rebuilding and taking on the challenges of life.
From mywaynews: (emphasis mine throughout)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20070829/D8RAONA81.htmlFirst, the attitude from New Orleans:
Protesters planned to march from the obliterated Lower 9th Ward to Congo Square, where slaves were once allowed to celebrate their culture.
Accompanied by brass bands, they will again try to spread their message that the government has failed to help people return. "People are angry and they want to send a message to politicians that they want them to do more and do it faster," said the Rev. Marshall Truehill, a Baptist pastor and community activist.
"Nobody's going to be partying." "It's an emotional time. You relive what happened and you remember how scattered everyone is now. There are relationships now that are completely over," said Robert Smallwood, a local writer. "The city has been dying this slow death. In New Orleans, you can't escape it. It's bad news every day."
I would caveat the "we're not partying" comment with this: What was one of the first priorities of the city of New Orleans in the months after Katrina? Remember? It was spending money, time, and effort putting together the next Mardi Gras. This wasn't fiddling while New Orleans drowned, but it was pretty darned close in my book!
Now Mississippi:
In Mississippi, Gov. Haley Barbour saw progress. He said Wednesday in Gulfport that about 13,000 of his state's families are still living in FEMA trailers, down from a peak of 48,000, and he expects they could all be out of the temporary housing in a year.
"We made a huge amount of progress. The character of Mississippi was revealed and it was very positive," Barbour told NBC's "Today" show.
And then this little nugget of manic idiocy:
Meanwhile, an international people's tribunal has been convened to take testimony from victims. The tribunal is being spearheaded by legal activists trying to build a case under international law accusing the United States of human rights abuses during and after Katrina.
In the microcosm of this one story, we get to the real issues of this entire disaster:
1. The people of the gulf coast had at least five days warning to leave. The ones that stayed were irresponsible and deserve some of the blame for their own losses and hardship.
2. The local and state government (primarily in Louisiana) did not act in a manner which conveyed any urgency as to the well being of their citizens or that they understood the scope of the possible disaster.
3. Louisiana, primarily New Orleans, has wasted two years finger pointing, blaming, obfuscating, and embezzling relief money to the tune of several hundred billion dollars, and they still have their hands out.
4. Other states hit that same year by Katrina, as well as Rita, have done what needed to be done to get things back on track in their communities while New Orleans, ONE CITY, gets all the press and the lions share of the relief effort.
And finally:
The people of Texas and Mississippi, and some of the citizens of Louisiana, have taken on the task of rebuilding their own lives; taking help where needed, if needed. They have rebuilt and continue to rebuild, not waiting for someone to come in and do the work for them; or complaining about every little problem which has come down the pipe.
Real Americans, proud citizens, take on adversity and meet it as a challenge. They tackle problems and don't continually lament, "Why". They do what must be done, regardless of the effort, regardless of the hardship, because they know they are the ones who control their own life. They understand that their destiny is determined by themselves, not others. Real Americans are the ones in the Gulf states who suffered from Katrina and Rita and did what was needed and put their hands to work to help themselves and each other.
They aren't the ones still standing in lines with their hands out two years later.