I'm just sick about the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi and the unfathomable slowness of the federal government to respond. And I feel so helpless, watching and reading about the thousands of people who are suffering and dying.
Yesterday at work, a coworker shared that the Dallas Salvation Army was holding a one-day drive for supplies to then take to the ravaged area. He and I went to Sam's at lunch and filled two carts full of bottled water, diapers, canned food, and other needed items. Today, I've been hearing additional means of donating money, items, time and even housing. Several thousand refugees are being sent to the Dallas area.
As many others have blogged about and expressed on TV, WHY has it taken so long for the government to get there? How can you just let all those innocent people die? How can you value the life of someone a world away in Iraq or Indonesia to send immediate aid, but leave the people of your own country to descend into hell?
5 comments:
You and everyone else who thinks things are moving SO slowly have unrealistic expectations. You can't have an army of people and supplies just standing by for what MIGHT happen! It takes a little time to gather and move that many people and that much stuff. It's simply not possible to do it overnight and it didn't happen that quickly in Iraq or Indonesia or anythwhere else either.
Furthermore, this problem would be a whole lot easier to handle if SO many people hadn't thought they knew better and ignored the orders to evacuate.
Finally, it certainly doesn't help that there are so many people down there looting and raping and beating people to death, not to mention SHOOTING at the people that are trying to help them! The hospitals would have been empty long ago if there hadn't been snipers taking shots at the helicopters!
How about banding together and trying to do something constructive? No, they'd rather all sit around and whine and moan to every camera that walks by, while meters away they're keeping the police from getting to women being beaten and raped.
I guess it's easier to just sit back and blame the government for everything though, anything else might require some people to take responsibility for their own actions.
I too share your frustration, Emily. The main purpose of our Federal Government is to take care of its people and it has done a poor job so far.
I'm responding to the anonymous comment who thinks these people put themselves in this situation and shouldn't be complaining about the horendous conditions they are living in. Officials did know about this ahead of time and did not provide the poor people of New Orleans any way to get out of the city. Instead, they told them to go to the superdome and the convention center and then promptly forgot about them. These people should have been a priority and how hard is it to provide them with water! Maybe if they had been properly treated as human beings that we all care about, a small percentage of the people would not have had to resort to some of this behavior. Get your head out of your ass and look at all the people needlessly suffering and show a little humanity!
Like I said, it's all the governments fault and no one is responsible for their themselves or their own actions.
The government needs to provide their housing, the government needs to feed them, the government needs to educate them, and apparently now the government needs to provide them with a car and the sense to get out of town when a hurricane is headed their way. Meanwhile, they just sit at home and get fat enjoying the life my taxes provide for them.
You bleading heart liberals are all the same, you'll never be happy until everyone is living out of Uncle Sam's pocket. I'm just not sure where you think the money will come from if everyone is living on handouts. I suppose that sort of thinking is a little farsighted for you.
Wow! I don't normally leave comments on Blogs, but I can't leave this alone. I watched this storm develop like I know the people of the Gulf Coast did. They certainly did know that a category 5 hurricane was comming. There was no doubt the inevitable was going to happen.
As far are getting out in time. I personally know of three families in the area. One of them had their house and belongings wiped off the map. Many thousands of people tried to get out and couldn't due to the mass exodus. They had no choice but to turn around and go to one of the shelters.
The shooting at the rescuers I just don't understand. I don't know where the urge would come from to do such a thing. As far as looting, I'd be first in line to get food, water, clothes, or diapers for my children, especialy after nearly a week in that awful environment. If you watch the people looting in New Orleans, this is exactly what they are taking. Yes, there are a few bad apples, but with no help from anywhere else, they are indeed being responsible for themselves and their families.
By Emily donating items and money to the cause she is definitely doing something constructive and banding together with the other millions of people that have donated 100's of millions of dollars to help the cause.
In most people's opinion, regardless of their political affiliation, the governments primary roll is to protect their people.
Finally, this is an awful natural disaster. Let's band together and show support for the people in the Gulf Coast region by donating, and volunteering to get a large part of our country out of a third world situation. Let us not trade political barbs on someone's blog. That does nothing to help anyone.
Anthony Martin
Well said,Emily!!! I agree that Governments are sometimes slow to react to disasters..but this one was on your own doorstep!! We had it every day/night on the radio and T.V. and we felt for those people, we really did.We also learned that each person was going to be given $2,000..won't buy much will it? God bless them all and give them the strength to recover from the devastation. A.Norma.x
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