I honestly don’t what to say. I’m shocked, heartbroken, depressed, outraged, and just plain depleted. And as bad as I feel, I’m dry, my house is still standing, my city is still functioning.
I feel the same sense of helplessness I felt on September 11th, 12th, 13th, 2001. Once again the damage is so staggering it is hard to imagine ever being able to clean it up.
I don’t know what is going to happen, what is going to change. Back in 2001 the one redeeming factor was the outpouring of support for New Yorkers. As someone who grew up in the New York media market I always felt the derision and hostility that much of the country had for New York. It was amazing to see people put aside their their prejudices and express their support. It was comforting to know that the Great America ‘out there’ was getting an education about the toughness and resiliency of New Yorkers.
This time, there is no coming together. There is no sense of national unity. The only education America is getting is about the deep social inequality and political incompetence of New Orleans. We’re getting an education on the incompetence and indifference of the Bush administration. We don’t see a resilient city. We see a city in ruins with all sense of social order broken down.
Bush plays guitar and talks about rebuilding Trent Lott’s house. Condi Rice attends the theater and shops for shoes. Dennis Hastert goes to fundraisers and talks about abandoning New Orleans to its cruel fate.
I’ve been saying the Bush administration was cruel and venal for years. Will this catastrophe finally convince enough Americans of the truth of this observation? I have to believe it will. I can’t face the implications for our country if it doesn’t.
and plenty of tears for my country. Sure I loathe Barbour/Frist/Bush and the invisible Cheney, Rice and Powell.
And I am heartbroken that the Democrats are not here to lead. Blanco/Landreiu etc. have not been impressive. And where are Obama, Ford, Waters, Braun? I heard Braun once on the phone on CNN but that is it. Where are Kennedy and our other Senators? If I can see Maria Shriver and Celine Dion tonight, why can’t I see Democrats?
We need leaders now and for me, both Parties have left me wanting. This breaks my heart more than I can say.
You’re right, Boo. I’ve really limited my exposure to the media – basically sticking with CNN for coverage, but I’ve been wondering a few things: are there candlelight vigils for the dead? Are there books of condolences? Is there a memorial set up somewhere? Why can’t we express our sense of loss for the dead yet? Are we in denial? Or are we so floored by the horrific slackness of the recovery that we must wait until we can actually breathe once all of the living victims are saved? I don’t know. I have many questions and I feel completely lost.
I do believe that part of the reason is that there is no central point of responsibility here – the federal government has scattered its efforts throughout various agencies and there isn’t one central figurehead (screw Bush) who is effectively leading all of this. There is no show of strength. There is only chaos and uncertainty. This has to be one of the hugest beaurocratic messes I’ve witnessed in my lifetime.
I also am not getting the sense that Americans are pulling together as a result. I could be missing the coverage as I said, but I don’t feel the same national outpouring of mourning. I see endless outrage, anger and tears – and rightly so. Unfortunately though, this is stopping people from showing a united front of hope and compassion. That is truly a tragedy. That’s not the America I know.
I’m sorry. I’m sorry that your country is suffering so much. I’m sorry that it could have been avoided but wasn’t due to greed, indifference and political games. I’m sorry that I feel so powerless to help. I’m sorry that you do too. Your America has changed.
OMG – Rehnquist has just died according to CNN. Just flipping great.
I’m not holding out much hope for people pulling together. Most of my neighbors I ran into today and yesterday were focused solely on complaining about the price of gas, and almost no one mentioned the hurricane.
It breaks my heart to realize that I live in a country where kindness and compassion (and indignation at the failed leadership this week) are less important than what’s on the price sign at the gas station.
And now Rehnquist has died.
… searching for my parents. They were over the Atlantic on their way back from France when the attacks occured. Two hours away from Newark… it took another week and a flight back to Paris and then one to London before they were able to complete that trip and come home.
The skies were locked down. No flights allowed. My parents were in Gander, Newfoundland, Canada. A sibling had a medical crisis and all she wanted was her parents home with her. We could not drive up to get them and they could not fly home.
And then I heard about the flight out of the Saudi’s and the bin Ladens. I was outraged.
New Orleanians are scattered across the south right now. Families torn asunder, not knowing if the others lived or died. My search was done by the end of the day and my fears for my parents calmed by the wonder of our dear and special friends to the north. It took a week to know my parents were home and my sister could have the care she needed.
This is far worse.
I am shell shocked… again. As a nation we all are. This administration must resign. The republican agenda must not be allowed to advance one inch. Not one piece of republican legislation may be advanced. It may not.
I’m so sorry you had to go through that. There must be thousands of people who lived through similar 9/11 experiences that can help the hurricane victims pull through their hell as well. That’s a special (and extremely unfortunate) connection. I’m glad it all turned out well for you and your family. May we hear thousands of similar, victorious stories from the hurricane survivors.
There are… Gander, Newfoundland our wonderful Canadian friends showed us how to respond on a moments notice to a crisis. I am sure we will be hearing many stories of The People of the United States reacting similarly… but our government? Our government failed. They diddled and fiddled, ate cake, watched broadway shows, bought shoes and went fishing, while the people of the United States died.
bush and cheney must be forced to resign.
I’m trying to piece together a basic timeline, including the planning documents, for the disaster. So far no one walks away unsoiled. It’s here on ePluribus.
The most organized State in all this mess seems to be Florida. Like I wrote over there: maybe it’s “years of experience”. They were both recovering from, and staging for, Katrina on the 25th (Thursday last).
No partisanship allowed. Let the dead at least be buried, and the people fed. The 24th is only 21 days away.
Seethe and be organized.
New Orleans:
City left to dead and dying
“Three babies died at the New Orleans Convention Center from heat exhaustion, said Mark Kyle, a medical relief provider.” While waiting to be rescued.
A friend used the word “genocide” earlier today, I thought she was using an extreme word, then.
.
No humanity for the innocent – just collateral damage – the dead need not be counted. The poor and elderly of NOLA have no homes, who will miss them, who will collect their body when they pass away?
Hurricane Katrina victims rest as they wait for evacuation at Algier's Point in New Orleans, La. AP Photo/Rick BowmerNEW ORLEANS AP – 1 minute ago — Thousands more bedraggled refugees were bused and airlifted to salvation, leaving the heart of New Orleans to the dead and dying, the elderly and frail stranded too many days without food, water or medical care.
No one knows how many were killed by Hurricane Katrina’s floods and how many more succumbed waiting to be rescued. But the bodies are everywhere: hidden in attics, floating among the ruined city, crumpled on wheelchairs, abandoned on highways.
And the dying goes on — at the convention center and an airport triage center, where bodies were kept in a refrigerated truck.
The overwhelming majority of those stranded in the post-Katrina chaos were those without the resources to escape — and, overwhelmingly, they were black.
New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson offered Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco help from his state’s National Guard last Sunday, the day before Hurricane Katrina hit Louisiana. Blanco accepted, but paperwork needed to get the troops en route didn’t come from Washington until late Thursday …
~~~
More of Bush’s collateral damage.
Booman, I wore my brand-new Booman Tribune t-shirt today while I shopped for supplies that I donated to (a) a Camp Casey-related shipment to Covington, LA, and (b) the Austin refugee centers. After I dropped everything off, I worked for a couple of hours helping unload cars of bedding, clothes, diapers, toiletries, toys, food, etc. There was a steady stream of cars coming through, each dropping off anywhere from a couple of bags to TWO CARLOADS of supplies, which were then ferried to our three centers where Austin is housing up to 5,000 refugees from Louisiana.
The spirit of the 50 or so who were working at the donation center (some as City employees, many volunteers like me), was cooperative and upbeat. Everyone worked very hard, and we did our best to get things in the best shape we could for our guests.
All day long our public radio station kept people informed as to how they could help, where to take things, etc. At one point the DJ said, “I’m just not going to answer the phone any more, will just keep giving out these numbers.” because so many were calling asking how to help.
I couldn’t get through on the city’s volunteer 211 line– at 1:30 in the morning, or at 10:00 in the morning. Austin’s a liberal town, so maybe this is atypical, but every where I went people were pitching in to help.
What does this mean? Maybe the pulling together will be like our grassroots political movement– and the revolution (that will not be televised) is happening now.
Thank you for taking the time to write about your experiences and thank you for doing so much. There is hope. It’s just so hard to see it in the whole scheme of things right now.
I feel worse than in 2001. I feel hatred for Bush, sorrow and anxiety for the refugees…and heartbreak over the city of New Orleans. And shame. America needs to search its soul. America needs a day of reckoning. I still cannot quite believe that on top of all the other horrors visited upon us by the Bush administration, we lost New Orleans. And there are still a lot of people in peril tonight. It’s soul draining. What is in store for us next?
I have been at a loss since 2000.Cruel and venal are the best words that I have heard for this mess we are in.Venal in particular, because that is the whole theme of this corrupt, money -grubbing administration- or mal-administration.
There doesn’t seem to be any compassion or caring for anybody without MONEY, as if the Bu$hites didn’t make theirs by war-profiteering. So yes, venal is the word of the day.
America responded but FEMA stopped the help. More stories are coming out now about FEMA. Did anyone see Meet the Press today? Everyone should see the report of the president of one of the Parrishes around New Orleans-POWERFUL and damming to Bush and FEMA- it amounts to murder. Chertoff and the republicans don’t want to assess blame and fire anyone because there work to do- well horse hockey! it’s time to fire them now , they can’t do the job get someone in there that can! Brown must go!!