Controversial question

MooseIBe · #1 09-04-2005, 10:00 AM

I was discussing Hurricane Katrina with my mum and the apparent fuck up that has left thousands of people dead or stranded without food or clean water in NO. And she made the point that NO is a city with a very large non white population and implied that, had it been a rich exclusively white city, the government would have got its finger out a lot quicker to ensure that a) it wasn't so bad in the first place and b) noone was left for days without supplies.

That's a fairly big charge to make so I certainly DON'T make it ..I'd like to think that for once, race simply isn't an issue in this situation. Nonetheless, all of the pictures that I have seen of people on the streets, people queuing for food, sleeping in the superbowl, being airlifted to safety have been black people. WOULD it have been the same if NO had been an uppermiddle class white city? I hope so.

Anyway I am not trying to inflame controversy, just to get some opinions.

Dingfod · #2 09-04-2005, 10:25 AM

I would like to think the rescue effort is or was not race biased, but it sure seems to give an appearance of it. New Orleans population is over 60% black, so it stands to reason that the most of the stranded people would be black.

MooseIBe · #3 09-04-2005, 10:31 AM

It's certainly fairly incompetent whether it's race biased or not. I'd like to think that it's a preposterous idea that anyone would consciously care less about NO because it's largely black than they would about a largely white city, however.

Dingfod · #4 09-04-2005, 11:07 AM

Preposterous? That's ridiculous, there are a number of David Duke types all over this country of mine that wouldn't lift a finger to save a black person. I know a few of them myself.

Adora · #5 09-04-2005, 11:33 AM

I don't know if I have enough information to say one way or another on this issue. On one hand, the National Guards and equipment are all off in Iraq, and this would probably be the case whether it was a predominantly white or otherwise area that was affected. On the other hand, I've realised that so many stupid things have occured in this tragedy that it's possible that something utterly stupid like racism could also play an important role. I'm keeping all my options open so I don't wear out my W, T and F keys.

I guess you may argue that the government is resisting help from the Red Cross and other agencies because of a race issue. Or it could be because they are too proud to accept outside help. Or it could be because they're afraid of criticism from these agencies for the way they handled it. *shrugs*

Kanye West is still a fuckwit for opening his mouth on TV, no matter how true it might be in regards to Nero.

Petra · #6 09-04-2005, 12:17 PM

I think there were many mitigating circumstances in the tradegy and plight of these people, who have now shifted their status from fellow American citizens to refugees and insurgents.

Help is finally on it's way, though. Finally.

This is a terrible, terrible tragedy. A heartbreaking and terrifying nightmare. I'm utterly stunned.

LadyShea · #7 09-04-2005, 01:53 PM

Most of the people I saw at the shelter (from Jefferson Parish I was told) were poor, and black. Several were mentally impaired to some degree...functional, able to work, but certainly in need of clear and frequent direction in most situations...not resourseful or able to think around corners. In an emergency they would wait until they were told exactly what to do and where to go and would go there and do that. Others seemed perfectly able bodied, but from listening to conversations they were under- and un-employed.

Most were very young, single mothers. Women/children outnumbered men 3:1, unless the men were simply wandering around the town rather than sitting in the building. The children there all seemed "behind" developmentally to various degrees and one was profoundly disabled, and when faced with tablesful of donated toys, volunteers trying to read to or play with them, got overstimulated and sorta shut down.

Now, if those people had any place to go, and any means to get there...they would not have been at the Superdome waiting for help and would not be in shelters now, brought in by buses with no idea where they would end up. When someone who was stuck in the Hyatt Regency called CNN, and said, on air, there were 300 people in there (all white and assumingly had some money), a helicopter was there in minutes, escorted them through the streets to cover them from sniper fire, and put on buses in front of the the thousands waiting at the convention center and superdome.

I don't know if it was conscious or not, but yes, there was definite class preference here, and the poorest people in the US are also black.

MooseIBe · #8 09-04-2005, 02:56 PM

I didn't realise that the government WAS resisting help from the red cross.. I'd have thought they'd be trying to get help from anyone who could offer it?!

LadyShea · #9 09-04-2005, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MooseIBe

I didn't realise that the government WAS resisting help from the red cross.. I'd have thought they'd be trying to get help from anyone who could offer it?!

They're not resisting, FEMA simply forced the faith based organizations to be included. Look at the "How to help" links on various websites, they are dominated by religious organizations....too damned many. There needs to be ONE central organizer, not 30 different groups stepping on each others feet. If they want the other organizations, great, awesome, but somebody has to administor it!!

viscousmemories · #10 09-04-2005, 08:17 PM

I personally think it's more of a poverty thing than a race thing, it just so happens that the majority of the poor (at least in New Orleans area) are black. Asking whether the government would've acted more quickly to bail out an upper middleclass neighborhood is pointless really, because people with money and resources wouldn't have been (and weren't) left behind to begin with.

Lauri D · #11 09-04-2005, 10:45 PM

My personal opinion:

I don't think that "race" is necessarily an overriding issue, in the sense of individuals/families being *purposefully denied relief* on account of skin colour.

I see it more as an intrinsic problem. One that is so blind to the plight(s) of impoverished peoples, black, white or polka-dotted, that many of us who have credit cards, savings accounts, cars, and familial assistance in non-afflicted areas, that we fail to comprehend what it must be like to be wiped out entirely. No home, no car, no money, no credit, NOTHING... we are unable to walk a mile in another's shoes.

Let me imagine for a moment that I I lived in New Orleans when the "mandatory evacuation" call was sounded.

I have a car (two actually). MANY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE A CAR.

I have credit cards that would allow me to rent a car if I did not have one. MANY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE CREDIT CARDS.

Let's say
That being said, I don't believe that it is plausible or realistic to imagine that race isn't PART of the issue.

Poverty and race seem to be inextricably tied together in more than a few areas in these Great United States.

Adora · #12 09-04-2005, 11:14 PM

Here.

Quote:

Hurricane Katrina: Why is the Red Cross not in New Orleans?

* Acess to New Orleans is controlled by the National Guard and local authorities and while we are in constant contact with them, we simply cannot enter New Orleans against their orders.

* The state Homeland Security Department had requested--and continues to request--that the American Red Cross not come back into New Orleans following the hurricane. Our presence would keep people from evacuating and encourage others to come into the city.

* The Red Cross has been meeting the needs of thousands of New Orleans residents in some 90 shelters throughout the state of Louisiana and elsewhere since before landfall. All told, the Red Cross is today operating 149 shelters for almost 93,000 residents.

Etc.