Not that it hasn't been covered in great detail, but I think it's completely fine to talk about Hurricane Katrina on my site.
First off, emotion. Natural disasters happen all the time. Hurricanes, tsunamis, earthquakes, whatever. And during all that, there's the initial reaction of, 'Wow that's terrible destruction', followed by, 'I hope those people get better.'
And so I question myself, 'Why is this different?'
Usually I answer such questions, but I can't this time. All I know is that the carnage, the sheer power of the devastation is mind-blowing. But even more hurtful is the way people have been treated.
As a news article mentioned, these aren't pictures from Mogadishu or Port-au-Prince. This is America, revered as a high powered 1st world nation. On top of that, the base animalistic nature of Man is in high view. Looting, gunshots, rape, and people covered in feces and urine. And this isn't just a sampling of those in New Orleans that didn't get out. I'm also discussing ENFORCEMENT OFFICERS. They were also privy to the looting and illegal acts. Absolutely pathetic. There was one woman who tried to get her 2 year old child who got lost in a line to get on the bus. SHE WAS FUCKING MACED BY AN OFFICER WHO DIDN'T WANT HER TO GET OFF THE BUS.
One of my cousins asked if New Orleans is mostly just a black area, because of course, those shown in the news are black people who are in trouble. I told him that it's not the case, it has a number of different races. As I read more though, I learned that most of those people that are shown are poor black people who didn't even have the means to get out of town. No car, nothing. It's not just the ignorant people who thought they could just 'brave the storm'. No, these people had no way out. Is this a narrative that says that most black people are poor, or that they were pushed aside by a predominantly white bureaucratic system that was set up much earlier than the civil rights movement? I have no answer.
Perhaps- just perhaps- the reason I feel affected by this as much as I do is bc there's a deep sense of regret, remorse, and/or shame in my America. I just... maybe I didn't want these pictures to get out. And maybe I wish that I could've done
Friday, September 09, 2005
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
