Over the past few days I’ve tried to avoid talking too much with people about Hurricane Katrina. I’ve even tried to avoid watching too much of the news as to not get caught up in the morbid curiosity that usually comes with disasters. But much like any thing of significant importance, its difficult to not get pulled in.

And because of that I’m sad.

The level of chaos that the situation has devolved into just saddens me. We keep hearing from the lopsided ass news reports about the looters out there “stealing” shit like spaceships and nuclear reactors and how savage the conditions have become. Ironically, what I keep seeing in pictures is people pushing food through 4 feet of water trying to find some way to survive when the prospects look hopeless.

I just don’t understand how people standing on the outside of a situation can honestly pass judgement on people getting clothes, food, and supplies from a store that is damn near destroyed in the first place. I just don’t get that at all.

I understand that a plasma television is useless when you have no where to plug it in, but I’d wager that most folks in New Orleans know that and aren’t exactly going into Best Buy to pick up some new CD’s or equipment. Further, when you’ve lost all of your wordly possessions in a matter of days, everything seems valuable. All of these assholes who are calling for the authorities to be able to shoot looters on site can all go straight to hell as far as I’m concerned. It’s so easy to see some pictures and watch some footage and assume that these people are just non-thinking primates who are looking to come up at any cost.

What we’re seeing in New Orleans is akin to what would happen anywhere and to anybody if another disaster occurred. People are watching bodies wade by them in the water. Can you imagine seeing some shit like that?? And we are upset because people are finding food in stores that are not going to miss a loaf of bread??

I guess since we have all these poor black folks down there in New Orleans right now its okay to paint the city as one big mess of savages who are looting and pillaging. There is some set of captioned pictures circulating the internet (spotted via Poplicks) that showed a vast difference in the way the “looters” were being presented. The young black man was looting, but the young white folks merely found some bread and water.

Damn I hate people sometimes.

And what annoys me is how many folks buy into this shit. Like I said, if anybody is jacking Wal-Mart for a digital camera, yeah, they’re looting…mindlessly looting, but looting nonetheless. And yes, that includes police officers as well. Anybody trying to get bread and water is not a looter. That is a person who is trying to live.

I know that not all of the coverage is wrong. The people shooting at “rescuers” and raping women aren’t helping. But I’d wager that a smaller percentage of people are doing those things than are just attempting to survive. But what do you hear on the news right now? And it’s not to say that all news outlets are doing a horrible job. It just seems that the old adage, if it bleeds its a lead is really coming through here in the worst way.

And I don’t know, but it just seems like our government is dragging its feet right now. It’s hard to rescue thousands and thousands of people, but dammit, it’s our governments duty to its citizens. I wish I could be doing more than just donating because it honestly pains me to see whats going on down there. And yet the governemt is moving at a snail’s pace in getting the necessary help down there. We can send shit overseas to help convince Afghans that we’re on their side and do the same for Iraqis…but there are dead bodies mounting and starving men, women, and children scattered throughout a city…in America.

And where is the government? Fuck that, where is Bush? He’s been making “plans” to go visit New Orleans. I’ll do him one better than that. Bush, you don’t need to go…go back to Washington and get everything in order ASAP to help the people in New Orleans, Mississippi, and Alabama. This is the kind of shit that flat out disgusts me.

For the life of me, I’ll never understand the slow response time of the government on anything. I work for the government and the very fuckers who are supposed to be in charge of action in this country. And they’re on vacation right now. Are they coming back early? Yes, but damn, it’s been a few days already. This was action that, in my mind, required immediate attention.

I see people complaining about gas prices all up and down the east coast and yes its expensive but hell, that isn’t even important to me right now. There are kids who have to see family members die in front of them. Hell, the processing center that handles my job’s payroll was in New Orleans. What does that mean?? My next check might be delayed by a week or two while they try to move the facility and get the payroll information up and running. And you know what, that isn’t important either.

I have friends who haven’t located their whole family yet. I can’t even find one of my friends yet. My boy was just able to get in touch with his family. I can’t imagine not being able to get in touch with family members. Those are the scariest days of one’s life.

We basically lost an American city a few days ago that was already in dire need of help.

Now what?

A lot of living people in Louisiana have lost their lives.

And that saddens me immensely.

To the anybody with family in Louisiana, Mississippi, or Alabama, or anybody with family affected by Hurricane Katrina, my prayers go out to you.

Other bloggers with noteworthy opinions:

Ambra Nykol: Chaos All Around

Oliver Wang: It’s About Poverty And Race, Stupid!

D.Young: Pray