a different tale from vicitims of katrina

[neanderthal]

i thought i'd post this. tells a different story, one that is saddening, frightening, outrageous, yet true. just goes to show there is always more to the eye

story here

 

[Solid Fro]

Lame.

Only if the Governor or Louisiana evacuated these people before the storm, we wouldn't have this mess.

 

[Ev0]

But keep in mind there were many people who refused to abandon their homes, and to the best of my knowledge, the resources to carry out a mass evacuation of the entire city were not in place.

 

[ceiling_fan]

I wouldn't go as far as to say the relief effort was racist, but as Viper Zero already said, an earlier evacuation would of been loads better.

 

[Zardoz]

"We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans."

Well, at least the Gretna Sheriff that took their food and water didn't shoot any of them. Give him credit for that.

What a thoroughly sickening story. Thanks for posting it. As time passes, we'll find out more about what was really going on down there from eyewitness accounts like this.

 

[Joey D]

I sick of the whole racist thing, some black people give a bad name to all the good up standing black citizens of America. I think that sickens me the most.

 

[Dave A]

They're making the most of it while they can, it's tupid to say that the whole thing was done based on racism. Granted you can't vouch for everyone there not being racist at some point, but the evacuation process was not set up to prevent black people from being saved. George W Bush, as far as I can tell is not a racist, and people that know me here know I'm not a fan of his.It's badthat it could have been sorted a lot better, but it's also bad that people are laying the balme on on people. often the wrong people but for the wrong reasons.

 

[DQuaN]

The link no longer works.

 

[Zardoz]

They moved the story. Here it is:

http://www.emsnetwork.org/artman/publish/article_18427.shtml

 

[FoolKiller]

"We questioned why we couldn't cross the bridge anyway, especially as there was little traffic on the 6-lane highway. They responded that the West Bank was not going to become New Orleans and there would be no Superdomes in their City. These were code words for if you are poor and black, you are not crossing the Mississippi River and you were not getting out of New Orleans."

This paragraph bothers me. Earlier the author stated that they were foreign tourists, conference attendees, and locals who checked into the hotel for shelter. Somehow by this point they were all poor and black. Just by stating as fact that these were code words for if you are poor and black you are not getting out of New Orleans shows that he is inserting his opinions into this story.

I don't doubt the story because I had heard other reports of people not being allowed to cross the bridge, but I think the author is giving more than just the facts. By doing so it causes his credibility to be questioned.

Just my opinion, though. Not an issue I intend to debate.

But keep in mind there were many people who refused to abandon their homes, and to the best of my knowledge, the resources to carry out a mass evacuation of the entire city were not in place.

They were, but they weren't properly implemented nor was evacuation ordered in time.

 

[ledhed]

Speaking from experiance and having had to deal with " official " disaster procedures in the past I can tell you that alot of what he said about dealing with the officials once they got out of local controll is true ...or sounds about right to me..the people doing the herding , screening and such are trying to get a job done under difficult conditions for everyone and by the time they get involved the people they are trying to help are often ....to put it mildly... " not in a very good mood " The fact that being involved in a disaster is often a VERY dehuminizing experiance at best and then add the fact that your average American has not been treated that badly EVER and you have room for some interesting confrontations . The first part of the story is being told from the veiw of the california paramedics...seems they are not aware of how things are in the New orleans area. If you are in a Town adjacent to NO and are even watching a tiny amount of what is going on there with the looting-rapes-murders etc,and all of the other unrest you may tell your sherriff to do what he has to do to keep " us " meaning that town SAFE..and screw the crazy bastards from NO...its not right..in the sense of we are all in this together etc. etc. But ..there you go ...As far as what orders the Sherriff was given and the rest of law enforcement on how to deal with this particular situation..well we will see. At any rate its just another example of what happens when society falls apart . Even if only part of it is true . It sucks .

I am continually amazed that the city of New Orleans had what looks like NO plan...none ...it was like everyone leave...then the Mayor says "see ya" ... and thats friggin IT . Is it any wonder he was having a nervouse breakdown on TV and Radio ? Hurricanes and storms and disasters are a way of life on the Gulf coast . This is amazing in that it show so much incompitence ..its just crazy . Same go's for the Governor...what the f%$#k were they thinking ?

 

[FoolKiller]

what the f%$#k were they thinking ?

They weren't.

 

[Danoff]

i thought i'd post this. tells a different story, one that is saddening, frightening, outrageous, yet true. just goes to show there is always more to the eye

story here

It's frustrating that officers would prevent the refugees from getting out of the city and then actually take the water and food they had accumulated to keep themselves alive. These were obviously people who had their heads up their rears. The officers in the surrounding area should have taken every measure to make sure that everyone got out.

The story is full of increadibly biased and fairly insane opinions, but some of what happened to them was very wrong.

 

[xXSilencerXx]

refugees.

They're not refugees they're evacuees. The word refugees seems kinda wrong in this case since they're not seeking shelter in foreign countries just their own.

Sayin that the evacuation was racist against blacks is a load of s***.

 

[Solid Fro]

Refugee can also mean someone who is displaced.

The Media loves playing these name games. Why not call them citizens? The Media wants to create a mindset to it's viewers. Saying Refugee sounds a lot worse than Evacuee or Citizen. The Media does it all the time. Bomber < Terrorist, Political Leader < Dictator, Military Combatant < Insurgent

 

[Kylehnat]

Refugee can also mean someone who is displaced.

The Media loves playing these name games. Why not call them citizens? The Media wants to create a mindset to it's viewers. Saying Refugee sounds a lot worse than Evacuee or Citizen. The Media does it all the time. Bomber < Terrorist, Political Leader < Dictator, Military Combatant < Insurgent

I totally agree. The way the media was describing it, it sounded like a completely different country. I mean, "refugee"? That conjures up thoughts of Rwandan genocide or Baltic civil war. These are people who live in the same country, speak the same language, and until recently, led extremely similar lives to the rest of us.

 

[Pupik]

The story is full of increadibly biased and fairly insane opinions, but some of what happened to them was very wrong.

Agreed, although 2-3 days of that chaos would probably put insane ideas in my head, too.

 

[dropzone]

I read that and it made me think a lot. All I can come up with is, Why? A lot went wrong with how things were/are handled. I don't want to sound rude or anything but, you know the storm is coming, it's the biggest to hit the U.S., plenty of time to get packed and escape. Why the hell not? I wanna stay, etc. etc. for what? All that's going on now. It just hurts seeing and hearing all the B.S. that the people are going through with Katrina. I was talking to my dad about this and if that happened we'd pack up the cars and leave. The predictions have never been so sure as technology has improved over time.

 

[Solid Fro]

The current excuse is that these people who did not leave were "too poor and too black". Funny how they walk around the Super Dome with cell phones, Jordan XX shoes, and G-Unit tshirts and yet, still be "poor".

It seems that these people were just not told to leave. The mayor of Louisiana nor The Media gave them no sense of this storm, they were totally unaware. If the mayor used his power to get these people onto public buses and Amtrak trains several days before the storm, then maybe things would have turned out differently.

 

[JacktheHat]

Over here in the UK, ITN ran a report where the journalist spoke of how armed police were patrolling homes owned by what were described as 'well-off whites' whilst people where still waiting, with dead bodies floating past, to be evacuated in the 'poor black' areas.

He was infuriated by the situation.

 

[FoolKiller]

Over here in the UK, ITN ran a report where the journalist spoke of how armed police were patrolling homes owned by what were described as 'well-off whites' whilst people where still waiting, with dead bodies floating past, to be evacuated in the 'poor black' areas.

He was infuriated by the situation.

Because after the National Guard and Coast Guard began their rescue operations 5,000 police officers were ordered to stop and prevent looting. The rescues didn't stop, but it also became apparent that the looting and violent crimes had become a situation that had to be dealt with.

 

[JacktheHat]

Because after the National Guard and Coast Guard began their rescue operations 5,000 police officers were ordered to stop and prevent looting. The rescues didn't stop, but it also became apparent that the looting and violent crimes had become a situation that had to be dealt with.

I'm sorry, in no way do I condone looting (unless for survival e.g. food and water) or violent crime but, the protection of peoples property is nowhere near as important as saving lives.

 

[FoolKiller]

I'm sorry, in no way do I condone looting (unless for survival e.g. food and water) or violent crime but, the protection of peoples property is nowhere near as important as saving lives.

I agree, but rescuers were being shot at and people were still being rescued by National Guard and Coast Guard. It was not as if rescue attempts were stopped.

 

[JacktheHat]

I agree, but rescuers were being shot at and people were still being rescued by National Guard and Coast Guard. It was not as if rescue attempts were stopped.

But they were reduced and resources diluted.

There were still thousands of people waiting to be rescued.

I understand that the rescuers needed protection, but did peoples property? I don't know where they (the officers) were from (police, national guard etc.) but they were guarding houses - not protecting rescuers.

 

[FoolKiller]

But they were reduced and resources diluted.

There were still thousands of people waiting to be rescued.

I understand that the rescuers needed protection, but did peoples property? I don't know where they (the officers) were from (police, national guard etc.) but they were guarding houses - not protecting rescuers.

New Orleans local police only, approximately 5,000 of them, were ordered to prevent looting and violence. Yes, some of them decided sitting in the comfortable home of the affluent was the "best way" to do this and were wrong.

The situation was bad and when gangs were roaming the streets with guns it became a desperate situation. Once federal rescue attempts were in full swing local authorities felt that the local police would be more useful preventing the violence and looting. Whether they were wrong or right I don't know, but when some National Guard troops who had been in Iraq were saying that New Orleans was worse it makes you wonder, because a dead rescuer can rescue no one.

 

[JacktheHat]

New Orleans local police only, approximately 5,000 of them, were ordered to prevent looting and violence. Yes, some of them decided sitting in the comfortable home of the affluent was the "best way" to do this and were wrong.

The situation was bad and when gangs were roaming the streets with guns it became a desperate situation. Once federal rescue attempts were in full swing local authorities felt that the local police would be more useful preventing the violence and looting. Whether they were wrong or right I don't know, but when some National Guard troops who had been in Iraq were saying that New Orleans was worse it makes you wonder, because a dead rescuer can rescue no one.

That's 5000 people who could have been out saving lives.

Perhaps if enough resources had been utilised in the first place the rescuers could have done their job before the looters arrived...

 

[Swift]

That's 5000 people who could have been out saving lives.

Perhaps if enough resources had been utilised in the first place the rescuers could have done their job before the looters arrived...

Or perhaps if 1) The people would've gotten out when told to and 2) The Mayor and Govenor would've enacted somekind of evacuation plan for those without the means to quickly leave. The looting never would have happened? What a concept.

 

[JacktheHat]

Or perhaps if 1) The people would've gotten out when told to and 2) The Mayor and Govenor would've enacted somekind of evacuation plan for those without the means to quickly leave. The looting never would have happened? What a concept.

Or if America, as a whole, had got it's act together instead of worrying whose budget it would come out of?

 

[FoolKiller]

...before the looters arrived...

You do realize that the looters were citizens of New Orleans and did not "arrive" from anywhere, don't you? These were people who were already there and started looting.

Before you say that if they had been removed in time they wouldn't have needed to loot, I will point out that the local governments screwed that up first off and then you can't just take 200,000+ people that don't want to leave out in a matter of hours.

Or if America, as a whole, had got it's act together instead of worrying whose budget it would come out of?

It was not a budget issue, it was a power issue. Federal troops cannot march on US soil without the request of local authorities. It prevents a dictatorial takeover. National Gurad are under the command of their local governors and only go to another state when requested by that state's governor and then ordered by their local governor to go or follow the orders of the president.

If they had ignored the governor of LA and just gone in then people would be calling Bush a powermonger who has superceded his own power within the US.

 

[Swift]

Or if America, as a whole, had got it's act together instead of worrying whose budget it would come out of?

I'm sorry, this is not a Federal issue in the slightest. This had very little to do with the Bush Administration. This was a local and state issue that was bungled. If you understood the way our government worked, you'd know the federal governement can't move into a state until the governer of said state ASKS for the help.

It's beyond obvious that if the local authorities were better prepared, we wouldn't have seen near as many people dead or standed. That's a no brainer. But it's easier to blame the federal Government because