Posted by TamaraJ on September 2, 2005, at 18:08:33
In reply to My rant, posted by TexasChic on September 2, 2005, at 17:58:45
I was thinking the same thing as you. I have just been shaking my head in disbelief at the delayed response the people of the areas hit by Katrina have been subjected to. Deprived of the basic necessicities - water, food, shelter . . . - for four days. It is all so unacceptable, and it is beyond heartbreaking. I agree with you, TexaxChic, the government, IMO (and I am sorry if I offend anyone) was caught with its pants down. It is not like people did not know Katrina was coming. Nor could people not have known the devastation Katrina would have left in her wake, especially after Andrew. I mean, people were being asked/told to evacuate days before Katrina hit. So, why did the government not have an emergency measures plan of some kind in place that could have been implemented once the hurricane passed? I guess that is the question I have, although I know no answers will be forthcoming. Why were trucks not ready to roll into the area with provisions like food water, medical supplies, clothes, etc., to ease some of the suffering these people are experiencing. Why was the possibility of shelter not arranged on a contingency basis, and transportation waiting to roll in and take these people to safey? Why? Why? Why? People should not be standing in the streets screaming We want help! We want help! four days after the fact.
> The government knew it was coming, but they just left it up to the individuals to get themselves out! Why didn't the gov. help them?! So many people had no means to get out! They didn't even try to get the ill, elderly, and children out. Then, knowing the terrible conditions these people were stuck in, they still left them for days in unsafe, unsanitary conditions with no food or water. I just feel like the gov. really dropped the ball on this one. They should have been better prepared to handle this after the 9/11 experience. Its no wonder its chaos and violence, that's the way people get when desperate and scared. And these people are terrified. They think they are forgotten and ignored. They think that because the majority is black that they are not getting the immediate attention they would have otherwise. This whole thing just makes me sick to my stomach. I just needed to vent, I hope I didn't inadvertantly insult anyone. Please regard it as a miscomunication if I did.
>
> -T
poster:TamaraJ
thread:548814
URL: http://www.dr-bob.org/babble/social/20050828/msgs/550010.html