Can't say I disagree with most of what he says, though the language is a bit incendiary. And I apologize, but I don't have the source this came from, just the author's name.
Quote:
Originally Posted by The guy who wrote the article
An Unnatural Disaster: A Hurricane Exposes the Man-Made Disaster of the Welfare State
by Robert Tracinski
It has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it has also taken me four long days to figure out what is going on there. The reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are confronting a natural disaster. If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure.
For journalists, natural disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors, nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.
Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are suppressing an enemy insurgency.
And journalists--myself included--did not expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about rape, murder, and looting.
But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster. The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has gotten the story wrong. The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen over the past four days. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane Katrina merely exposed it to public view.
The man-made disaster is the welfare state. For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an emergency--indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what we expect from a Third World country. When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as impromptu traffic cops, directing cars through the intersection) and large ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September 11).
So what explains the chaos in New Orleans?
To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a description from a Washington Times story: "Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on. "The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire ....
"Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders." 'These troops are ... under my orders to restore order in the streets,' she said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary and I expect they will.'
" The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article shows National Guard troops, with rifles and armored vests, riding on an armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid, listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.
What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to drive away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the doctors trying to treat patients at the Super Dome? Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?
My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage last night on Fox News Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as they were known, were infamous for uncontrollable crime and irremediable squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.) What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of the sense of life of "the projects.! " Then the "crawl"--the informational phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels--gave some vital statistics to confirm this sense: 75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of the 300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects. Jack Wakeland then gave me an additional, crucial fact: early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for evacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails--so they just let many of them loose. There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa.
There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the deluge hit--but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two groups: criminals--and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The welfare wards were a mass of sheep--on whom the incompetent administration of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves. All of this is related, incidentally, to the apparent incompetence of the city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city, despite the knowledge that this might be necessary. But in a city corrupted by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters--not to ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency. No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on American "individualism."
But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism. What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the government hasn't taken care of them. They don't use the chaos of a disaster as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.
But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way of life for them. The welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.
I know I am running the risk of LC never wanting to speak to me again, but I feel compelled to respond.
1) The article I posted makes no assertions about race. It's about people who have built their lives around the welfare system and are unwilling to try to find a way of becoming self-sufficient. We can start a whole thread about what we think about the welfare system, but I agree with the author that living your entire life on welfare and sitting around waiting for someone else to come and solve your problems is un-American.
2) The link to snopes.com is messed up, and biased, and racist. Trying to find food so you can feed your family in the aftermath of a disaster isn't looting, it's survival.
However.
How do you explain people stealing luxury cars, TVs, breaking into jewelry stores, stealing from hospitals things like that? That is not survival, that's looting. And I don't care if the person is white/black/brown/green/blue whatever. That kind of behavior from anyone of any race or social strata is indefensible. Shooting at police officers, helicopter pilots, paramedics, and doctors who are trying to save peoples' lives is not survival, it's fucking savagery. I'm glad they sent in the National Guard and Army to restore order and have no sympathy for anyone who shot at police/Nat'l Guardsmen/soldiers and were subsequently shot themselves when the authorities fired back. It's harsh, but I make no apologies for my opinion. Being poor or a minority is no excuse for violating the most basic rules of right and wrong. To suggest otherwise is an insult to poor people and minorities.
I don't trust the media in this country...especially FOX News. Their racism and bias towards staunch republican bullshit is a poison pill I cannot swallow. So I think this business of firing people up with stories of looting is their way of turning people away from the real problems and needs surrounding the disaster. I happen to be against welfare personally as it typically sets up economic incentives for people to stop working though I would believe in a more progressive program if anyone would bother to implement it. Welfare is primarily used by whites in this country but you wouldn't know it to hear our media tell the stories. I simply think the stories of looting played up are nothing more than media hype. I hate to think you of all people would fall into the hands of the American Media.
Also you who knows me better than most surely must know that right now is the last time anyone wants to discuss politics around me...I am on a raging warpath currently after Bush's speech the other night where he appointed that rat ass bastard Rove to spend our 200Billion in reconstruction money. That fucker single handedly took John McCain out of the running with rumors that he had an illegitimate half breed child. I believe he should be indicted on FELONY charges for leaking that Valerie Plume was CIA because her husband Joeseph Wilson called Bush's speech on WMD saying he personally told Bush that Nigeria was not selling to Sadam before that speech. That politic-o may have been to college and taught at college but I don't beleive he ever graduated from college and certainly he has no degree in civil engineering. And he in charge of 200B...that is it...I am getting a job in the accounting dept. of Halliburtin so I can drive a porsche, write an expose, and die with my head in a vice! Rove is Bush's campaign manager...where do you think that 200B is going to go?!
Welfare needs reform, there's no question about that. In some cases it's a good thing, but in my opinion in most cases it's abused. And I agree that it sustains a certain mentality with the abusers that just isn't a benefit to anyone.
Looting occurs in all disasters, regardless of location or population. Even the area around the WTC had it's fair share of looting. In the case of NOLA you had a already poor population suddenly thrown back to the stone age and left there for several days. I believe the result should have been expected. Gangs can be expected to surely begin violently battling for turf, supplies etc.
I'm not making any excuses btw, everyone knows the difference between right and wrong and everyone should be held responsible. Just remember that those doing wrong are for the most part just a small percentage. In a situation like this the actions of only a few hundred people can be the difference between doom and gloom reporting from the media and reports of how the human spirit can triumph.
__________________ Willing is not enough, we must do. Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
--Bruce Lee
I don't trust the media in this country...especially FOX News. Their racism and bias towards staunch republican bullshit is a poison pill I cannot swallow.
Watch this. In which direction does their bias lean? Don't get me wrong, I hate ALL media. But to single out FOX News is unfair in my opinion. CNN is just as bad. Take this from a guy who is right in the middle and sees the lunacy on both sides.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovechild1970
Rove is Bush's campaign manager...where do you think that 200B is going to go?!
LC darlin', you know I've got nothin' but love for ya', but I gotta throw the BS flag on this one.
From an email that got stuck in our quarantine yesterday....
Quote:
Things we've have learned from watching the news on TV during the last eight days:
The hurricane only hit black family's property.
New Orleans was devastated and no other city was affected by the hurricane.
Mississippi is reported to have a tree blown down.
New Orleans has no white people.
The hurricane blew a limb off a tree in the yard of an Alabama resident.
When you are hungry after a hurricane steal a big screen TV.
The hurricane did 23 billion dollars in improvements to New Orleans: now the city is welfare, looters and gang free and they are in your city.
White folks don't make good news stories.
Don't give thanks to the thousands that came to help rescue you, instead bitch because the government hasn't given you a debit card yet.
Only black family members got separated in the hurricane rescue efforts.
Ignore warnings to evacuate and the white folks will come get you and give you money for being stupid.
Damn, I feel so sorry for all those black folks. The only way it could have been worse was to be white.
And another
Quote:
Been sitting here with my ass in a wad, wanting to speak out about the bullshit going on in New Orleans.
For the people of New Orleans... First we would like to say, Sorry for your loss.
With that said, Lets go through a few hurricane rules: (Unlike an earthquake, we know it's coming)
#1. A manditory evacuation means just that... Get the hell out. Don't blame the Government after they tell you to go. If they hadn't said anything, I can see the arguement. They said get out... if you didn't, it's your fault, not theirs. (We don't want to hear it, even if you don't have a car, you can get out.)
#2. If there is an emergency, stock up on water and non-perishables. If you didn't do this, it's not the governments fault you're starving.
#2a. If you run out of food and water, find a store that has some. (Remember, shoes, TV's, DVD's and CD's are not edible. Leave them alone.)
#2b. If the local store is too looted of food or water, leave your neighbor's tv and stereo alone. (See # 2a) They worked hard to get their stuff. Just because they were smart enough to leave during a manditory evacuation, doesn't give you the right to take their stuff... it's theirs, not yours.
#3. If someone comes in to help you, don't shoot at them and then complain no one is helping you. I'm not getting shot to help save some dumbass who didn't leave when told to do so.
#4. If you are in your house that is completely under water, your belongings are probably too far gone for anyone to want them. If someone does want them, Let them have them and hopefully they'll die in the filth. Just leave! (For goodness sakes, it's New Orleans, find a voodoo warrior and put a curse on them)
#5. My tax money should not pay to rebuild a 2 million dollar house, a sports stadium or a floating casino. Also, my tax money shouldn't go to rebuild a city that is under sea level. You wouldn't build your house on quicksand would you? You want to live below sea-level, do your country some good and join the Navy.
#6. Regardless what the Poverty Pimps Jessie Jackson and Al Sharpton want you to believe, The US Government didn't create the Hurricane as a way to erradicate the black people of New Orleans; (Neither did Russia as a way to destroy America). The US Government didn't cause global warming that caused the hurricane (We've been coming out of an ice age for over a million years).
#7. The government isn't responsible for giving you anything. This is the land of the free and the home of the brave, but you gotta work for what you want. McDonalds and Walmart are always hiring, get a damn job and stop spooning off the people who are actually working for a living.
President Kennedy said it best... "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."
__________________
Everyone is finally equal. No one is smarter than anyone else. No one is stronger than anyone else. No one is better. Everyone is worse.
I don't trust the media in this country...especially FOX News. Their racism and bias towards staunch republican bullshit is a poison pill I cannot swallow.
Watch this. In which direction does their bias lean? Don't get me wrong, I hate ALL media. But to single out FOX News is unfair in my opinion. CNN is just as bad. Take this from a guy who is right in the middle and sees the lunacy on both sides.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovechild1970
Rove is Bush's campaign manager...where do you think that 200B is going to go?!
LC darlin', you know I've got nothin' but love for ya', but I gotta throw the BS flag on this one.
There were a bunch of clips on your link Navy, which one were we talking about?
And Rove should be in jail for espionage in my humble opinion. He's nothing but a political magician/spin doctor. How does that qualify him to lead a reconstruction effort on that scale? I can feel Halliburton's and Bechtel's stock rising as we speak.
__________________ Willing is not enough, we must do. Knowing is not enough, we must apply.
--Bruce Lee
I love this subject and I will get to the point...
New Orleans will be a much better place when all this is over...welfare sucks and those on welfare are only waiting with their hands out, they have never done anything but get fucked up, screw eachother, have a kid, and ask for more money...I personally think that the people are chose to stay (not the ones from the hotels) should have died in the storm, the result...50,000+ less welfare checks would be cut...
I don't trust the media in this country...especially FOX News. Their racism and bias towards staunch republican bullshit is a poison pill I cannot swallow.
Watch this. In which direction does their bias lean? Don't get me wrong, I hate ALL media. But to single out FOX News is unfair in my opinion. CNN is just as bad. Take this from a guy who is right in the middle and sees the lunacy on both sides.
I got no love for CNN either...I'll check this link later tonight as I have a lot of lunch plans with my girls this week. If it is a link to Geraldo, I warn you...I have a personal hatred of the man because he is a nasty self promoting weasel and I happen to think Slaughterhouse 5 is one of the greatest novels ever writen about the bombing of Dresden. In other words Geraldo screwed Kurt Vonnegut Jr's daughter and nothing he could say now would stop me from bitch slapping him were we to meet face to face.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Navy ECMO
Quote:
Originally Posted by lovechild1970
Rove is Bush's campaign manager...where do you think that 200B is going to go?!
LC darlin', you know I've got nothin' but love for ya', but I gotta throw the BS flag on this one.
Of course at this early stage of information I do not KNOW how the $200B will be spent. I SUSPECT that, given past behaviour, the money will be used for opportunitist purposes.
It is I who should be in charge of who lives and who dies!
OK, no more discussion about that damned political operative until I calm the fuck down!
Again, I feel compelled to try to throw a little perspective into this.
The link will hopefully surprise you.
Regardless of what you think of Karl Rove, it's unfair to attack the Republicans exclusively. The same shit happens in the Democratic party as well. Pork Barrel spending knows no party affiliation. And there are just as many dirty politicians in the Dem side as well. Look at James Traficant. Bill Clinton, the President and an attorney, lied to a federal grand jury. Michael Kennedy committed statutory rape against his 14 year old babysitter. Hell, Ted Kennedy killed a woman at Chappaquiddick.
All, I'm saying is that if you're going to lob spears, lob them in both directions.
And just for the record, I hate the Kennedys on a level a reserve for few things in this universe. I detest they way they are deified in this country and are regarded by th public as being, for whatever reason, above the law. (Not a single charge was pressed against Michael or Ted in the cases I mentioned above) If they all skied into trees and died, you wouldn't see a single tear of sympathy from me.
If you think Karl Rove is bad, go back and look at the kind of shit Joe Kennedy pulled. Those of you who think Jeb Bush pulled some strings to get his brother elected, do a little research on what Joe Kennedy is believed to have done to get his son elected. He also wrote the book on lobbying and having politicians in your hip pocket.
So, I guess its OK to be mad when someone blames Bush for this disaster but its OK to blame the poor. Out of the hundreds of thousand of people who did not evacuate, how many of them were raping women and children? How many of them were firing at rescue workers? How many of them were roaming the streets like thugs? A very small percentage I would guess. Yes, many were "looting"? Quite a few, I would imagine, but not all of them were taking TV's and Cadillacs. I can fully excuse the taking of food and water in circumstances like that. I read an article in the paper this weekend about a policeman who hotwired numerous vehicles, commandeered boats and buses in order to help evacuate citizens. Nothing wrong with that right? Is it possible that some of the citiizens who stole cars were looking for a way out of town? Possibly. My point is this: The media reports looting and general mayhem and we believe that this is the general rule when in fact its not. There were a lot of very angry people there for sure. The article itself pointed out that some citizen "appeared to be yelling" at the Naitonal Guardsman. What if that National Guardsman is the first sign of help that this person has seen? The very first sign of a response to a major catastrophe.....and he's carrying a weapon, not bearing food or water. How might you react? When the National Guard finally did arrive en masse, many of them commented on how quiet things were, nothing like it was made out to be on TV.
No doubt welfare is a problem in our country and probably not many places have it worse than in NO were the unemployment rate was something like 17%. But to say this disaster is the fault of the Welfare system is no more ludicrous than for others to say its Bush's fault. And, by the way, even though there was no reference to race in that article, that inference was the most obvious thing that WASNT written in the article. To refer to the Robert Taylor Homes (I lived in Chicago and am familiar with that area) was a clearly surreptitious reference to African Americans.
Interesting perspective on the Katrina situation
If it is a link to Geraldo, I warn you...I have a personal hatred of the man because he is a nasty self promoting weasel and I happen to think Slaughterhouse 5 is one of the greatest novels ever writen about the bombing of Dresden. In other words Geraldo screwed Kurt Vonnegut Jr's daughter and nothing he could say now would stop me from bitch slapping him were we to meet face to face. 
It is I who should be in charge of who lives and who dies! 
