IF YOU LEFT NEW ORLEANS BY FOOT BEFORE AUGUST 29, 2005, YOU HAD TO GET ACROSS THIS BRIDGE TO GET TO THE MAINLAND FOR SAFETY
Almost from August 30, 2005, I have been receiving emails opining that the black residents of New Orleans were somehow responsible for the outrageous prediciments that resulted to themselves and to the city as a result of Hurricane Katrina. August 30th was the day after Katrina struck the gulf coast.
I am very familiar with New Orleans, its people and its culture. Not only have I visited many times over the past sixty years with my family, but I lived there for awhile as a student at Tulane University, and I worked there as a radio personality.
The latest tretise I received is a very mean spirited piece that is attributed to the authorship of a "The Rev. Jesse Lee Patterson." In my view, it is appalling.
Like the others -- in 100% of the cases -- the opinions are broad brush stuff that can't be supported in specifics by factual evidence.
Here's what we do know. The hurricane landed just two days before many people's payday. Let's say you're poor and/or you're just about out of money. Payday is two days away.
Or let's say you depend on public transportation to get places, which a huge portion of New Orleans people do. You either don't have a car or the one you have isn't reliable.
How are you going to leave?
Start walking and pushing grandma in her wheelchair on your way to no safe destination?
Assuming you are able to walk the distance from your home across a bridge to the mainland, is your plan to knock on strangers' doors until you find someone willing to take you and grandma in to ride out the storm? Look at that picture at the top of the page and tell me how you're going to do that?
But let's pretend that worked out for you. The hurricane arrived and the town received major destruction, and you lucked out a bit because your home was saved. But wait! Jobs evaporated on August 29th. Yours was one of them. Now what?
The primary problem probably was that no one -- individual, group or government entity -- had ever prepared for anything like this to happen; consequently, there was no plan of action in place to 1) get people out 2) get people situated after the storm, in places where life could resume (including employment) and 3) get the fiscal assets of the town back to normal as quickly as possible. Not one of those people the Reverend Patterson's piece criticized is to blame. Not one.
I have a number of friends who went over there to help after the hurricane. Some were members of the Dallas Rotary Club. Others were members of my church. None...not a one... came back with the opinion that The Rev. Patterson has. They couldn't believe their eyes that something like this had happened in America...not the hurricane, but the lack of preparedness and lack of compassion that followed. I can't either.
Please, no more hateful emails about these Americans.
GOD Blesses!
;)
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