Villain

Before anyone starts thinking that I'm saying that this lawlessness in Louisiana is the fault of the poor black people who were stranded in New Orleans, let me clear something up. This morning's post was written in dismay and disgust and outrage and haste.

To quote a good friend ". . . i've got a big what the fuck for our government."

Also, let's not forget that yesterday, to exascerbate the problem (i.e. global warming which is pegged by science as the culprit), the administration is loosening "environmental regulations for gasoline and deisel for all 50 states through Sept. 15 because of a disruption in supplies caused by Hurricane Katrina. The waivers will allow gasoline with higher evaporation rates and diesel fuel with a higher sulfur content to be sold." (Boston Globe).

When I first realized that people had stayed in New Orleans after what I thought was declared a mandatory evacuation, I was perplexed. Then I heard men and women speaking from flooded houses saying things like "Well, I didn't really have anywhere to go." It wasn't just hard-headed irrationalism; it was the lack of means to get themselves to safety. Why was our government not there to assist these people then? If there's a mandatory evacuation, shouldn't officials be proactive and get people out? No, it's clearly more fun to go into the alligator-infested, polluted water of a flooded city to get them.

To quote Michael Moore in his open letter to GWB: "Any idea where all our helicopters are? . . . Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? . . . I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. "

All I'm trying to say is that my perspective isn't so naive. I was just absolutely taken aback this morning and after wiping back tears, I had to do something. So I wrote on my blog. Thanks for the responses, public and non-public.