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September 01, 2005
(Just trying to help)
Like so many bloggers, I feel a little powerless where it comes to assisting with the Hurricane Katrina effort. What I'd say again, is GIVE, GIVE, GIVE. I donated to Catholic Charities, and I also plan to donate to the American Red Cross. Animal lover that I am, I have just donated to the American Kennel Club's Hurricane Katrina Relief Fund (recommended by Greg Hlatky), because there are many abandoned, sick or injured animals (which often had to be left behind by owners prevented from bringing them to shelters). In the case of New Orleans, I thought it might help for people to see in graphic form what it is that's at the heart of the problem. There's an excellent map here, showing the layout of New Orleans from different vantage points, with very easily understood cross sectional diagrams. Like this ground elevation map -- which shows that New Orleans is really a gigantic soup bowl: The height of levee walls was increased following Hurricane Betsy in 1965. I don't know why there hasn't been more discussion of this hurricane, but it left the city flooded for as long as three weeks. A 2003 USA Today article recalled the event: As the hurricane moved ashore south of New Orleans it destroyed almost every building in Grand Isle, where the Coast Guard station reported gusts up to 160 mph.Individual Betsy stories are recorded here. Betsy, of course, was a drop in the bucket compared to Katrina. Aside from my concern about the dead and injured, I'm really worried right now about the wisdom of cooping people up in stadiums for an extended period of time. Agoraphobe that I am, I can only imagine how horrible it must be to be forced to leave the security and sanctity of one's home for a huge public arena. (A small room the size of a prison cell would be better in many ways....) I'd want to stay in my home and defend it if necessary, and I'm glad to see that honest citizens are protecting themselves. As Glenn said: If you've got a week's supplies, and a gun, you'll usually do okay after a disaster. If you don't, you're in much bigger trouble, because it generally takes that long for some sort of order to be restored. We saw that after Andrew, and we're seeing it again.What I don't like is stereotyping, and I dislike seeing all looters being portrayed as black -- or armed citizens as white. Since I'm into being "graphic" lately, I thought I'd share a picture of a looter from today's Philadelphia Inquirer. (This is not to suggest that I favor "reverse discrimination" against whites or anything like it. I'd love nothing more than to upload a picture of armed black store-owners, but I have a sneaking suspicion that MSM photographers would avoid taking such pictures, and that if they did they'd be unlikely make it into the New York Times.) Anyway, in the Inquirer's accompanying story, reporter Lisa Herndon shares an observation worth keeping in mind: For television reporters, shots of blacks looting are quick, easy and downright expected.I've been in emergencies before, the most notable one being the October 17, 1989 San Francisco earthquake. (I was on the Bay Bridge, part of which had collapsed, and I felt very lucky when help finally arrived, and the completely stuck cars like mine were turned around one by one and diverted back to San Francisco.) People everywhere were helping each other, because that's human nature in emergencies. I'm sure there's a lot more of that going around than is being reported. MORE: Via Instapundit, I have learned that thanks to my contribution to Catholic Charities, I qualify for a free refrigerator magnet from The Raving Atheist. Gee I'm thrilled! And may I be the first to say, God bless the Raving Atheist! posted by Eric on 09.01.05 at 10:52 AM
Comments
Arnold Harris made some excellent suggestions for rebuilding New Orleans along the lines of Venice. As for looters, those that are stealing food or water, OK. As for those stealing TVs, raiding hospitals to steal drugs, etc., and, especially, guns, I agree with Don Watkins: shoot them on sight. And I've had it for the umpteenth time with Leftists playing the "race" card. Steven Malcolm Anderson the Lesbian-worshipping man's-man-admiring myth-based egoist · September 1, 2005 06:08 PM Actually, it would be astonishing if the preponderance of looters weren't black. Think about it - first of all, they make up the majority of the local populace. Second, they're poorer. Therefore, they're less likely to own a car or other means of transportation that would allow them to evacuate. Just for the sake of numbers, if 2/3 of the original population was black, and 1/3 of them evacuated while 2/3 of the whites evacuated, over 80% of the remaining population would be black. I actually suspect it's higher than that, but I'll admit I'm just pulling numbers from the air. wheels · September 1, 2005 09:43 PM You are not powerless. There is a way bloggers and other thoughtful people can help: I have opened forums at www.DisasterReliefIdeas.org for the discussion of ideas to aid disaster relief in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina. I am not soliciting donations, only ideas. Experts in aspects of disaster relief (housing, healthcare, rebuilding, etc.) are also able to rate these ideas, giving us a means of identifying the most promising ones, which will be shared with disaster relief professionals and persons in authority. Please help our society by contributing your ideas, especially if you are unable to contribute financially to relief efforts. Logan · September 2, 2005 12:08 PM |
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God bless the Raving Atheist. God bless you. And God bless everybody who helps out these people in New Orleans.