Thoughts on Response Time Anger
09/03/2005 00:13 Filed in: Miscellaneous
There is a lot of anger around this situation both in the hurricane stricken areas and from those who are observing it. On one hand, this event is unprecedented in American history. Plus in the case of New Orleans, proper, the storm hit on Monday, but the city didn't completely flood until Tuesday, drawing out the catastrophe itself and hampering initial rescue efforts. Were we ready for something like this? Evidently not. Even President Bush has acknowledged that the response time has been inadequate . And on the other hand, I don't doubt that if I were stranded in New Orleans, I would be quite angry myself at this point. One thing I've noticed in watching some of the reporters on site is that even they are extremely emotional about the situation. It's understandable.
Contrary to the claims made by some politicians and others, I have trouble believing that the slow response is racially motivated. Rather, I think we may have too much bureaucracy in the way we respond to crises on this scale. Every metropolitan area ought to put into place a response plan for responding to disaster situations, whether natural or manmade, including how to coordinate with federal agencies.
Finally, I don't understand the claim that the term "refugee" is racist--especially since it has been applied to blacks and whites alike. A refugee is someone seeking refuge, safety from a crisis situation. The Oxford American Dictionary defines a refugee as "a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster." In this case, you could consider the people displaced by Hurricane Katrina as domestic refugees. What's wrong with that? What's racist about it? Does anyone have a better term?
Let's cut out the rhetoric and focus on helping those who need help.
Contrary to the claims made by some politicians and others, I have trouble believing that the slow response is racially motivated. Rather, I think we may have too much bureaucracy in the way we respond to crises on this scale. Every metropolitan area ought to put into place a response plan for responding to disaster situations, whether natural or manmade, including how to coordinate with federal agencies.
Finally, I don't understand the claim that the term "refugee" is racist--especially since it has been applied to blacks and whites alike. A refugee is someone seeking refuge, safety from a crisis situation. The Oxford American Dictionary defines a refugee as "a person who has been forced to leave their country in order to escape war, persecution, or natural disaster." In this case, you could consider the people displaced by Hurricane Katrina as domestic refugees. What's wrong with that? What's racist about it? Does anyone have a better term?
Let's cut out the rhetoric and focus on helping those who need help.