some thoughts on katrina

a few of my friends have posted on their blogs about hurricane katrina, mostly because their families and friends live in the areas that were hit. as a yankee who's never really experienced this before, and didn't experiece it this time, it's hard to imagine how scary and devastating the storm was. just a few months ago i was in new orleans for a conference and now the city is in ruin. i guess i wanted to sum up some of what my friends have been talking about and share an interesting observation that was brought to my attention by some of my sociology colleagues.

one friend pointed out that people who choose not to evacuate put themselves at risk and shouldn't complain too loudly when the government is slow to respond to their needs. i can see where she's coming from to one extent, because people do that that risk themselves. at the same time, another friend pointed out that there are some very poverty stricken areas, specifically in new orleans but i have no doubt in many places along the coast, and that these people didn't necessarily have the means to leave. and not only that, that they will return to their homes with nothing. if you can't afford insurance, you just lost everything and it won't be replaced with shiny new items. so this is a time to also think about those who are less fortunate than us and literally lost everything they own.

another friend commentated on the media coverage of this event and how newscasters seemed disappointed when the storm didn't hit new orleans as strongly as originally predicted. it's pretty damn crazy how desperate the media is to get the story and that if they don't get the one they want, it's somehow disappointing that not as many lives were ruined as they first thought. i find myself avoiding the news a lot because of crap just like that.

and speaking of media crap...a few of my fellow graduate students in sociology shared this with me today. it's pretty disturbing and i think it says a lot about how the media influences our ideas about race and crime.

1: A young man walks through chest deep flood water after looting a grocery store in New Orleans on Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Flood waters continue to rise in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina did extensive damage when it made landfall on Monday. (AP Photo/Dave Martin)

2: Two residents wade through chest-deep water after finding bread and soda from a local grocery store after Hurricane Katrina came through the area in New Orleans, Louisiana.(AFP/Getty Images/Chris Graythen)

so, if you're white you're finding stuff...and if you're black you're looting. isn't everyone just trying to survive at this point? if you just lost everything you own and all your food...why not find some pepsi? just a thought.

my thoughts and prayers go out to everyone affected by this disaster.