Response to a Floridian Friend

In response to a few comments to my previous posts, I have the following remarks (In reverse chronological order, corresponding to the posts)

Clinton/Hastert:

I think that Clinton was simply expressing his emotional reaction to what many American's must have felt were wholly inappropriate comments from Hastert. It's really quite baffling to think that while thousands of Americans were stranded without food or water in a city of rising water, that Hastert was focused on whether or not the city should be rebuilt. Granted, there are many logical and necessary questions about protecting this city in the future, but the time to ask and discuss these questions is after we've secured the safety of the residents who still remain within her flooded borders.

I can't imagine Clinton's stated reaction is much different than any person who has the smallest indicia of compassion for this stricken city or who has any passion for helping these American's rebuild their lives.

Though I won't be calling for any resignations any time soon, were I a resident of Illinois - Hastert would need to do some pretty good explaining before he could ever count on a speck of support from me.

And in general practice I understand that people, who have the ability to 'feel' for other humans, tend to have emotional responses, and that fact enters into my calculus in determining the true value of their statements.

Oh - one last thing.....something tells me that it wouldn't even enter into Hastert's contemplation to question rebuilding, should a disaster have befallen Colorado Springs. But then again, Colorado Springs is a wealthy, white, conservative city...

Mayor Nagin:

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that - you probably didn't know of or like Nagin before this disaster....just a feeling I have, but I could be wrong - God knows it happens all the time.

In a situation like this, I would be rather hesitant to use the word 'whining' to describe a mayor's desperate pleas for help in order to aid the stricken resident's of his dying city. But, it's your word.

So, what is Mayor Nagin 'whining' about.....well probably because the federal response to this disaster could kindly be described as wholly impotent. I, like most Americans (and Mayor Nagin), was appalled at the lag in response time of federal authorities. This disaster was predicted, everyone knew that the hurricane was coming, everyone (except apparently the President) was concerned with the possibility of the levees failing, and when they did fail - where was the federal response....3 days away. Just now is order finally returning to the city.

It's actually surreal to look at the photos of those still trapped in the Crescent City. Americans, living in desperation, without food, without drinkable water, without medical care or shelter - in a major American city. This isn't a city in the developing world, in a country without resources - this is a cosmopolitan metropolis in the continental United States. So I think Mayor Nagin was right to 'whine' about this disaster because his citizens are dying - dying for reasons unacceptable anywhere, but especially within the developed world, and inexcusable in the United States of America.

So 'whine' as Mayor Nagin may, his only hope, and mine as well, is that finally the misery can be stopped, order restored, food delivered, medicine provided and shelter given to the thousands of people who've survived a perilous disaster only to be left to die in the streets - tired, hungry and dehydrated.

Oh how I wonder what the response would have been like if the affected area wasn't largely poor.......and wasn't largely black. Oh...Right - it would look something like the response to September 11th.