Hurricane Katrina
Oddysey:
Indeed. I've stopped watching the news. My dad watches CNN every night, when he gets home from work (Why? I don't know. He already gets enough of it while he's on the job, as he's a retired Coastie who now works as a civilian for the part of the Coast Guard that does water-borne pollution cleanup for Superfund, so he's been spending the last couple of days co-ordinating with FEMA and getting disaster relief and cleanup teams into New Orleans.) and I just head upstairs and turn on some music. I read the paper cover to cover, but TV coverage is not good for my depression. I get very nihilistic when massive environmentally-related disasters hit and all the news and politician people start screeching for more of the same.
Papers and reports from my dad and his friends are good, though, and I can't really avoid them. Once a Coast Guard brat, always a Coast Guard brat. I'm very glad you got out, Reggikko, and glad that everyone else who has gotten out has done so. There are sharks in the water! Not many, but a few, washed in from the Gulf. (I don't think the press knows about it, but if anyone sees anything about it on the news, it's not just reporters exagerating.) And toxic chemicals, and oil, because things like drycleaning products and gas tanks are all above ground in New Orleans, and thus just get sort of washed away. And toxic household chemicals, too. I think I'll stop now.
It's a nasty situation down there, but I'd be very much surprised if New Orleans actually rolled over and died. Badly wounded? Yes. Dead? Far from it. Those people are insane. (In a good way, of course.)
ZephyrZodiac:
Quote
If there's one thing I have learned it is that you should never lose your sense of humour, no matter what is happening.
I agree you need to keep your sense of humour, but you should not exercise it in joking about tragic situations! Joke about anything else, but not that, it causes even more distress to those who are victims of that situation!
veilchen:
While I have a few minutes (a rare occurence lately), I'll post about what we are doing on my end. My University is gearing up to receive students from the Gulf Coast that have lost their Unversities and Colleges so that they can at least have a place to continue their studies and have a place to stay - in short trying to normalize a horrible situation. We (the counseling department) are getting ready to take them under our wings, the problems these students have will unfortunately make the trip with them. We are worried about Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome and Survivor's Guilt, which usually kicks in when a hellish situation stabilizes.
I have been in touch with Reg; she is physically fine, as is her immediate family, but she has a deep love for New Orleans and is devastated by the ever increasing disastrous news. New Orleans is not only a place to live, but rich with history, deep community ties, and a source of pride for many. It is her home, her love, and her history; to suggest abandonment is tantamount to loosing past, present, and future.
Reg's worry is for the many that have lost absolutely everything, and her suggestion to give what you can to the Red Cross should be passed on. Just beware of the scum of the earth scam artists that seem to be crawling out of the woodwork to enrich themselves on human misery. Personally, I am getting ready for a yard sale this weekend. All the proceeds will go directly to the Red Cross; at least all the stuff accumulated over time will be put to good use.
ZephyrZodiac:
Criminally fraudulent profiteering from situations like this should carry double the normal penalty, I think!
veilchen:
I agree completely ZZ, especially when one considers that the beneficiaries of the genuine aid are human beings that have lost absolutely everything but their life. The more helpless such as babies, children, the people with disabillities and the elderly are particularly in dire straits, and every penny scammed or stolen means more hardship for that part of the stricken population.
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