To speak about the Disaster that was katrina and the implications as well as reactions of the government one cannot just speak to the federal government. A true reflection of the role of government in what appears to be the worst natural disaster in US recorded history would need to examine the roles of State and Local government officials before during and after this event which will affect not only those who lived in Louisiana but all of us for decades to come.
Before you can even gett to that discussion one must look at the beginnings of things and in this case i start off with the Weather Channel....for obvious reasons....
i myself recall the weather channel which is in the habit of going off on the warpath whenever any mass of clouds swilrs around too fast out in the atlantic. to give a measure of this, usually they track storms and give updates as soon as depressions are seen way on the other side of the atlantic. I think on some level this desnsitizes people to the danger that these weather phenomenons can be. Especially since a great many of them never make landfall any where near the US. After watching them a while it would seem as though people would misplace the significance of them and even tune out at some point.
At some point a hallmark of all Weather channel coverage is the reporters that are dispatched to the area where landfall is iminent. One wonders at the incentives and or salaries of people who would willingly place themselves in the paths of a destructive force of nature that is capable of blowing away houses, cars and sundry just to give a "look" at what a storm looks like.
The height of this hypocrisy is the constant admonitions for people in the surrounding areas to seek shelter and seek cover because the storm is "dangerous" meanwhile the reporters are out IN THE STORM.
Must be a case of don't do what I do, do what i SAY do....
Here is a sentiment that you will see repeated in posts to come regarding this whole katrina situation and the subsequent responses. What ever happened to being RESPONSIBLE - Personal responsibility especially.....Irresponsibility - not wanting to do what is required....where did this get lost?
Leave a comment