Re: OT: followup on New Orleans - disgraceful


"Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
news:4319D9A5.30E3FC8F@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Anthony Fremont wrote:
> >
> > "Michael A. Terrell" <mike.terrell@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote in message
> >
> > > I had two hurricanes pass over my home last year. I am tired of
the
> > > whining about how slow things are moving. Things were not as bad
as
> > New
> > > Orleans, and very little could be done the first few days. They
were
> > > spent cutting downed trees and trying to repair the major power
> > > transmission lines. It was three weeks before the lights
flickered
> > back
> >
> > So that explains why helicopters couldn't bring in water/food when
they
> > came to airlift people from their roofs. How much water did you
have in
> > your house?
>
>
> Have you ever worked around a helicopter? Tell me! If you have a
> load of food on the copter and you see someone who needs immediate
help
> do you continue on to deliver the cargo and come back to help them, or
> do you dump it in the water and complete the rescue. Oh, yeah! There
is
> no rescue equipment aboard a cargo copter because it was removed to
let
> you haul the cargo.

You take the cargo to places like the elevated freeway and convention
center where you are dropping people. You then go out and pick up some
people. Is that really that hard to fathom? BTW, I'm a vet too. I
spent six years in the air force, so I do know a little about aircraft
capabilities, not that any of that matters.

> I had no water damage, but two homes near me were crushed by
falling
> trees. Another burnt to the ground from hurricane damage.

IOW, your situation wasn't even remotely like the NO populace. I have
been flooded three times, yet I live in a 500 year floodplain, is that
my fault? Before I bought my almost 20 year old home in 93, I checked
and found that it had NEVER flooded in my area, EVER. Then in 98, 01
and 02 I got water in my home, it nearly came in a few times since then.
You see, my problems are man made. They are due to uncontrolled
development and the powers that be not taking the situation serously.
So before you criticize all that get flooded, please try to remember
that all situations cannot be summed up in simple, short-sited rhetoric.

> > > to life, then died again a few hours later. Another week passed
> > before
> > > they came on again. There was no ice or bottled water for almost
a
> > > week, but the people here had the brains to stockpile a week's
worth
> > of
> > > non perishable food and water.
> >
> > Did it ever occur to you that perhaps many people did, but with 12'
of
> > water in their house it was a moot action?
>
>
> Whatever you say, jackass. A lot of people were trapped in their
> homes for days. They would have been able to have water and food while
> waiting for rescue.

So I'm the jackass, for pointing out the obvious to you? It appeared to
me that most survivors were trapped ON there homes, not IN them. As I
said, it wouldn't have mattered how much they prepared by obtaining
supplies if they washed away in the flood.

> > > I am tired of people like the Mayor of New Orleans and Jesse
> > Jackson
> > > trying to play the race card. Everyone in the affected area had
time
> > to
> > > prepare to either leave town or to gather some food and water. It
> >
> > Really? If someone doesn't have transportation, how would they have
> > left?
>
>
> Not all could have left, but a lot of them refused to leave and had
> the means to do so. Every person that left would have been one less
to
> have to rescue, feed, or bury.

No people without transportation were provided for by the local
authorities. Should they have walked ILLEGALY down the freeways to get
away? I wonder how many people came back after the rosy reports Monday
morning, only to be trapped because the listened to the news and didn't
know about the impending flood?

> > > doesn't take a lot for a week, at survival levels. The problem is
the
> > > party attitude, and that they have had so may near misses that
they
> > > refused to take anything serious about the coming disaster.
> >
> > Why didn't you evacuate your home when you knew that a huricane was
> > coming? Why did you risk life and limb by staying there. Who
cleared
> > the streets for you?
>
>
> I didn't have transportation for the first one, and it wasn't a

Really, then why can't you seem to understand that many of them didn't
either? That region has a poverty rate between 30 and 40%. I think
that there are allot of white people that live there too, but I didn't
see but a few on TV. That leads me to believe that many that actually
had the means and wherewithall to leave, actually did. That seems to be
confirmed by the unprecidented amount of trafic leaving the area just
before the strike. It only follows that the remaining people rased the
poverty rate to at least 80%. Now tell me again, how they were supposed
to leave. It's amazes me that you have plenty of excuses for your
behavior but will allow none from the people of NO.

> mandatory evacuation. (Hurricane Francis) I was blessed in that the

Mandatory or not, you should have probably walked on out, right?

> only damage i suffered was a bent top rail on my chain link fence from
a
> tree limb.

What a joke. And you expect me to feel sorry for your plight, when
people stood in salt water for days?

> I did leave my home for Hurricane Jeanne. I had finally scraped up
> enough money to repair the truck and that evacuation was mandatory. I
> was at a special needs shelter a mile from my home, till it was closed
> down. It was the local high school that was built to double as a
> hurricane shelter. I had to go there because of the medications I was
> on, and having to walk with a cane. The county wanted to make sure
that
> people had the medicine they needed, and that it was taken on
schedule.

So then you were in the same boat that many of the survivors appeared to
be in. Did any of the people filmed look like they were rich?

> My subdivision was cleared by the residents because the crews and
> trucks brought in to clear away downed trees were working to remove
> tress that were blocking the repair of the main distribution systems,
> not individual streets. I can't handle a chain saw anymore so I
dragged
> the medium sized limbs that I could grab with one hand onto piles on
the
> sides of the road. We worked for days to clean up the roads enough
that
> a fire truck or ambulance could get down the streets if they had to.

Then why can't you see past your own troubles to realize that you are
not alone?

> > > Jesse Jackson was running his big mouth that there was no
planning.
> > > Where was his fleet of chartered buses? Where are his thousands
of
> > > tractor trailer loads of food, ice, water and medicine? Oh, yeah,
he
> > > never does anything except bitch about what others don't do.
> >
> > And exactly what are you doing now?
>
>
> A donation to the Red Cross is all I can do at this time. I would
be
> in the way trying to get around on a cane and unable to lift things.
I
> was recently declared 100% disabled, and as much as I hate to admit
it,
> I can barely take care of myself anymore. The donation will make it
> very difficult to pay my bills for the next couple months. I would
> donate clothing and household items, but after four years of being
> unable to work there isn't anything left that I don't use for myself.
I
> need clothes myself, and it would be an insult to send things that
> should be used to wash a car with. My disability pension is under the
> poverty level and I used all my savings in the time I have been unable
> to work so there is nothing left to give, I got my pension in January
> and so far i have been able to save about $60 after paying the bills.

Again, you should then be able to understand that many of the people
that didn't leave were in no better shape than yourself.

> How about you? Have you done anything other than bitch and moan
about
> what others have or haven't done?

Actually, I have, not that it would matter to you as you have decided
that I haven't already. Isn't that called prejudice?

> > > As far as the mayor, why didn't he make the evacuation
mandatory?
> > > Why didn't he fill warehouses full of food and water? Why didn't
he
> > > tell FEMA that he was using their convention center to house
refugees
> > so
> > > they could bring in supplies? Oh, yeah. They claim that it
wouldn't
> > > matter because they were black and no one would listen!
> >
> > Given that CNN made it clear that people were in the convention
center,
> > how come FEMA didn't notice? Who gave the orders to move people
there?
>
>
> I don't know what CNN did, or didn't report because I can't afford
> standard cable service. Places designated as shelters should have
been
> made know to FEMA and the Red Cross before the storm struck, not after
> the fact.

My point exactly. You do have a television, correct? I think FEMA and
the DHS has cable access. That was made clear during the first gulf
war, remember? If you don't have access to any information or facts,
then please don't pass summary judgment on people that you know nothing
about.

> > > IOW, its another case of passing the buck and shirking
> > > responsibility, as usual.
> > >
> > > The electric utilities, phone companies, and all other
utilities
> > > should just tell people that they WILL NEVER PROVIDE SERVICE to
the
> > > flooded area. Not for any reason, ever again. There should be no
> >
> > Since your power was off for days, perhaps they should have told you
the
> > same. What about the idiots building on cliffs, the sides of
mountains,
> > or earthquake faults that are GUARANTEED to move?
>
>
> My home is not in a flood plain, on a hillside or any other place a
> home should not be built. As far as the electricity being off, it was
> almost a month total for the two hurricanes. In fact, they just
> replaced the last damaged utility pole from Hurricane Frances on my
> street a couple months ago, and several homes in this subdivision
still
> have tarps on their roof lines because there is still a shortage of
> shingles and qualified workers.

Yet you still suffered damage from a huricane. Sounds like you still
live in a risky area to me. If it took days to get the power back on,
then you should move closer to a population center and do us all a
favor.

> > > federal money to rebuild on the current site, and insurance
companies
> > > should not have to pay out if someone insists on staying. If
someone
> > > insists on rebuilding there will be no businesses to provide jobs,
no
> > > grocery or convenience stores for supplies allowed to rebuild in
the
> > now
> > > flooded area. The levee facing the gulf should be torn down and a
new
> > > city built on higher and drier land where this can never happen
again.
> >
> > I'm sorry, but I believe you are being incredibly short sited and
> > massively holier than thou. Just like Larkin.
>
>
> Short sighted? I don't think so. I have tried to keep at least two
> weeks worth of non perishables and water on hand after I spent five
days
> in a coma with the flu in the late 70's. I was at home in Ohio in
> February with no heat, the water lines were frozen and I lost over 20
> pounds of muscle tissue while in the coma. It was six months before I
> could walk the ten blocks to the grocery store and home while carrying
a
> half full bag of groceries. It was over a year before I had 70% or so
of
> my strength back. I was never able to recover the rest of it. In the
> past I have helped a lot of people with emergencies and I regret that
I
> am no longer able to do as much. I have done emergency home repairs
> for people, fixed their cars and helped with other emergencies. I
also
> refused to take any payment for any of that work. I was taught as a
> child that you have to help your neighbors. That is why I started the
> project referred to in my SIG file.
>
> I've been there, done that, and nearly died several times in the
> process so don't preach your *** to me.

Actually, besides being flooded three times, I have had a tornado tear
my trees up as well. I was also in an accident in Nov 2001 (yes right
after the BIG flood) that nearly killed me. Massive soft tissue
injuries from head to toe, a broken collar bone, broken finger and a
bunch of broken ribs. Not to mention the scrapes, cuts, severed ear and
bone deep gash on my forehead. Since I didn't file my flood insurance
claim in time, my claim was denied, they don't care why, the policy
doesn't make exceptions like that. So my house is a mess right now, and
I'm not finishing the work (at my expense) until the local flood control
district finishes the work they are doing to prevent this from happening
again.

I am self employed too, so I have no income unless I work. I had to
forgoe the surgery to repair my collar bone, so I now have a nice big
lump near my sternum. Even though I spent nearly a month in bed, I had
to get up and bust my ass climbing ladders, and stringing network cable
instead of going to therapy. I would work a day and then lay in bed the
next trying to recover. So don't tell me your problems as if you are
some kind of special case. I can see tens of thousands of people right
now that are in far worse shape than you or I have been, or ever will
be. I just want you to see past your own problems and realize that
other people have them too. You are easily blaming 90 percent of the
people for what maybe 10 percent could have avoided. Cant you see that?

> If you don't like my attitude, just kill file me.

I don't work that way. That's called sticking your head in the sand and
we got enough of that crap as it is.

> Link to my "Computers for disabled Veterans" project website deleted
> after threats were telephoned to my church.

BTW, I'm a vet too that is now partially disabled, but I'm not asking
anyone to feel sorry for me, because I can get around well enough to
make a living. I just wish that you would think before making blanket
statements that don't really apply. I'm not attempting to discount your
problems, I know they are real. I only wish for you to stop discounting
others when you actually should have some understanding of how they came
to be in that situation.

.