Oh, at first it was confusing. Just the idea of computers was like — whoa! I'm eleven hundred years old! I had trouble adjusting to the idea of Lutherans.

Anya ,'Get It Done'


Natter .38 Special  

Off-topic discussion. Wanna talk about corsets, duct tape, or physics? This is the place. Detailed discussion of any current-season TV must be whitefonted.


Volans - Sep 02, 2005 10:36:36 pm PDT #4365 of 10002
move out and draw fire

Just got the following e-mail, and thought I'd share.

An article written by a man employed by LSU athletics:

Little did I know what I would be doing following Hurricane Katrina's aftermath but as I type right now, there won't be a more gratifying or more surreal experience I went through tonight. We went up to the office today and held a press conference regarding the postponement of the game and it was the right decision. As the PMAC and Field House are being used as shelters we decided as an office to do everything we could to help the situation.

At first, we were just supposed to make copies of this disaster relief form for all of the people. The copiers will never print a document more important than that. It's weird. Nearly 12 hours ago we were running off copies of game notes for a football game that is now meaningless. We printed the copies and carried them over to the Field House at 6:30 p.m. I wouldn't leave the area for another 8 hours.

On the way back to the PMAC in a cart, it looked like the scene in the movie Outbreak. FEMA officials, U.S. Marshalls, National Guard, and of course the survivors. Black Hawks were carrying in victims who were stranded on roofs. Buses rolled in from N.O. with other survivors. As Michael and I rode back to the PMAC, a lady fell out of her wheelchair and we scrambled to help her up.

We met Coach Miles and Coach Moffiit in the PMAC to see all the survivors and it was the view of a hospital. Stretchers rolled in constantly and for the first time in my life I saw someone die right in front of me. A man rolled in from New Orleans and was badly injured on his head. 5 minutes later he was dead. And that was the scene all night. What did we do, we started hauling in supplies. And thousands of boxes of supplies. The CDC from Atlanta arrived directing us what to do.

One of the U.S. Marshalls was on hand so the supplies could not become loot. I asked him what his primary job was. He serves on the committee of counter terrorism, but once he saw of the disaster, he donated his forces to come help. He said the death toll could be nearing 10,000. It was sickening to hear that.

After unloading supplies, I started putting together baby cribs and then IV poles. Several of our fball players and Big Baby and Tasmin Mitchell helped us. At the same time, families and people strolled in. Mothers were giving berth in the locker rooms. The auxiliary gym "Dungeon" was being used as a morgue. I couldn't take myself down there to see it.

I worked from 8 pm until 2:45 am. Before I left three more buses rolled in and they were almost out of room. People were standing outside, the lowest of the low from NO. The smells, the sights were hard to take.

A man lying down on a cot asked me to come see him. He said,"I just need someone to talk to, to tell my story because I have nobody and nothing left. He turned out to be a retired military veteran. His story was what everybody was saying. He thought he survived the worst, woke up this morning and the levees broke. Within minutes water rushed into his house. He climbed to the attic, smashed his way through the roof and sat there for hours. He was completely sunburned and exhausted. Nearly 12 hours later a chopper rescued him and here he was.

We finished the night hauling boxes of body bags and more were on the way. As we left, a man was strolled in on a stretcher and scarily enough he suffered gunshots. The paramedic said he was shot several times because a looter or a convict needed his boat and he wouldn't give it to him. Another man with him said it was "an uncivilized society no better than Iraq down there right now." A few minutes later he was unconscious and later pronounced dead. I then left as they were strolling a 3 year old kid in on a stretcher. I couldn't take it anymore.

That was the scene at the PMAC and it gives me a new perspective on things. For those of you who I haven't been able to get in touch with because of phone service, I pray you are safe. Send me an email to let me know. God (continued...)


Volans - Sep 02, 2005 10:36:39 pm PDT #4366 of 10002
move out and draw fire

( continues...) bless.

Edit: Well, if you have to spill over into a second post for one word, that's a good one.

Also in today's email:

Someone came by my sister's hotel in Little Rock and asked if there were any refugees staying there. Then he paid for all their rooms.


libkitty - Sep 02, 2005 10:55:54 pm PDT #4367 of 10002
Embrace the idea that we are the leaders we've been looking for. Grace Lee Boggs

I think that surreal is the right word. This has me in tears, Raq. I have been so embarrassed for our country the last few days, by the mindboggingly poor response. Reading this, the shame doesn't go away, but a little pride and understanding joins it. There are huge problems that our leaders should be held accountable for, but there are good, honest people doing their best in an absolutely crummy situation too.


DXMachina - Sep 03, 2005 2:35:19 am PDT #4368 of 10002
You always do this. We get tipsy, and you take advantage of my love of the scientific method.

Hah! The Fuddruckers site has decided to steal someone else's bandwidth now...


le nubian - Sep 03, 2005 2:54:32 am PDT #4369 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

Hard to have undeniable proof that the fucked up response is due to racism, but given what I've read about some Houston citizens' fears about NO evacuees showing up and what I've read on the WWL-tv forums...there are a whole lot of racist people out there. I think it is fair to say that situations like this bring out heroism and ugliness in great measure.

I can't imagine all of the racists were excused from decision-making (local and elsewhere) during the current crisis.


le nubian - Sep 03, 2005 2:56:23 am PDT #4370 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."

In other news, Red Cross not allowed in New Orleans. Not before. Not NOW.

[link]

The above link is from RC. The following link is from a daily kos poster who called to get this information.

[link]


Theodosia - Sep 03, 2005 3:43:52 am PDT #4371 of 10002
'we all walk this earth feeling we are frauds. The trick is to be grateful and hope the caper doesn't end any time soon"

I haven't read the links yet, but my first reaction to that is WHAT THE FUCK!!!???1!!!

But I haven't had breakfast yet. Maybe a bagel will help control my blood pressure before my head explodes like Heather's.


brenda m - Sep 03, 2005 3:45:41 am PDT #4372 of 10002
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

Hah! The Fuddruckers site has decided to steal someone else's bandwidth now...

BWAH!

FWIW, regarding the Salon piece on the looting v. finding captions, I've seen the picture of the black kid labelled both ways.

I don't think there's any way to separate racism, latent or overt, from some of the things we're seeing. That said, I don't think it's a primary mover so much as something coloring the edges of some of the responses/commentary. Bush doens't care about poor people. The fact is, because you're talking about a city and not a rural area, most of those people are black. As to the looters and gangs, I'm quite certain there are a lot of people out there who are finding this confirmation of every ugly thing they've ever thought about black people. But the sheer incompetence of the "relief" efforts is much broader than that.


brenda m - Sep 03, 2005 3:47:15 am PDT #4373 of 10002
If you're going through hell/keep on going/don't slow down/keep your fear from showing/you might be gone/'fore the devil even knows you're there

In other news, Red Cross not allowed in New Orleans. Not before. Not NOW.

Some of that makes a lot of sense, actually. Or would, if the feds hadn't fucked up their role in this so badly.


Anne W. - Sep 03, 2005 3:51:58 am PDT #4374 of 10002
The lost sheep grow teeth, forsake their lambs, and lie with the lions.

Some of that makes a lot of sense, actually. Or would, if the feds hadn't fucked up their role in this so badly.

If someone had explained early on that the RC's role in all of this was to provide assistance outside the disaster area so as not to hamper S&R efforts, I think it would have been a lot more palatable.

That's yet another area where things have been screwed up in all of this; communications with the media and the public and general.