Trudy,
an eyewitness account on a NO tv (NBC affliate I think) website said people were shooting at helicopters to get their attention. I can imagine this as a more likely explanation for MOST of the gunshots.
Dawn: You're not fleeing. You're... moving at a brisk pace. Buffy: Quaintly referred to in some cultures as the Big Scaredy Run Away.
'Touched'
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.
le nubian - Sep 04, 2005 12:12:01 pm PDT #4609 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Theodosia - Sep 04, 2005 12:14:43 pm PDT #4610 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"
wonders where she can buy flare gun
Trudy Booth - Sep 04, 2005 12:17:01 pm PDT #4611 of 10002
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
an eyewitness account on a NO tv (NBC affliate I think) website said people were shooting at helicopters to get their attention
That makes a lot more sense than, "this is OUR flooded out, filthy, corpse-strewn, hospital/convention center and you ain't gonna take it."
AND I can see how that would easily spin into rumors of "not safe to land, they're shooting" (or BE spun, as I personally suspect, as an excuse).
While I don't think racism/classism is the CAUSE for the horribly mismanagement this is one example of how it could be exascerbating the quagmire -- Those crazy black folks! They won't even LET us rescue them! They're shooting at us!
le nubian - Sep 04, 2005 12:26:17 pm PDT #4612 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Theo, in NO a flare gun wouldn't have helped. The eyewitness said that people were waving their arms at the National Guard troops who they LOOKED IN THE EYES, but they wouldn't stop to help them - even when women nearby were being abused and they ran out of water.
Given that circumstance, I think I would have become very desperate - and I may have tried to call attention to myself using unusual means.
le nubian - Sep 04, 2005 12:28:11 pm PDT #4613 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
Trudy, that said, I did hear about hospitals being invaded. So...? There were really desperate people and there were desperate criminal people. Disaster preparedness would have had plans for helping the former people and preventing the latter people from doing too much damage.
Trudy Booth - Sep 04, 2005 12:35:00 pm PDT #4614 of 10002
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
I did hear about hospitals being invaded. So...? There were really desperate people and there were desperate criminal people. Disaster preparedness would have had plans for helping the former people and preventing the latter people from doing too much damage.
Very very true.
I suspect that the assumption of evil intent was heightend because of the blackness though. With white people we may have heard about "a few bad apples". (this is speculation of course)
le nubian - Sep 04, 2005 12:45:03 pm PDT #4615 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
New Orleans will have to be abandoned for at least nine months, and many of its people will remain homeless for up to two years, the US government believes.
The bleak assessment will deepen the biggest crisis faced by President George Bush, who last week called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a " temporary disruption".
Trudy Booth - Sep 04, 2005 12:47:51 pm PDT #4616 of 10002
Greece's financial crisis threatens to take down all of Western civilization - a civilization they themselves founded. A rather tragic irony - which is something they also invented. - Jon Stewart
George Bush, who last week called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a " temporary disruption".
Alright, him I might wing to get attention (instead of shooting into the air).
le nubian - Sep 04, 2005 12:50:16 pm PDT #4617 of 10002
"And to be clear, I am the hell. And the high water."
This is a link regarding the volunteer physicians who are trying to head to LA, but can't get approval to serve because the federal government isn't properly coordinating this effort. Physicians who go to Baton Rouge seem to have greater success.
aurelia - Sep 04, 2005 12:51:21 pm PDT #4618 of 10002
All sorrows can be borne if you put them into a story. Tell me a story.
George Bush, who last week called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a " temporary disruption".
He's probably thinking about oil. Or his vacation.