Message 18/36
Date: 06-Sep-05 @ 05:35 PM -
RE: explain this
Milan,
There is a lot of outrage, but right now they are focused on getting the remaining people out. The news shows are covering it, people are talking about it, but the focus is on relocating those people. There are 2500 coming up to my neck of the woods (Massachusetts, and we're a thousand miles away). Alot of people are being sent to Houston, Texas.
"and the rest of the world is having a proper laugh in the meantime. "
This is the type of shit that you'll NEVER hear an American say. Natural disasters have NEVER been a laughing matter for us - regardless of who it hits. When the tsunamis hit in Indonesia, the American people sent millions of dollars - well ahead of our government money. People dropped what they were doing to go and help out. I'm not suggesting that we're the most generous nation (Zazza I am sure would love to post statistics proving this) but the point I'm making is that we never "laugh" at anyones misfortune, be it self made or otherwise.
Look - the fact of the matter is that alot of people CHOSE not to leave, as I stated above. And there are lots of people saying that the looting was overblown. Sure, there were some incidents of looting, and there were gunfights between the police and some other people (I didn't hear the end of that story), and I'm sure that's what made it to the papers over there because currently (and not undeserved), the rest of the world hates us Americans. And that's fine, but to sit over there and chuckle while thousands of ordinary Americans are drowning is pretty low. It would be one thing if this hit Washington and only the fucking ass-face policy makers were affected, but as you can see from any coverage, this disaster hit a city with rich and poor alike. This wasn't a couple of buildings in a large city, or even a big city - it was AN ENTIRE REGION. Most of the rural Mississippi coast is still under water.
So sit back and laugh folks. Just remember that if something like this happens to any of you, the American people will be first in line to try to help out any way they can. The government may be slow to act, but the people will be there right beside you regardless of the color of your skin or home country.
Now, I'm sure some of you are thinking - Where were you in Rwanda, and now Darfur? How about Uzbekistan? Well, ordinary citizens aren't there for the same reason that YOUR countrymen aren't there.