Information
All day long, something's been nagging at my brain.
All over LJ yesterday, and in the news, there were people saying, "Why didn't they leave?!"
I think that enough people have countered that particular fallacious, victim-blaming mindset (with nods to wicked_wish, and scott_lynch, among others). What I want to address is something nobody seems to be considering.
Over and over, I see... "They had WARNING!" Let's assume that there really were 48 hours' warning before the storm hit. Furthermore, let's ignore the fact that many means of evacuation (bus, plane, taxi, rental car) were inaccessible to the average person within that period, or downright shut down. Let's just talk about something else for a minute, a topic that's near to my heart.
Accessibility of information. This is something I talk about in my training, when I'm referring to the fact that many people in the Deaf community don't have access to the same information other people do... information that can range from explanations of societal norms to where the tornado is going to hit in the next 15 minutes. People assume. People assume that everyone has access to the same level of information.
The reality is... people don't. And I'm not just talking about the Deaf community now. I'm talking about people at large, in our society.
Yes, we're being inundated with newspaper, broadcast news, and internet reporting on the tragedy, the crisis, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and other places to a lesser extent.
But you know what? Not everyone has access to newspapers. Not everyone has access to television (we, for example, don't have cable... I have yet to see any depiction of the hurricane aftermath that's not a still photograph). Not everyone has internet access.
There seems to be a widely-held assumption that people were informed, well in advance of its arrival, that there was a Category 5 hurricane barrelling down on them. There seems to be some sort of picture in people's heads of bullhorns mounted on trucks, warning people to "EVACUATE! THE END IS NIGH!"
The reality is, I suspect, far harsher.
Katrina wasn't upgraded to a Category 5 storm until Sunday morning. There was plenty of speculation before then, but as many people have pointed out... NOLA residents are used to being told that "The Big One" is heading their way. The boy who cried wolf comes to mind. Even IF people were informed of the speculation that this could be a much bigger storm than they'd ever seen before... they might not have had the time, money, or physical resources to leave. They might not have BELIEVED that it was as critical as it turned out to be.
That's IF people knew. As it stands, it would appear the government said, "Get the hell outta Dodge" at some point... in a press conference... it was publicized... and that, as they say, was that.
What about all the people who don't watch TV (I would count myself as one)?
What about those TV stations that don't caption live feeds (most don't)?
What about people for whom buying a newspaper might mean they don't eat that day?
What about those people for whom the only news comes from word of mouth, from the street? How dependable is that, generally?
You know... all this bothers me all the more because of what I do, and the people I work with. "Why didn't she leave?" is a common question, and one that has no easy answer. "Surely she knew there was help available!" is another all-too-frequent statement, said in tones of incredulity. Asking, "Why did she let him do that?" is a classic victim-blaming tactic.
No. People don't always know what's going on. People don't always know what they could do to get or keep themselves out of harm's way... and even if they do, sometimes they can't take advantage of those resources. People don't choose to be victimized, whether by other people or by forces of nature.
"Knowledge is power," we're taught as children.
Of those tens of thousands of people stranded in this tragedy... how many truly knew?
It's difficult for me to think about the people who have been stranded in the Superdome, in the Convention Center, helpless. Not knowing what's going on. Not understanding what's happening to them, and why. Grasping for any bit of power, of knowledge, anything to shed light on the nightmarish darkness they've found themselves in.
It's difficult for me to think about, because I understand, in some tiny way, how that feels.
I'm heartsick tonight.
All over LJ yesterday, and in the news, there were people saying, "Why didn't they leave?!"
I think that enough people have countered that particular fallacious, victim-blaming mindset (with nods to wicked_wish, and scott_lynch, among others). What I want to address is something nobody seems to be considering.
Over and over, I see... "They had WARNING!" Let's assume that there really were 48 hours' warning before the storm hit. Furthermore, let's ignore the fact that many means of evacuation (bus, plane, taxi, rental car) were inaccessible to the average person within that period, or downright shut down. Let's just talk about something else for a minute, a topic that's near to my heart.
Accessibility of information. This is something I talk about in my training, when I'm referring to the fact that many people in the Deaf community don't have access to the same information other people do... information that can range from explanations of societal norms to where the tornado is going to hit in the next 15 minutes. People assume. People assume that everyone has access to the same level of information.
The reality is... people don't. And I'm not just talking about the Deaf community now. I'm talking about people at large, in our society.
Yes, we're being inundated with newspaper, broadcast news, and internet reporting on the tragedy, the crisis, in Louisiana, Mississippi, Florida, and other places to a lesser extent.
But you know what? Not everyone has access to newspapers. Not everyone has access to television (we, for example, don't have cable... I have yet to see any depiction of the hurricane aftermath that's not a still photograph). Not everyone has internet access.
There seems to be a widely-held assumption that people were informed, well in advance of its arrival, that there was a Category 5 hurricane barrelling down on them. There seems to be some sort of picture in people's heads of bullhorns mounted on trucks, warning people to "EVACUATE! THE END IS NIGH!"
The reality is, I suspect, far harsher.
Katrina wasn't upgraded to a Category 5 storm until Sunday morning. There was plenty of speculation before then, but as many people have pointed out... NOLA residents are used to being told that "The Big One" is heading their way. The boy who cried wolf comes to mind. Even IF people were informed of the speculation that this could be a much bigger storm than they'd ever seen before... they might not have had the time, money, or physical resources to leave. They might not have BELIEVED that it was as critical as it turned out to be.
That's IF people knew. As it stands, it would appear the government said, "Get the hell outta Dodge" at some point... in a press conference... it was publicized... and that, as they say, was that.
What about all the people who don't watch TV (I would count myself as one)?
What about those TV stations that don't caption live feeds (most don't)?
What about people for whom buying a newspaper might mean they don't eat that day?
What about those people for whom the only news comes from word of mouth, from the street? How dependable is that, generally?
You know... all this bothers me all the more because of what I do, and the people I work with. "Why didn't she leave?" is a common question, and one that has no easy answer. "Surely she knew there was help available!" is another all-too-frequent statement, said in tones of incredulity. Asking, "Why did she let him do that?" is a classic victim-blaming tactic.
No. People don't always know what's going on. People don't always know what they could do to get or keep themselves out of harm's way... and even if they do, sometimes they can't take advantage of those resources. People don't choose to be victimized, whether by other people or by forces of nature.
"Knowledge is power," we're taught as children.
Of those tens of thousands of people stranded in this tragedy... how many truly knew?
It's difficult for me to think about the people who have been stranded in the Superdome, in the Convention Center, helpless. Not knowing what's going on. Not understanding what's happening to them, and why. Grasping for any bit of power, of knowledge, anything to shed light on the nightmarish darkness they've found themselves in.
It's difficult for me to think about, because I understand, in some tiny way, how that feels.
I'm heartsick tonight.