we're all dirty southerners. we're all human.
This entry is mirrored at my deviantART page.
I've been working on more writings regarding the drama here over at deviantART, but in light of all that's happening in the real world, it seems rather insignificant.
I actually saw someone on my side of the political fence say that they were on a track of thinking that led them to want to call for us blue-staters to turn our backs on the devestation taking place in the dirty[-er] south. To me, this is heartless, sickening and really quite stupid.
Heartless and sickening? Yeah. That anyone would consciously turn their backs on those in such a dire situation makes me fear for our species. Stupid? Very much so. All things aside, huge population centers that are generally tinted a slightly blue-ish shade of purple were among the hardest hit. Those who provided the red already bought up all the property upstate.
Regardless, had this disaster affected only die-hard conservatives, it's not right to turn our backs because of political affiliation. The only thing that keeps me from going ballistic on those I argue with online is that I know deep down that they only want for the greater good, just like I do. Their means of reaching that goal might be generally quite ignorant, but they can't be faulted for their intentions.
The situation in New Orleans brought me to tears today. I felt stupid for feeling such a connection to a place I've only been to a handful of times. Trying to load up the web page for the Generations Hall (where Celeste and I were married almost two years ago) was the straw that broke this camel's back. Admittedly, it didn't take much after days of constant news watching and updates from Celeste's family about how they're doing.
Why are the troops just getting there? Why was the situation allowed to get this bad? Considering that a huge percentage of troops and funds were allocated to rebuilding Iraq still leaves you at only the tip of the iceberg. The politics relevant here aren't just regarding the response, but the conscious lack of funding for preventative measures that led to a bad situation becoming much, much worse.
It's sad that some down there have resorted to violence. I wouldn't pass judgement on those left behind just yet, though. There was bound to be some bad apples causing trouble, but it's certainly no surprise that such large numbers of people have resorted to animalistic survival-of-the-fittest types of behavior when they've had no indication that help was on the way.
"Oh! But they should have left when they were told to!" What makes you think they didn't want to? Celeste covers that point at the link provided much better than I could ever hope to.
Initially I was pretty disgusted with the news media's standard-issue drooling over the opportunity for coverage of a disaster situation, but some, like Anderson Cooper, have regained a great deal of respect from me by really sticking it to the man regarding responsibility for this mess.
A big FUCK YOU goes out to all of those bitching about the politicizing of this event. If there ever was a perfect example of how and why our current administration is failing us, this is it. We need to drive this point home.
The disaster on the Gulf Coast isn't the worse thing happening in the world today. In fact, many others die in comparable numbers on a daily basis due to such things as hunger, doubt or oppression. What we're seeing live on the news right now should still at least remind us that we're all human beings. We can only hope that this realization will hit home in huge numbers and to a rise in awareness and compassion on a global scale.
I apologize for the rambling nature of this post. It's not very coherent and jumps from point to point without much in the way of linking of concepts or ideas, but it's the best I could do right now.
If you can, please donate or open your home.
I've been working on more writings regarding the drama here over at deviantART, but in light of all that's happening in the real world, it seems rather insignificant.
I actually saw someone on my side of the political fence say that they were on a track of thinking that led them to want to call for us blue-staters to turn our backs on the devestation taking place in the dirty[-er] south. To me, this is heartless, sickening and really quite stupid.
Heartless and sickening? Yeah. That anyone would consciously turn their backs on those in such a dire situation makes me fear for our species. Stupid? Very much so. All things aside, huge population centers that are generally tinted a slightly blue-ish shade of purple were among the hardest hit. Those who provided the red already bought up all the property upstate.
Regardless, had this disaster affected only die-hard conservatives, it's not right to turn our backs because of political affiliation. The only thing that keeps me from going ballistic on those I argue with online is that I know deep down that they only want for the greater good, just like I do. Their means of reaching that goal might be generally quite ignorant, but they can't be faulted for their intentions.
The situation in New Orleans brought me to tears today. I felt stupid for feeling such a connection to a place I've only been to a handful of times. Trying to load up the web page for the Generations Hall (where Celeste and I were married almost two years ago) was the straw that broke this camel's back. Admittedly, it didn't take much after days of constant news watching and updates from Celeste's family about how they're doing.
Why are the troops just getting there? Why was the situation allowed to get this bad? Considering that a huge percentage of troops and funds were allocated to rebuilding Iraq still leaves you at only the tip of the iceberg. The politics relevant here aren't just regarding the response, but the conscious lack of funding for preventative measures that led to a bad situation becoming much, much worse.
It's sad that some down there have resorted to violence. I wouldn't pass judgement on those left behind just yet, though. There was bound to be some bad apples causing trouble, but it's certainly no surprise that such large numbers of people have resorted to animalistic survival-of-the-fittest types of behavior when they've had no indication that help was on the way.
"Oh! But they should have left when they were told to!" What makes you think they didn't want to? Celeste covers that point at the link provided much better than I could ever hope to.
Initially I was pretty disgusted with the news media's standard-issue drooling over the opportunity for coverage of a disaster situation, but some, like Anderson Cooper, have regained a great deal of respect from me by really sticking it to the man regarding responsibility for this mess.
A big FUCK YOU goes out to all of those bitching about the politicizing of this event. If there ever was a perfect example of how and why our current administration is failing us, this is it. We need to drive this point home.
The disaster on the Gulf Coast isn't the worse thing happening in the world today. In fact, many others die in comparable numbers on a daily basis due to such things as hunger, doubt or oppression. What we're seeing live on the news right now should still at least remind us that we're all human beings. We can only hope that this realization will hit home in huge numbers and to a rise in awareness and compassion on a global scale.
I apologize for the rambling nature of this post. It's not very coherent and jumps from point to point without much in the way of linking of concepts or ideas, but it's the best I could do right now.
If you can, please donate or open your home.