A little rage before my vacation (and links to organizations doing good in the Gulf)
Look. I get it. The vast majority of Americans see the Gulf States as the home of the Stupid People. The folks that say 'Merika. Bible belt, sister fucking, barefoot on dirty road morons. And hey, thanks for that generalization, by the way. Because I see everyone from the East Coast as a soulless, hateful, mafioso, and all of you West Coasters are crystal-loving, pot smoking hippies. Oh, wait, I don't think that. I get that a lot of these boards discussing the current oil disaster are filled with people that see all of the current horror as a theoretical discussion where it's this nebulous, far away place filled with people you don't like much, anyway.
But this is OUR HOME. This is where the food I feed my family comes from, for starters. There is a huge population of people that have relied on the waters to feed THEIR families and have never turned to the government for help, and now 80% of the fishermen (Vietnamese-Americans, mostly people who fled the war in the 60s and set up for a "better life" here) are devastated that they now HAVE to turn to the government for help. And guess how that affects everyone in the US? Let's not even discuss the horror show that is the marine life of the Gulf. Dolphins are washing up, bloated sacks of oil. They have literally become bags of oil. It's horrifying.
And I swear to the god of your choice, next time I see someone talk in theoretical terms and toss around ideas like "regulation won't change anything" I might have to choke someone. My husband worked in the O&G industry for a few years, my ex-husband's family was an oil family, and LET ME TELL YOU HOW THINGS CHANGED BECAUSE OF DEREGULATION. Because it's not good. And there are LOADS of suicides among oil workers, did you know that? No, you didn't, because they clamp that shit down. But it's pretty much known that you have to keep an eye on roughnecks after a certain period. Because they just... lose it. Those floating rigs are PALACES now to give those guys some kind of semblance of life while they're out there at sea.
I try to keep it light and playful around here for the most part, because we all have crap in our lives that bring us down. But PLEASE. If you're one of the types of folks that automatically writes off this region as filled with Bible Thumping, Incestuous Dummies, please remember THAT I LIVE HERE. And regardless of a person's outward appearance, we're HUMANS. Every goddamn one of us matters. Every freaking ANIMAL down here matters. Please. Stop insulting us with casual hand waves of stereotypical definitions. PLEASE. That kind of thinking led to Louisiana being left to its own devices and look where that got us!
Gulf Clean is an online forum for inventors to devise and share ways to clean up faster. They're awesome. Also, Wildlife Emergency is accepting donations to help catch animals and either clean them/give aid, or capture them and move them out of harm's way. They are also awesome.
In happier news, the BFF is flying in later to spend the weekend with us, then she and I and the kids are driving to FLAHrida (along the coast line, buying up anything being sold on roadside stands because it's now a lot of people's only source of income) to spend a week with the horses and to manatee watch/help in Wakulla Springs. The hope is that the oil spill won't get inside the river, and that's where the manatees will be hiding, waiting out this disaster. We'll be looking for ways to further assist in the disaster, too. I think it's going to be a great eye opener for my kids.
Thanks for letting me get that off my chest. See y'all in a week, be safe and good to each other!