Dispatches From Mississippi
Man, I can't even talk right now.... thanks to Chris Hume for making a very moving and candid film of life on the MS Gulf Coast.
As recently as yesterday, I encountered people who made statements like, "Those people were stupid to live there."
Goshdamnit, I am a 6th generation Coastian, and only moved away to be with my honey. My heart still aches to be there, and I miss my family. The Coast is and always will be my HOME, as it is for many of the people who are there now struggling to get their lives back in order. They aren't stupid for living there. "There" is home.
So many homes that were lost were not in federally FEMA declared flood zones. Many were way above sea level. The surge swept MILES inland... like nothing anyone was familiar with previously. Many people tried to get flood insurance when they purchased their homes only to be told they were not in a flood zone by the insurancwe company they were dealing with.
I want to throat-punch people for being so callous and cold in their judgment. I wonder what they would do if they were in a similar position as the people on the Coast?
posted by Judy Gex @ 11:20 AM
1 comments
1 Comments:
I'm with Judy...I want to punch (at the very least) those morons who say we are stupid for either living on the MS Gulf Coast or New Orleans. Hell, if we started looking for the safest places to live, where would that be? LA so our houses can either slide off the hill or burn? the Midwest so a tornado can rip our trailer park into a million pieces? Oooh, we can move to Texas and worry about burning up or running into George Bush while he is on vacation. San Francisco so we can experience "THE BIG ONE"?
What the hell is wrong with people? I guess we should just shut the entire state of Florida down because they are so very prone to hurricanes. As my momma said, "We lost everything in Hurricane Camille and it took over 35 years to lose it again, so I guess that's pretty good odds".
Each and every one of us can choose where to live. When I was choosing a college, oh so many years ago, I was accepted to Notre Dame as well as Duke...far away from tidal surges. I chose Loyola in New Orleans and eventually University of Southern Mississippi because I didn't want to leave HOME...which means the people. I didn't want to leave my family...I didn't want to leave my friends. I DIDN'T WANT TO LEAVE THE SOUTH.
The South has always taken care of me and I plan on returning the favor. I plan on staying put and helping with the effort to rebuild and restore our culture. You can't just turn your back on the people...the food...the music...the architecture...
For anyone to come up with these cockmamie ideas of relocating towns farther inland is ridiculous and they need to back their opinions out of our recovery process. We take chances getting on a plane, in a car, crossing the street. I take full responsibility for myself and my decision to live below sea level and in high humidity.
Some people need to stop and think of what they are asking people to do when they tell them they should move to higher ground. How would you feel if someone told you that the ground your family has living on for generations is not a feasible place to set up house?
I am sure that a lot of these people coming up with these brilliant ideas are the same people who dictated to us what we needed (used underwear, raggedy kitchen supplies, etc.). These people do not take the time to stop long enough to ask others what they need, what they are thinking and feeling, etc. This type of person just wants to make themselves feel warm and fuzzy by being "part" of the recovery effort. Well, feel warm and fuzzy on your own time.
I am getting really tired of the media saying "the aftermath of Katrina" in New Orleans...this would be the aftermath of the Corps of Engineers, the aftermath of the government.
On top of that...New Orleans was in dire straights before the storm. Our schools were about to be taken over by the state. Our streets are in ridiculous condition. Homes were blighted. It's a sad statement, but many are saying Katrina was the best thing to happen in New Orleans in many aspects.
Hey, here's an idea...why don't we do-gooding, fuzzy-feeling know-it-alls start taking care of our American towns before the levee breaks? Why don't we take the time to step back a little and see what we need to do for our people before a 35' wall of water tumbles down on top of humanity and pushes 200+ year old homes miles inland?
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