Comments on TheCoolReport.net: Anxiety and Anger

F--- the Red Cross. When a log-jammed dam and a r...

2005-11-14T11:27:00.000-05:00

F--- the Red Cross. When a log-jammed dam and a resevoir levee upstream from me both burst, my house was flooded, as were many. As I sat in the mud in my driveway taking a break, with the single friend who came to help me in my hour of need, I waved at the Red Cross as they drove by repeatedly. Eventually a TV crew stopped by and asked to film, and I said yes. They were stunned by the damage, but refused to film since I wouldn't boohoo in front of the camera. I lived in a flood plain, so there's not much reason to cry when it all hits the fan, as if you didn't know it could happen.

They saw me wave to the Red Cross as they drove by and they soon figured out that I hadn't been helped. A couple of cell phone calls later and the Red Cross dropped off a mop and some cheesy disinfectant and a crappy broom. Without a reporter calling, I wouldn't even have gotten that. (no phone)

Then the Federal Flood Insurance agency cut me a check for around $70 after my $500 deductable for a house that was over chest deep in water, but that's another story.

It really does suck to lose everything, especially all the photos and childhood memories. I feel for Vlad, and all those who are resetting the restore-point in their lives. Oh yeah, and my boss fired me for not being able to get to work for a few days. When it rains it pours, and sometimes it's yellow.

Once again, thank you Trent,

grim

I'm keeping those who donated annonymous. They kno...

2005-11-07T16:20:00.000-05:00

I'm keeping those who donated annonymous. They know who they are and I thank them. I only asked for $5 and $10 donations. Some have given more and that's helped raise money faster. Other might not want to donate or just don't have the money to spare. Thats cool too.

As always Kollin makes some bold statements. What he says is on the surface, quite true. If everyone had left, the loss of life would have been much lower.

So you're a poor working family in the ninth ward. You and your family have lived here for generations. You don't have a car. How are you going to leave the city? You may have a child or an elderly relative. How far will you get on foot? Where will you stay? A hotel? Staying at even a cheap motel could cost more than you have.

You know that the city is below sea level, and it could flood. But it floods all the time. You;re used to it. They built pump stattions. The city hasn;t had a breach in your living memory. You have a certain trust that the levees were well built and maintained.

By Kollins logic, everyone in Los Angeles should have abandoned that doomed city years ago. Amsterdam is also below water, should they abandon it as well? Rossana'a ancestral home is Arche' Reale at the base of Mt Eatna in Sicily. It's an active volcano. It's last serious eruption in the 1800's killed thousands. Why the hell would you live in such a place? Because your family has always lived there and you have strong ties to it, and the land is rich and fertile. You know there is a chance it will blow once every 1-200 years. Shoukd you ignore it the other 99-199 years? Every place caries a certain risk to living there. I just found pictures in the national archive of a flood in Cleveland in 1910.

Does this make you guilty?

It might be interesting for those of us who follow...

2005-11-07T10:44:00.000-05:00

It might be interesting for those of us who follow your journal to know who donated to your trip - after all, we could see who the communist hosers are who won't lend a hand with a pathetic $5 or $10 bucks....just a thought. Perhaps then they would see what a good, thoughtful thing you were doing and help out themselves....

BTW just for the record Steve I think it is very n...

2005-11-07T09:00:00.000-05:00

BTW just for the record Steve I think it is very noble what you and your wife are going to do. I wish you the best of luck and a safe return.

Kollin

After reading the ravings of Jenka's Journal it is...

2005-11-07T08:59:00.000-05:00

After reading the ravings of Jenka's Journal it is easy to forget the whole story.

The people in N.O. were ordered out of the city. They saw the huge storm heading their way for days before the event. They know they live below sea level and that there is a good chance of a lot of rain when the hurricane hit. But they didn't leave.

Yes people will complain about how the majority of people were poor and didn't have the means of geting out of the city. That has a truth to it. But I clearly remember seeing a good number of cars in the street. Parking garages filled with vechicles. The day before the hurricane hit I remember watching a web cam that showed one of the major highways leading out of the city. There were no line of cars, buses or walking people. A good precent of them did not leave because they were either too dumb to know what was going to happen or they thought it culdn't happen to them. And their inaction helped to escalate the crisis to the epic proportions that it became.

The goverment did fuck up, responce was not optimal, corrdination was not well thought out... but the blame cannot rest solely on them. The people are ultimatly responcabile for their own lives and those that chose to stay are just as guilty.

I found these demographics quite interesting.
http://neworleans.areaconnect.com/statistics.htm
(The data is from a 2000 cencus)

Kollin