Bush's zero tolerance policy
I haven't posted any political blogs to this point, even though I feel strongly about what is going on. I don't think this administration really believes in free speech. If you critisize policies, the administration, or the actions of this government, you are branded as un-american and probably end up on some government watch list. This being said, I saw something on CNN today that made me so angry I couldn't keep quiet any more.
I am watching scenes of the people gathered around the Superdome, where people were told to go. There are people dying there with no help from our government. An old woman in a wheelchair dead with a blanket drapped over her, a man going into a seziure and dying, a baby unconcious in her mother's arms dying of thirst. Now I'm hearing about many dead bodies inside the Superdome. The fact that this is happening in America is hard to believe. This is where they were told to go and now the government is just letting them die.
I've heard Bush's "zero tolerance" policy. I've heard cabinet level people say there is no reason for any looting. They quote how much water and food is being sent to New Orleans, but the fact is it isn't getting to the people who need it. The statement was made, "There are ways to do things, and looting isn't one of them." Let me ask you the reader, if you or your family had not eaten for two or three days, the government has given you no help, would you go in and steal water and food? This is a matter of survival.
Of course there are the idiots taking TVs, jewelry, and abusing the situation. I don't think they'll by eating or drinking what they stole, but who knows they may be able to trade for things to keep them alive. I read about a bank president who was in a hotel with no food or water. He admitted to going into a convenience store and taking food and drinks. He said I would have been glad to pay for it, but no one was there to pay. He said I hadn't eaten for two days and it was a matter of staying alive. Under this government's no tolerance policy, he is a criminal. There are no exceptions.
In this sort of catastrophe, who cares about material things. Thousands upon thousands of people are just trying to stay alive. The idiots who are shooting at rescue workers should be shot on sight. But worrying about looters should be the last priority of the authorities in New Orleans.
It would be nice to belive that everybody would just work together for the greater good. But when it comes to keeping your family alive, any normal human would do almost anything to get them what they need to survive.
It would be great if everybody had the money to evacuate. If everybody had a car, the ability to pay for hotel rooms. If the elderly and disabled were able to walk or drive out, but with the poverty level of the New Orleans area it just couldn't happen.
I guess I'm through. I just had to vent. I'm disabled and stayed in the Daytona area through four hurricanes. Nothing near as bad as Katrina. But at one point the roof blew off the apartment above mine, and water poured through the ceiling. I lived in the apartment for a month as repairs were made. I empathize with those who were not able to evacuate, and this just made me angry.