No, Really, We Looove Black People
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I find it notable that Ken Mehlman’s speech to the NAACP (President Bush refuses to address the organization) has not one mention of the administration’s botched response to Hurricane Katrina. Whatever piddling advances the GOP has made towards attracting black voters were washed away in the flood waters of New Orleans, and how does the party chairman note that? He just pretends it never happened.
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© 2000-2011 Oliver Willis
I am sure that Julian Bond’s long-running anti-Bush rhetoric placed his organization right at the top of the list of people he wanted to meet with.
Maybe, and I’m just spitballing here, but maybe it has something to do with when the NAACP all but accused Bush of murder back in 2000.
Black people were left to die in the aftermath of Katrina because of decisions made by white people.
Oh so EVERY PERSON that died in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina was black?
PSU94 is exactly right. You frame Katrina in a racial context and all you do is give fuel to the absurd notion that what happened was done on purpose, because black people were affected. You do nothing but validate the accusations of people like Farrakhan who is certifiably insane.
But that was just “hardball politics,” wasn’t it, Farris? Or do you guys only agree with that when it’s coming from your side?
Seems to me that Bush’s penny-ante, petty politicking on this one is neither statesmanlike nor Christian. Big surprise.
1) Candidate Bush did address the organization in 2000 and they repaid him by, as Farris said, accused him of murdering James Byrd all over again simply because he doesn’t support hate-crimes legislation.
2) Addressing the botched response to Katrina in a racial context gives credence to the idiotic notion that the response was botched BECAUSE it was blacks most affected by it. Just because conspiracy theories are out there, you don’t have to give credibility to racists like Louie Farrakhan and Spike Lee by addressing them.
SadieB, are you calling Ray Nagin white?
I am calling the entire Washington power structure white, and male. Republicans and Dems alike, but Republicans especially so.
Talk about Blanco and Nagin all you like, you are missing the point. How can I put it so you can understand?
Okay, let’s look at 9/11. Despite the horrors of that day, everyone was impressed and encouraged by the way the city came together to deal with it.
It’s a matter of scale. Two buildings are smaller than a city, a city can handle a disaster of that size. Especially a well-functioning and civic city like New York.
A city is smaller than a state. A state is smaller than a region. Doesn’t it stand to reason that a disaster that strikes an entire region, can only be dealt with by a political entity which is larger than a region?
And that means the federal government. It is the only political entity large enough to handle a crisis affecting an entire region.
In the aftermath of Katrina we found out, of course, that our federal government was AWOL. (Well some of us knew this already but a good bit of the rest of the country learned it for the first time, but I digress.)
Cons naturally pointed fingers at city government, state government, etc. Anywhere but at themselves and the natural and appropriate level of authority, which is the federal level.
And yes, I truly believe part of the reason why the feds screwed up so badly was because their homogeneity impairs their decision-making ability.Their training, temperament and ambitions make vast areas of human experience invisible to them.
And are you calling Gov Blanco a man?
Further, during the MOVE crisis here in Philly in 1985, black people were left to die by a black mayor. People aren’t incompetant because they’re black or white. They’re incompetant because they’re incompetant.
I agree with PSU94, Jay, and Farris. Just because the victims were disproportionately black doesn’t mean they were victims because they were black.
And I appreciate that they are willing to admit that the Katrina response was botched. I still find apologists throughout the blogosphere for all levels of government in that fiasco.
Black people were left to die in the aftermath of Katrina because of decisions made by white people. If we had a truly representative government, if the decision makers in our country were both black and white, race wouldn’t be an issue, but we don’t so it is.
So long as a bunch of sheltered white men are the ones making life and death decisions for the rest of us, this will continue to be a problem.
Besides which, it’s less an illustration of how blacks are treated than how the poor are treated in this country.
What does this have to do with race?
Sadie…
Anywhere but at themselves and the natural and appropriate level of authority, which is the federal level.
You’re saying it’s the federal government’s responsibility to stock the emergency shelters in a city with water and food? It’s the federal government’s responsibility to get citizens out of a city after an evacuation is ordered?
The federal government has plenty of responsibility for this response, but I believe your quoted statement above is false, at least in the first few days after a disaster.
I think this is where you went wrong:
A city is smaller than a state. A state is smaller than a region. Doesn t it stand to reason that a disaster that strikes an entire region, can only be dealt with by a political entity which is larger than a region?
And that means the federal government. It is the only political entity large enough to handle a crisis affecting an entire region.
That’s an interesting progression of what appear to be reasonable assumptions, but governmental responsibilities are not based on assumptions, nor on what seems “natural and appropriate.” They are based on laws, charters, and other documented policies. Can you show me the law, charter, or documented policy that says that the federal government has to have large-scale resources at the site of a disaster within 24 hours (as opposed to, what, 48-72 hrs after Katrina?) Unless someone can come up with such a document, the eye should be on governments and agencies closer to the scene, even if to you and others it might not “stand to reason.”
Blacks are certainly treated better by the Left… it’s a fact, jack.
Regards,
St Wendeler
stwendeler…
Try to keep up. Steele is not black.
Gee, savefarris, I guess you’re right. And we should blame the people on the eighth floor of the world trade center for not doing a better job of securing the eighth floor. Those assholes.
I live less than 70 miles from the Superdome, and the extent of damage to my house was 3 shingles blown off. The only shred of evidence that bolsters your case is that Missisippi was hit as well. How does that take Louisiana off the hook for not responding to the Louisiana section of the Disaster Zone?
Sadie…
Government is not a collection of laws, charters, documents. That is part of government, but it is not the entirety.
That’s a nice dream, or maybe the beginning of a good essay for an anthropology final.
Government is nothing more than that affiliation instinct writ large. Very large. Each of us surrenders part of our individual power to the collective, but only on the condition that the collective will use that gathered power to accomplish beneficial things we can t accomplish on our own.
I assume if you were in charge the collective would have provided the helicopters and trucks, and the fuel and water and food would have been pre-placed by the affiliation instinct?
Sadie…
And we should blame the people on the eighth floor of the world trade center for not doing a better job of securing the eighth floor.
Not at all…but I would be very surprised if the people fighting fires and rescuing people from the rubble–and providing food and water and shelter to the displaced–were sent there by the federal government.
Sadie
Good ‘ol Sadie telling it like it is. Speaking to the power!
“I am calling the entire Washington power structure white, and male. Republicans and Dems alike, but Republicans especially so.”
Lets back her up.
Hmm. Lets arbitrarily take the top take the top five Republicans in Government and the top five Democrats.
Rs: Bush, Cheney, Rice, Frist, Hastert.
Now the top five Ds: Reid, Pelosi, Dean, Durbin, Hoyer.
Err, uuhh. Lets look at the next five since the first five was arbitrary. I’m sure those wonderful Ds are just going diversify the h*ll out of those Republicans.
Rs: McConnel, Blunt, Guiliani, McCain, Ahnuld
Ds: Kerry, Hillary, Edwards, Bubba, Dorgan (policy chair).
Well any way Sadie, if your point had been correct or factual, it would have ben a real good one.
Dugger, Why do Democrats Hate Diversity?
Al,
While that may be true, would you be surpised if, after criticizing the bats*#t drunk cokehead, he didn’t carve out a place in his schedule to meet you?
I mean, the Left is for Freedom of Choice right? So why can’t Bush choose to not meet with the NAACP?
I am sure that Julian Bond s long-running anti-Bush rhetoric placed his organization right at the top of the list of people he wanted to meet with.
The man is neither king nor God. In America, everybody has the right to criticize the batshit crazy drunk cokehead in charge of our great nation. Why are you so worried about offending his delicate sensibilities? If he’s going to throw a tantrum and boycott organizations like the NAACP every time his widdle feeling are hurt, he should have stayed in Texas and run the Astros or something.
Anybody can criticize him, and he is obliged to attend?
Exqueeeze me?
Before anybody gets their panties in a major wad, the preceeding entry was loaded to the hilt with sarcasm.
In light of what Julian Bond and some of the other lemmings at the NAACP have accused the President of since November 2001, I don’t blame him one bit for not attending any of their get togethers.
Hey Al, you stupid faggot. You and your kind are a pox on this nation. Frigging queers. Thanks to you homos we have an AIDS epidemic on our hands because you fruits are too lazy to wrap a condom around your wang before you engage in some fudge packing. So just shut up already.
Oh by the way, I was wondering if you could come and give an address to the membersip of my organiztion, the NAASP (National Association For The Advancement of Straight People).
You can’t? Well, why not? I can’t imagine why you’d turn down us down!
Sadie,
I disagree that the response to the region was feeble because of the homogeneity of the Washington power structure, but I do agree with the level of responsibility that the Federal Government had. I consider Nagin and Blanco to be horribly inept, and I think the Federal Response could have been better in light of all of the problems that New Orleans has had with management over the years. When Katrina was still churning off shore there should have been meetings that stated. “Okay, we know the Governor and the heads of local municipalities have their heads up their @ss, let’s get a backup plan together and start staging equipment…this could be a bad one. We already know that the city is below sea level.”
Given your colorful “hypothetical,” Jay, it would not be at all surprising for Big Gay Al to say, “I don’t care about straight people. Piss off!”
Now, please resume your analogy to Mr. Bush’s reaction to the NAACP.
I see someone’s already come to Sadie’s defense… sort of (of course Sadie can defend her own comments – which are the only ones that indicate independant thought and reason)
I’d like to just remind some of the more indoctrinated ones – who may follow orders and or straighten their hair (not that there’s anything wrong with that) – racism and sexism was not and is not practiced in vain.
There is a reason why it was practiced in the past and why many try and conserve it today – for the advantage of those who benefit from racism and sexism (and thereafter pass on benefit to their children and so on)
The same way Bush gives opportunities to friends and others who have the same beliefs as he (and his friends)… first look at the color of their skin, then see content of character (look for signs of belief in a man who can walk on water and return to life after three days, look for signs of willingness to act in betrayal to the teachings of that man, look for signs of belief in supremacy of European values [straight hair, interest in the Queen, aversion to blackness, etc], etc.), now determine how well connected they are to other privileged folks, finally, can they look away from and act like they don’t see the needs of people poorer and darker than they are?…
whether it’s europeans drilling for oil and (mining) diamonds in africa – polluting the land so that the people there can’t farm, hunt, or live any differently than on a street in Brazil, a rock in Palestine, or a reservation in North Dakota… there will always be an excuse for racism and sexism done by materialistically successful so called “whites” (who would be called european-americans in this country – were they to use the same criterion they use to refer to others originally from lands other than this one {named after… i know}
The point about Katrina being too big for a mayor makes since (even though the mayor could’ve requested buses, supplies, rescue readiness before… for the people he should’ve know could not just leave the city with no place to go before Katrina and therefore had to essentially stay): some don’t even fault the Feds for slavery in the past or segregation – both of which could’ve been considered unconstitutional but for so called white males – not to mention denial of voting (and other) rights to women…
…no, discrimination has a purpose… and defending it has a purpose as well. how industrialist and capitalist get the whole [white-minded {eurocentric}] world believing that everyone should have straight hair, play piano, and live in a city is amazing…
a balance of lifestyles is what is needed… farmers, bushpeople, tribes people in the Amazon, city folks, and countryfolk… all working together to maintain their environment without encroachment on one another…
… but nooo….
moneymen want to chop down the trees, pollute the air land and sea, bomb and assassinate… and then expect folks to praise them, er i mean God – who looks like them, er i mean we look like Him, er, her…. uuuu indoctrination taking effect… must drink… valium… rush limbo… ahhh
peace
Dkelsmith…
When Katrina was still churning off shore there should have been meetings that stated. Okay, we know the Governor and the heads of local municipalities have their heads up their @ss, let s get a backup plan together and start staging equipment…
I think this is a good case of 20/20 hindsight…it’s easy to see now that such actions could have helped, but it would be impractical to do so for every storm that looked like it was going to be a big’un. Maybe a more sensible course of action along those lines would be to designate major military commands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts as regional disaster responders. Those commands could be responsible for stockpiling relief supplies and for maintaining a relief plan that included movement of vehicles and aircraft, fuel, personnel, and relief supplies. Of course, such a system could also be used for terrorist attacks or other emergencies.
Write it up and send it up the chain.
anon2…
That is the longest sentence I’ve ever read.
Scratch — check out Melville’s Moby Dick
Thanks scratch. maybe someone will nominate it for the records book. i wasn’t even gonna spell check it – to allow for criticism on something other than the merits of what was said, er written. I’m saving up so i can go to Harvard and learn how to write in shorter sentences (and learn how not to need spell check software)
louisiana, Louisiana… they tryin’a wash us away… they tryin’a wash us away…
what a sad event – i hope this time next year there’s good news for all suffering from that now…. then there’s the Indian/pakastan quake and of course lastly Darfur et al
(as it is now, this culture is not working… at least not symbiotically)