Disgusted with New Orleans

I am thoroughly disgusted at the state of affairs in New Orleans.

I see armed military/national guard all over the place and babies without water or food. Thousands of people at the Superdome and the convention center and nothing in the way of airdropping supplies or food or water to those people. This isn't a remote island somewhere. It's three hours away from Houston for God's sake!

I hear excuses like "we are trying to figure out how to get in there" and "there will be supplies by the weekend" - ITS THREE HOURS AWAY FROM HOUSTON! There are hundreds and thousands of helicopters and small aircraft within drop distance of the facilities. Supplies nearby may be thin, but we are the nation of 7-11s and mini-marts. If there's no water within an hour of the city go an hour and a half and empty out the AMPM of all their water and hot dogs and 39 cent cheeseburgers and put them on a cessna and go drop it nearby.

There are office buildings nearby that may not be safe, but they've got cafaterias and snack machines and coke machines that the military could be emptying out and bringing to the people.

We had at least three days to plan for this beforehand - people were evacuating and yet it's going to take the weekend before significant help can get there?!!?!?

If I didn't have two very young children to take care of, I would be on a plane to the area, renting a big truck, filling it up at every mini-mart or grocery store near the airport and driving in.

This is ridiculous. This is America! These people are not impossible to get to.

All this "fundraising" going on, and yet it doesn't seem like any organizations are putting the money to immediate use.

 

No shit! This is what I really don't understand. Obviously we (I) don't know all of the details involved, just what I read and catch on TV. But it really seems like people are being forgotten.

I think the Coast Guard and Nat'l Guard are needed before some of the private organizations can get in and help. These people need to be RESCUED before they can be fed and treated for injuries and sickness.

I really wish there was something more we could do!

This is fucking pathetic!

 

My wife and I feel the same way. It's sad that we (USA) cannot get supplies in fast enough.

When the tsunami hit they had supply drops within 24 hours. WTF is our problem?

 

what's going on with the locals? I just don't get it. We have major fires here and earthquakes and all kinds of crap and we help. People out of nowhere will drive in and start helping - even to the point where they'll go into a dog pound and rescue all the dogs and take them to a safe area. I'm really bothered watching this NBC special right now.

I've worked with LA disaster recovery units and terorrism response teams (pre-9/11) and I was nothing less than impressed with how well they function given their limited funding, how prepared they are for so many different situations, and how much those people care about their jobs. In the days of "Homeland Security", you would really think that these departments would exist in every major metropolis and they would be better funded and prepared than ever.

 

Why don't they drop food and water with parachuters? In some area it would surely work.

 

Well, it seems a lot of the volunteers are hesitant to do anything because of things like people being sniped outside a hospital and a military helicopter getting shot at by people it was trying to rescue.

The proverbial has hit the fan in New Orleans. How can people be so insane as to shoot those that are trying to help them?

 

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4207202.stm

Seems like it's become an urban battleground. They've called in Iraq veterans to curb the looting.

 

I see that kind of thing as an excuse. I've only seen one actual report that said anything about a gunshot and that was unconfirmed by the pilot or any witnesses the reporter could find.

You know what happens when someone shoots at the guy bringing in food and water? The thousands of starving people kick his ass and take away his gun. The small piece of military that is there should be more concerned about relief efforts than patrolling around with their guns protecting stores.

A week from now all the politicians will be saying "we had to wait until the area was secure before we sent in food" or some crap like that.

 

How tenuous the thread of civil (dis)order.

 

Here's the deal, it's an ongoing disaster. It's not like other areas where the storm came and went. The flood waters make it nearly impossible to just 'go in and drop off food and supplies'. Then where do you drop them? How do you keep it from becoming a free for all when you do get supplies in there? That would just make matters worse.

I think your comments are too simplistic. We have no way of really knowing what's going on there because we're not directly involved. You don't just pick up and drop off supplies for 100,000 refugees overnight. It's a huge undertaking. One that has never been done before. And what we see on the news is a very filtered view of the entire situation. If you want a better view, tune in to wlltv.com and watch the live feed. Yes, the situation is bad, but it's not as bad as the national media has made it out to be.

 

Gunshots fired at helicopter:
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9148014/
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/0902katrina02.html


Meanwhile, FEMA served up 150,000 meals yesterday. Food and water are coming in, despite limited access. I can't even imagine what these people are going through, nor the logistics of trying to get help to a city that is under water.

Some are already saying this is the worst natural disaster in our nation's history. I did note, finally, that there are some countries that are stepping up to the plate to help out. Craigs List has offers from people around the country with extra rooms, homes that are vacant, etc to offer victims a place to stay.