I wonder how much truth is in this one...

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Status
Not open for further replies.

deli_conker

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Dec 4, 2003
Messages
1,728
Location
Central Ohio
Another (most likely hoax) emails I've been getting lately. Remind me to never give out my email address ever again. There's probably some truth in it though...

junk in my inbox said:
This is a note from a friend of a friend. Just take it for what it is worth. One persons viewpoint (but they are there)

This note is from a girl who I work with named Robin. She's in Louisiana and amid all the turmoil there. When I read her story I got the chills, this is horrible. I'm sending this to all of you to spread the word, PRAY. Here's her note:

** We have had a battery operated TV so we've been getting local channels focusing on the situation there and here. I'm just getting the "national perspective" and its *(&*&(*ing me off!

First, this is not a racial thing. I'm sorry if all the reporters are seeing are black faces but if they would take their cameras to places like Slidell, Mandeville, Metairie and CHALMETTE! they would see a several thousand white faces being affected by this. Most of the tip of the boot that is Louisiana south and east of Baton Rouge is under water. Those people are stuck too waiting for help, dying, but all the news people can focus on is the Superdome.

Another misconception. The violence going on there is not the reaction of desperate people. Its typical New Orleans on any given Tuesday!!! Its a dangerous, dirty, drug infested place where the city police and city government is corrupt and useless. Volunteers are getting shot at and their cars vandalized. Helicopters are being shot at. Just another day in the city.

Another misconception. These poor people couldn't get out because they don't have cars. If the cameras show the city once the waters recede, you'll notice all the flooded out cars littering the streets. They couldn't all have been broken down before the storm hit . Yes, there are always people who do not have transportation. Part of making the call for a MANDATORY evacuation is that the city has to provide for transportation and/or shelter in the city. People stayed for the same reasons they always stay. They think the storm will turn and go in another direction. They think they can "ride it out." Or, they're just too (*&( lazy to pack up and leave.

Another misconception. The federal government was slow to respond. The president issued a state of emergency BEFORE the storm ever hit, unprecedented. This means that the full access of the federal government, be it military or civil, were at our governors' disposal. The levee broke early Monday afternoon. She did not call evacuation until Tuesday morning. You cannot call up National Guard units in 20 minutes. It takes time. The
governor and mayor are in high CYA mode at the moment.

The situation is bad here. Crime is becoming a problem in Gonzales and Baton Rouge where the evacuees are being housed. We live between the two cities and there is pistol on my desk shelf as I type (yes, I know how to
use it). Helicopters flying overhead all day, gas is running out, stores shelves becoming empty. Its like a war zone. Our kids are both here and are staying here until the crime situation gets in control and I fear it
will get worse before it gets better. Pray for us. **

SO, that's all I'm asking. SEND this to your friends and right now say a prayer for the people going through this whole catastrophe. Thanks.
 
Not to make light of the tragedy but this has the awful stench of a chain letter. The only thing that is not being said is that good luck will fall to those who send it to everyone in their contacts list.
 
There's no doubt it's a chain letter. I'm just curious as to the validity of it's contents.

My boss used to live in the French Quarter. He told me several times how nice it was to not have a car (or a car payment, or car insurance, or car maintenance) and that most people in that area didn't have anything more than a bicycle. That being the case, it's no wonder that a lot of people didn't/couldn't leave without outside assistance.

That being said, I just wonder what how much of what's publicized is innaccurate (either by assumption or half-truth).
 
Indeed, The argument that there are cars littering the street isnt very valid as an excuse saying wth all those cars around how could you not get out. City's often have huge parking issues where there just arnt enough spots to have 1 car per family parking along the street or even in parking decks. If everyone had cars would there be a need for public transportation? Probably not.
 
Smells like propaganda to me. Like most propaganda, there has to be a flavoring of truth to it so that the rest goes down easy. Steroetypes work because there is always a significant portion of the targeted group that it does apply to, but they don't work because there is always a majority that it does not apply to.
 
This letter is BS and just goes to the opposite extreme of Kanye West. Kanye West's assessment that this tragedy is occuring because George Bush doesn't care about black people is absurd. It is also absurd to claim that the mayhem in New Orleans is just business as usual and people didn't leave because they are lazy.
 
Sixty-seven percent of New Orleans' residents are black. And huge numbers of them are poor. Nearly 30 percent of people in New Orleans live below the poverty line, and only a handful of large American cities have lower household incomes than the Big Easy.

For young, distressed Katrina victims, it’s even worse: Only Mississippi next door has a higher child poverty rate than Louisiana. According to estimates, half of all children in Louisiana live in poverty.

It was already bad before Katrina — most of the poor didn’t have insurance. Some needed to wait for their government checks, due the first of the month, three days after Katrina hit. Some 134,000 people couldn’t leave because they couldn't afford transportation.

This natural disaster illustrates what experts have known all along — disasters do not treat everyone alike. Surviving is easier for whites who have than for blacks who don’t. And when push comes to shove, it’s every man, woman and child for himself.

Katrina is, in its aftermath, exposing a part of the Big Easy overlooked in all that hype about Mardi Gras, jasmine and flaming desserts — the catastrophe has shed light on misery and provided an unfortunate commentary on race and class.
 
Andos99 said:
This natural disaster illustrates what experts have known all along — disasters do not treat everyone alike. Surviving is easier for whites who have than for blacks who don’t. .

Surviving is easier for people who have money regardless of their color. Surviving is hard for people who are poor, regardless of their color. The more you have to depend on the government for your survival the harder things will be for you in an emergency. This is not a racial issue, this is a poverty issue. It doesn't matter where you live in the world...if you are poor your life is much harder. If a disaster strikes that only makes things a hundred times more difficult. Everyone is acting like this is a shocking revelation. It's not. It's the same everywhere and it has been that way throughout history. Of course it is easier for people with money to take care of themselves!

That said not everyone with money gets off free you know. I'm sure some middle class people will hurt for a very long time to come. And even if you are extremely well off it can't feel great to lose your home and all your stuff. I'm sorry but all this playing the race card with katrina victims is very unnerving for me. It's absolutely horrible. To act like black people are the only people affected is just ridiculous. To act like the government is out to get black people is absurd. Now if you want to argue that poor people are harder hit, fine. I can't imagine what could ever change that. It will always be harder to be poor whether a natural disaster is going on or not! And it's not because the government does not care about the poor or because the government is out to get the poor. It is because the poor NEED the government and are forced to depend on the government in a way that those with money don't have to.
 
There is a fine line between the poor "needing" the government and the poor taking advantage of the government to the point of dependency which in turn creates an environment of poverty driven violence, corruption, etc. I believe this to be the case in New Orleans prior to Katrina. The hurricane just made it obvious.
 
Andos99 said:
There is a fine line between the poor "needing" the government and the poor taking advantage of the government to the point of dependency which in turn creates an environment of poverty driven violence, corruption, etc. I believe this to be the case in New Orleans prior to Katrina. The hurricane just made it obvious.

It is very reckless to view it as a simple matter of the poor taking advantage of the government.

I do think there is a problem with supporting a welfare state and creating a system where you can make more money not working then working.

I also think it is shocking that some black leaders are taking Katrina as an opportunity to play the race card and make it seem as if a whole population of people are being wronged due to the color of their skin. It sets up an entitlement mentality with a serious lack of any personal responsibility that can not be healthy for the psyche of any population. It also promotes rage and hatred in a situation that is already extremely scary, stressful, and highly emotional. And to incite people in that manner just so you can politically one up your opposition is inexcusable.

In my opinion claiming that poor people take advantage of the government is equally dangerous and oversimplifies a problem that is extremely complex. Not to mention the fact that we are dealing with a natural disaster that affected many hardworking law abiding people whose stories are lost as the media attempts to rile everyone up with racism and class issues.

It breaks my heart that there are victims who have survived Katrina watching tv and listening to this nonsense. Can you imagine losing everything only to turn on a tv and listen to pundits discuss whether or not George Bush doesn't care about black people. Or whether it is a poor persons fault or not that they are poor. Or even better, the debates about whether New Orleans is chaotic due to the disaster or has it always been that way. It's sickening.
 
I commend everyone for keeping a civilized attitude with this discussion. Let us please make sure that it does not deteriorate into flame wars and finger pointing and the race issue.
Thanks you for your co-operation.
 
I think Kanye is feeling his oats these days with all the sudden noteriety, fame and money. As said before, he and every other extremist (as he is in this case) has a right to their opinion.

I am black, and I couldn't help but noticing this disaster (as a whole) was all about class, not race - even before it became popular to say. Black leaders playing the race card is what they do. Christian leaders do what they do and play their cards. There are more, but just offered those 2 as examples. I am one to feel that almost any extremist can find something to support their position when they need it. That's what they do.

People are people. There are extremists, racists, and just plain old stupid people. They say things. Sometimes (or more) they have valid points too, but we need to look past that and focus our energies on the task at hand - working to make this country whole and proud of the way we ultimately will be viewed on how we handle this crisis.
 
well maybe they should quit playing cards! Get off their collective rears and do what needs to be done.
 
Hara said:
well maybe they should quit playing cards! Get off their collective rears and do what needs to be done.

:lol: I blame the media. There are many wise black leaders and there are many wise christian leaders. There are many wise black christian leaders. There are wise leaders in almost any group. The media chooses to put the "extreme" ones on TV. The media loves to get soundbites that inflame and instigate because, I'm guessing, they feel it makes TV more exciting. The networks seem to prefer squabbling vs problem solving. They don't want to show people who are ready and willing to work together. They want to show people divided. They present the image that Americans are so divided that we can no longer see eye to eye on anything. And I don't believe that is really true.

Now the media can't be blamed for Kanye Wests comment. But he is a young guy who made a stupid statement, or at the very least a statement that was made at the wrong time in the worst place. But who really cares? The media made way too much of his comment and replayed it over and over again. Kanye is not a politican or leader of any kind. He is an entertainer. He will probably regret his statement when he is older and it is all he is remembered for. I doubt anyone was insulted enough to not donate money because of his statement and if they were shame on them.
 
I think you hit the nail on the head T-lou. Controversy sells. People working together is boring to them. I'm one that get's choked up (yes, really almost to tears) when I see little white and black kids holding hands, sharing ice cream. or playing together - of course long before they're TAUGHT how to discriminate.
 
I doubt anyone was insulted enough to not donate money because of his statement and if they were shame on them.
I heard on a local news station after it happened (his statements) that people called back in and cancelled pledges. I don't know how accurate or how many people, but the fact that at least one did is kinda scary.

The big problem I see is all the finger pointing. You only see that when somebody knows that they dropped the ball. The feds were ready, they needed/were waiting in the orders from the state and local governments. When a football team that has a bad season, they fire the coach. His ability to coach a team can't make up for lack of talent on the team, but it's blamed on him regardless. Same thing is going on with the feds. It's a sad thing to watch somebody take the blame for somebody elses incompetence.
 
http://mgno.com/

That guy has been in NO the whole time posting to his blog with a webcam running and taking pictures. From what I've read he was the ONLY internet connection running in town for the whole duration. It's a good source of information for what was going on in his local area and somewhat for Orleans as a whole.

There's not much else I could say about it without getting WAY to political for an aquarium forum. 8)
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top Bottom