Hurricane Katrina

Like many of you, I know people in New Orleans. Our company has…or rather had, an office location in NOLA. We had people who worked there, people whose homes are now underwater, or cease to exist at all. For now, for what we know, everyone made it out. But there will be nothing to come home to.

It’s a horrible scene all throughout the south. New Orleans isn’t even the worst hit, but is pretty much getting the most coverage because of the levee breaks. There is no New Orleans anymore, and it will be quite some time before there ever will be, IF there ever will be.

That’s a really hard thought to get my head around. All of those shops, above-ground graveyards, historic buildings… My guess is that they will be irreparably damaged by these floodwaters. I loved New Orleans the one time I vacationed there, I’m saddened that I didn’t make it there more often, and I can’t imagine the loss that the locals are feeling.

Please help if you can. Donate to the American Red Cross, donate blood, whatever you can do.

Now, there are a couple of things that bother me about this situation. First is the comparison to other disasters. Some have said “this is our tsunami” or it “looks like Hiroshima.”

The people that made these statements should be fucking ashamed of themselves. This is NOTHING like either situation. Over 200,000 people died in the Tsunami. Those people had NO WARNING, they were going about their daily lives when a giant wall of water wiped them out. That is nothing like being warned to evacuate and being warned for days ahead of time. And to hear that someone compared it to Hiroshima makes me sick. MAN caused Hiroshima, MAN caused that destruction, not nature.

Secondly, for the people that DIDN’T evacuate, when they were told to, well you’re fucking idiots as well. I know that SOME people couldn’t because they were too frail, didn’t have vehicles, or were homeless or what have you. Those people have excuses. But for those people who just didn’t want to leave and thought they could weather the storm, you are morons. You had a part in your own loss of life, and you caused many workers countless tiring hours having to save you from your fucking roof. I hate to sound so callous, but when someone warns you of such impending doom, and you basically say “fuck it” you can’t expect to not hear an “I told you so.” I feel bad for everyone, but the smart people who fled get most of my empathy right now.

Lastly, the looters. If you are looting supplies, water, food, batteries, or even boats, I have NO problem with that. This stuff will be lost to the flood anyway, and these items can help people. For the fuckers stealing stereos and shit like that, FUCK YOU. If you are hanging around you are an idiot to begin with, and to loot besides, that just makes you sub-human. You make me sick.

Disasters like this bring out the best and worst in people. I’m looking forward to seeing the best.