A post about the Hurricane Tragedy I made on my blog:
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Are they Just "Victims" Or Just Dopes?

I am guaranteeing that this post will cause a ruckus, assuming that anyone reads it.

What I am making such an inflammatory statement about is the situation of the "victims" of Hurricane Katrina, the killer storm that has swamped New Orleans and rendered hundreds of  thousands homeless, and possibly, thousands dead.

Many in and out of the Blogosphere have called for aid for the victims of this tragedy; indeed, even the German government has declared support, and my own employer has opened the bidding for your compassion at $250,000, with matching funds from its 80,000 employee base.

Very generous!

My only concern is the worthiness of the victims. The people who were slaughtered by the killer tidal wave in S.E. Asia were true victims of the aforesaid tragedy, having had no warning or method/idea of preparation for what is, in all likelihood, a one-in-a-million event. The people of New Orleans had not minutes or hours' warning of what was considered to be a likely event even in my lifetime, they had about two days warning - as much as had the millions of survivors of Hurricane Andrew some 13 years ago. Yet, it appears as if they are dead in the THOUSANDS, whereas the victims of Hurricane Andrew  numbered in the tens.

Why?

Did they not accept the idea that the City of New Orleans rested some 6 feet under the level of the sea? Was it not part of their understanding of the Way The World Is that if you live in a risky environment, you might suffer the hard result of taking said risk eventually? Why didn't these people prepare themselves for a possible move away from submersible New Orleans when the city was under its likeliest threat?

The reason they failed to look out for their own welfare is because they were self-assured that "it couldn't happen here." No expert told them as such, it was just that they could not discipline their minds and spirits to the idea that they were "hangin' it out on the edge," living in a place that was located in a hurricane zone 6 feet under sea level.

Should we feel sorry for them that they didn't understand the risky situation they put themselves in?

Probably. I don't want to sound ingenerous, after all. Nevertheless, aren't you really responsible, ultimately, for your own safety? Why did (potentially) thousands of New Orleans perish in this tragedy?

I am sure that I will get viciously attacked for my hardness of views. That's OK. I am not suggesting that survivors not be helped. That would be both un-american and un-christian. I would just love to engage in a spirited debate about what extent people are responsible for their own safety, especially when they are duly warned about the dangers that lay in front of them by the governmental authority.
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So, am I being too much a pain in the ass, or is it even a question worth asking of the audience of ARFCOM?

Anybody with even a small spark of deductive reasoning could have figured out that it was time to haul ass...

Let's see...

1) A HUGE. and very powerful f*cking hurricane is coming

2)The city is directly on the shoreline

3) The city is actually BELOW the level of the water that is adjacent to this shoreline

4) Directly opposite to this shoreline is a bigass lake

5) The water level of this lake also happens to be higher than the City

Sorry, but it would have taken me about 3 seconds to decide it was time to bail.

I agree with everything you said.  In my mind, the majority of the people who stayed in NO got what they deserved.

My question is who in the hell was in charge of building a city BELOW SEA LEVEL ADJACENT TO A BIG RIVER, A BIGGER LAKE, AND A SUPER LARGE GULF.  They should have been smacked by all who looked at the property there.  I can't believe ANYONE would buy a house or build one in a Waiting to be cluster fuck like that!!!!!!

I still can't fathom why they would allow further development in a hell-hole situation like that could be.  Oh and onto the levee system, if you live below sea-level, I think it would be a good idea to have a triple or quadruple redundant system of controls on the levees.  But thats just me.

Steve L.

Quoted: Sorry, but it would have taken me about 3 seconds to decide it was time to bail.

By bail, you mean leave, right?

You know, while I can understand the foolish behavior of Americans who look at a beautiful city like New Orleans (been there like three or four times, it really was lovely) and think, "oh, it won't happen to me," I JUST CAN'T UNDERSTAND AMERICANS that say, "Even though I can see the storm coming that I was warned about, I think I'm gonna stay - and loot jeans afterward if I survive the experience."

WTF are they thinking? These people are clearly the type that, were they intelligent enough to learn to read after they dropped out of the Fourth Grade, would Vote Democrat.

P.S. ETA: It's all Bush's fault.

Quoted: My question is who in the hell was in charge of building a city BELOW SEA LEVEL ADJACENT TO A BIG RIVER, A BIGGER LAKE, AND A SUPER LARGE GULF.  They should have been smacked by all who looked at the property there.  I can't believe ANYONE would buy a house or build one in a Waiting to be cluster fuck like that!!!!!! I still can't fathom why they would allow further development in a hell-hole situation like that could be.  Oh and onto the levee system, if you live below sea-level, I think it would be a good idea to have a triple or quadruple redundant system of controls on the levees.  But thats just me. Steve L.

Who else but the French?

Have some compassion.

Say you're an elderly person who may have ended up there for reasons beyond your control, and you don't have any money, don't own a car, and can't afford a bus ticket, you should just fuck off and die?

I don't disagree that it wasn't the best place to put a city, but if an earthquake hits California, will we tell them to FOAD, too?  Don't answer that question.

That, and I am certain that a good number of those who stayed behind did so becasue they saw the opportunity for wanton criminal activity in the aftermath.

Quoted: Have some compassion. Say you're an elderly person who may have ended up there for reasons beyond your control, and you don't have any money, don't own a car, and can't afford a bus ticket, you should just fuck off and die? I don't disagree that it wasn't the best place to put a city, but if an earthquake hits California, will we tell them to FOAD, too?  Don't answer that question.

What the Superdome was for

Quoted: Quoted: Sorry, but it would have taken me about 3 seconds to decide it was time to bail. By bail, you mean leave, right?

LOL, you betcha!

Quoted: Quoted: Have some compassion. Say you're an elderly person who may have ended up there for reasons beyond your control, and you don't have any money, don't own a car, and can't afford a bus ticket, you should just fuck off and die? I don't disagree that it wasn't the best place to put a city, but if an earthquake hits California, will we tell them to FOAD, too?  Don't answer that question. What the Superdome was for

You mean the palace of rape and filth?  www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/08/31/AR2005083102801.html

Quoted: Have some compassion. Say you're an elderly person who may have ended up there for reasons beyond your control, and you don't have any money, don't own a car, and can't afford a bus ticket, you should just fuck off and die? I don't disagree that it wasn't the best place to put a city, but if an earthquake hits California, will we tell them to FOAD, too?  Don't answer that question.

There are a lot of places to "end up," and a place which is markedly more dangerous than southern California is not one of them.

Didn't you see the piece on Fox News where the cop was telling the people to leave, saying that they'd be likely killed if they stayed... and they told him they were staying?

"Compassion" only goes so far. When someone refuses to leave, why should you have any duty to protect them when the inevitable result of the tragedy comes to call?

My 80 year old aunt does not deserve your compassion?!?! WTF.  New Orleans was not the only spot hit.  She had no way out by the time she was told to go.  With two bad hips she could not make the drive under the terrible traffic conditions that existed by the time the evacuation became really clear.  Remember that it was not a Cat 5 until very late in the game.  

You are cold man, rethink this!

While I agree that these people should have left, the ones that truely couldn't were depending on the local .gov, i.e. the Mayor and Governor.  The same idiots that didn't use their own plan.  Some of the ones that chose to stay were afraid, and rightly so, that they'd return to find everything they had looted.  Although this almost sounds like a reason, stuff can be replaced, lives can't.  They also had plenty of warning, at least the Mayor and Governor did.  The people that depended on the .gov were abandoned.  They've also been talking about this type of storm for 20 years at least.  Also, a lot of the ones that stayed were figuring on a looting free for all, which they've done also.

As to what kind of idiot would build a city below sea level?  you'll have to ask the French that one.  The further development of it, that's the city's fault.  I almost bought a timeshare in the Quarter.  Only reason I didn't was Mardi Gras time was already taken.  i've probably stopped there over 40 times to or from work and taken several trips with the wife there, the last one being Oct. 2004.  It is a great place, and not just for partying.  The food is usually great (Mike Anderson's being the best.)  

Unfortunately, people learn from their own experiences and not the warnings of others.  you can tell them not to stick their hands in the fire only so many times before they just have to get burned.