Wednesday, September 06, 2006

Hurricane Katrina wasn't a Tragedy

A predictable event can not be considered a tragedy. New Orleans is a gulf coast city. Also, they knew when, not if, a large hurricane hit the levees would not hold. I feel no sympathy. Many times I think to myself that it would be great to live in sunny California. Then I remember, "oh yeah, California is on a major fault line, sooner or later, everyone living there is going to die." Then I quickly decide I would rather not live there.
I have lost everything to events outside of my control. Two and a half years ago I lost everything in a fire. There was no way for me to know it was coming. Next thing I knew everything I ever had was in ashes. If I wanted to feel sorry for myself I could consider that a tragedy.
I understand what it feels like to lose everything in moments. I have also experienced the unexpected loss of loved ones. The major difference is I had no control over it. That is the tragedy of life. You lose the most important things to you and have no control over it. So why the hell should I feel sympathy for the irresponsable residents of New Orleans?

This post was inspired by Panthergirl calling it America's Holocaust here.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

I understand where you are coming from. What I feel is this, New Orleans is an important city, both historically, and economically. What should have been done is the US government should have made a major investment(akin to what they did in the Netherlands) to protect that area. Instead the gov. chose to invest in a more modest project, and thus New Orleans and this whole country paid a price for that decision.

Now, the question is do you want to spend the cash now, or pay later with lots of suffering.

LennyP said...

Maybe they should have and maybe they shouldn't. New Orleans has a lot of culture worth preserving. However, it was the residents' responsibility to make sure something was done about it. It is not my responsibility to repair what they let be destroyed. The least they could do is build an adequate levee system before we repair the city. Who is to say another large Hurricane won't hit them this month. Then everything will be back to square one. Who's going to foot the bill that then?

Anonymous said...

I understand the point you are making, but at the same time I think you are being too extreme. Yes, something should have been done BEFORE this -tragedy-, but it wasn't. To hold each citizen accountable for the fact that the levee wasn't up to the challenge is irresponsible in itself in my opinion. Many people died and many others now have ruined lives. It was NOT the just the resident's responsibility to make sure something was done about it. And even if it was just up to them, you still have no sympathy? What about all the children???

LennyP said...

The tragedy of the children is that they had unfit parents. The effects of the Hurricane on the children was just a symptom of the Hurricane. Of course I have sympathy for children who have neglectful parents.

Panthergirl said...

How incredibly simplistic.

"Hurricane Katrina" was not the tragedy. The AFTERMATH was a tragedy. The fact that people were left to die for days without any assistance from the government is DISGUSTING.

I called it America's Holocaust because it is a shameful event in our history, and because it was an example of a group of people who were deemed less valuable than others.

I am not poor. Yet, if tomorrow I was told I had to evacuate and move outside the tri-state area, I would have no clue where to go. AND I have a way to transport myself.

You are showing your ignorance here. The citizens of New Orleans cannot repair the levees. The levees are the responsibility of the government. Ever hear of the Army Corps of Engineers?

I stand by my analogy.

Panthergirl said...

The children had unfit parents? What did the parents have to do with this?

Did you see any of the footage of people who were trapped in hospitals? What was their problem? Unfit doctors?

LennyP said...

panthergirl thank you for responding. It's good that you stand by your words and I stand by mine. I see that you are a person that does not believe in personal responsibility. Government is just your elected representatives.Judging by the actions of New Orleans government, safety was not a priority. The Army's job is to protect you from foriegn invaders not yourself. It is not the nations responsibility to build levess. It is New Orleans. Any parent who leaves their children in harms way. If you can't figure out where to go in an emergency that is your problem. If you leave your children in harms way then you are neglectful.