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I've been thinking about a post for what's been going on after Katrina, and I guess this is it. As with the rest of my entries, no one has to read/reply to it, it is just my opinion and I don't mean to offend anybody by it. I don't. So...here we go.
When I had first heard of Katrina, I sort of figured it'd be like the other storms; there'd be warnings everywhere about evacuating the city and at the end the damage would be there, but I never imagined something like this would ever happen. I don't think anybody did, as we can see with other people, the government, etc. People stayed in their houses, thinking it'd be like last year, and that they'd be safe, and...nothing. That's all there is right now, nothing.
I wasn't born in this country; as most of you know, I was born in Mexico. I've been living here in the US for a total of nine years now, and legally I'm a US citizen. To me, I feel like this is my country too. Now that I cleared that up, just in case for whatever reason, I'm just...surprised at the lack of response, not just from the government but just in general. To me it's just unbelievable how some major horrible thing happens in another country and the US is right there in a heartbeat. Now there's something terrible going on right here, and things are just going at such a slow speed that I don't blame people for being furious; I would be too. I'd be offended, and hurt, and so irate at the fact that my family would be suffering, hungry, lost, and without a clue on where the help is.
I went to Safeway this morning, because my dad wanted to take some bread for breakfast, and the minute we walked in I was looking for bins or something, for donations. They usually do that, so I figured that over the weekend I could bring by something, and as much as I looked they didn't have anything there. I just started thinking, if this had happened to any one of us, to our own state or someone in our family would be there, lost, how would we feel? There might come a time when we need other people's help - would we want to feel ignored...?
People are doing something, I'm not saying no one is. The Red Cross is helping, there's soldiers going into New Orleans and Mississippi to help out, and that's great, but it's painfully obvious it's not enough. I feel so damn helpless not knowing how to help out, even if I've already donated. You know why there are so many people angry, and waiting, and such? Because people do know how to pull together, they have done it so many times in the past, it's just taking (it seems) too long this time. I want to start some sort of donation thing, paypal or whatever, to send. Too idealistic? Maybe, but...what else is there? [A reason I'm posting this too is in case someone might know how to get something started and maybe work together.]
I mean, it isn't about politics anymore, I don't think. It's not about which side we root for, whether Republicans or Democrats. It's not about the wealth, it's not about any of those petty details; it's about people. People dying from dehydration, and everything else going on. There are tourists there, stuck. There are people who lost their homes, their jobs, their family.
Again, this is all my opinion. Feel free to tell me what you think, but this is how I think. That's my disclaimer.
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hugsiez's journal
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