New Orleans and Snake Pliskin
The link above begins with an unsubstantiated but credible-considering-the-circumstances report of cannabalism in New Orleans and continues through several dozen replies, giving a good picture of the strains of public discourse these days.A guy I talk with regularly on the job wondered how the U.S., et al could deliver thousands of tons of supplies during the Berlin Airlift (even lifting people out) but not do it for the Superdome. There is news from Canada that the U.S refused task force help, but accepted donations from Sri Lanka.
It has become an occasion for people to blame the citizens who are stuck in New Orleans (some were too poor to afford the costs of mandatory evacuation) as well as wag fingers at the survivors' quick descent into anarchy.
It has become an occasion for people to blame President Bush, though his predecessors similarly ignored Crescent City levee repair and were similarly slow to respond to other landfalling hurricanes.
When the twin towers fell, people were saying, "How could this happen to America?" and now people are saying, "How can this happen in America?"
People are saying the sluggish response is a racist one, that if a hurricane happened to a predominantly white city that relief would have come sooner. You think so, or is it just a matter of poor planning? Louisiana, after all, voted red last year, too.
But the Big Easy has become America's second post-apocalyptic city (after Los Angeles) and, if anything, the art that emerges out of this second disaster of the millennium is going to seem a lot less self-conscious. Sir Paul McCartney's "Freedom" was an outstandingly bad song.
posted
by Marty Barrett at Friday, September 02, 2005
3 Comments:
FINALLY you've added a comments section. Thank you.
Unrelated to your post: I heard recently that Andy Wexler is getting a divorce! Ahahaha!
I assume one of the barbs traded in the pre-divorce negotiations was, "Well, you got what you paid for."
Still, that's very sad.
WHAT/WHO ARE YOUR SOURCES, FANCY JOURNALIST?
My source is one Bryan F. Did you know he went to France or some shit? At least, that's what he said the last time I communicated with him, which was 2 months ago.
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