By Kevin Halpern / Online Director / Southern Standard
Two weeks ago today, Hurricane Katrina unleashed its fury on the Gulf Coast, causing a path of destruction that covered 99,000 square miles and claiming hundreds of lives.
Four years ago yesterday, terrorists flew airplanes into the Twin Towers in New York, into the Pentagon, and would have hit the White House or the U.S. Capitol if brave citizens had not stopped the hijacked plane they were on, causing it to crash into a field in Pennsylvania. Thousands were killed.
Will people remember the date that Katrina struck, like they do Sept. 11, 2001 or December 7, 1941? It doesn’t seem likely.
In an effort to boost TV ratings, increase newspaper, magazine and electronic media readership, and gain political advantage, at least as much focus has been put on trying to find someone or something to blame for Hurricane Karina and the aftermath.
To me the only blame for Hurricane Katrina rests with Mother Nature, the largest — if not the worst — natural disaster to ever hit the United States.
However, there are plenty of people who should feel shame for the way they prepared, responded and reacted.
Shame on the people who live along the Gulf Coast who did not evacuate when they had ample warning. For those who were physically or economically unable to leave, shame on the local and state officials and private business interests who did not remove them. Patients should not be left in nursing homes and hospitals when a serious hurricane is coming.
Shame on poor preparation and response on the part of New Orleans and Louisiana officials. Build levees that will not break. Improve draining. Have more food, water and other supplies at shelters. Have better evacuation routes. Don’t let school buses sit idle when tens of thousands of people can use them to get to relief.
Shame on those people in New Orleans who did not behave in an orderly fashion. The actions of a few caused relief and refuge to be delayed to many.
Shame on poor communication on the part of Lousiana officials. The reason water and food were not airlifted to the Superdome and New Orleans Convention Center was not because it couldn’t be done, but because the Lousiana Department of Homeland Security decided it shouldn’t be done because they feared people would stay at those places instead of evacuating.
Shame on the media for reporting wild rumors that turned out not to be true, and stressing sensationalism over the pragmatic. As is usually the case, most of the first reports to come out of the disaster zone later proved to be incorrect.
Shame on New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin and Lousiana Governor Kathleen Blanco for not putting more of a public face on a crisis that was taking place in their own communities. Unlike Rudy Gulliani and George Pataki, who were out front on the 9-11 crisis in New York on day one, Nagin and Blanco were barely seen or heard from on days 1, 2, 3 and 4 of the hurricane.
Shame on hypocritical politicians, who have created a mountain of governmental red tape, and then complain when it gets in the way of getting something done.
Shame on those people who hate the U.S. military, when it is now clear that they are the only entity capable of getting a handle on a major disaster.
Shame on CBS, NBC and ABC for there almost non-coverage of the event. As big a catastrophe as 9-11, yet no games shows, talk shows, soap operas and few prime time programs were interrupted for coverage. The shows — and commericals — went on.
Shame on the American people, who have come to expect through the miracles of electronics that all problems can be instantly solved by pushing a button or clicking a mouse.
