RANT: Katrina victims are dumb

[hulkster]

okay, so what i dont understand is why everyone that lives on the coast for THIS hurricane(Rita)....is evacuating like you are supposed to, and the people from Katrina were all "stranded" and dying from the flood waters and stuff.  im not trying to be mean, but the Katrina victims really shouldnt be blaming the government for their problems. 

i will admit that the govt screwed up by not getting their sooner, but thats the easy way out to blame them.  the problem lies in the fact that a hurricane was coming and there are still people in friggin new orleans!!!!  what were they thinking?  they know they live in a big bowl, and that a hurricane is coming, so naturally what happens?  it floods.  so why didnt people leave?  its not like they werent warned.

"but dude, some people couldnt afford to get on a bus or they didnt have a car".  well so what, people are "making it" walking out of town, so why didnt the katrina victims do the same.  the only people they should be blaming is themselves. 

if they arent old, crippled, or disabled, they have no excuse for not leaving...and all this crazy mob crap couldve been avoided if everyone would have just been smart.  but NO, lets stay and then blame the govt because we are too stupid and proud to leave.

everyone of my relatives and friends that lived there evacuated as soon as they heard that the hurricane was going to be bad.  yes they lost a lot of their posessions, but they werent in that mess with raping and killing and people dying and stuff.  no they arent rich, they just arent dumb. 

i donated money to the victims and i do feel sorry for them, but at the same time i shake my head at how dumb everyone was for not leaving sooner. 

[Harry Potter]

They probably watched Twister and figured they could hide under a small bridge in complete safety.

[Zakk]

Isn't that kind of like kicking people when they're down?

[mr.Curmudgeon]

okay, so what i dont understand is why everyone that lives on the coast for THIS hurricane(Rita)....is evacuating like you are supposed to, and the people from Katrina were all "stranded" and dying from the flood waters and stuff.

Well first off...the evacuation numbers aren't out yet. Some areas I've heard (from officials on the ground quoted on MSNBC) have only achieved an 80% evacuation rate.....EXACTLY THE SAME PERCENTAGE AS N.O.

im not trying to be mean, but the Katrina victims really shouldnt be blaming the government for their problems.

No, you are being ignorant and callous. You are looking for any excuse to blame the victims so that feel justified with your lack of compassion. I'm just guessing, but I'd put money down.

Meanwhile, the poor are stuck, for a variety of reasons, just as with Katrina.

http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1150792
http://blogs.chron.com/rita/archives/2005/09/hortense_davis.html

but at the same time i shake my head at how dumb everyone was for not leaving sooner.

Thank God you are so much better than everyone else.


mrC

[Samstag]

Comparing Texans who evacuated to Orleanians who didn't is short-sighted.

Take away the massive disaster in New Orleans, and 90% of those Texans would be riding it out right now, just as the Floridians did last year.

[hulkster]

well say what you will, but when the people are told "hey evacuate because hurricanes are bad and they can flood the city and if you stay here its gonna suck" then that usually is a red flag.

[Stingray]

Comparing Texans who evacuated to Orleanians who didn't is short-sighted.

Take away the massive disaster in New Orleans, and 90% of those Texans would be riding it out right now, just as the Floridians did last year.

Exactly. People are taking Rita much, much more seriously than they would have if Katrina had not struck just a few weeks ago.

It's easy to call people dumb when you have no idea of their circumstances.

-S

[mr.Curmudgeon]

Furthermore, you want to know why there wasn't enough BUSES to take people of of N.O.?

More Republican CRONYISM.

Summary: GOP Administration awards GOP contributor's bus company (Landstar) $100 million dollar contract for emergency evacuations services. They never develop plan, never hire enough staff, never purchase enough buses. Katrina hits, they begin hunting for buses and staff ON THE INTERNET, causing major delays in service to N.O....meanwhile, FEMA is turning down other companies offers for assistance left and right. Tens of thousands of people are stranded and suffer, hundreds die.

You want to know what happened to Landstar? They are rewarded:

"Landstar's regulatory filing also said that because of Hurricane Katrina, the maximum annual value of its government contract for disaster relief services has been increased to $400 million."

There are very valid reasons people had to stay behind. To call them dumb, without ever considering these varied circumstances if beyond "dumb", and borders on being vicious.


mrC

[ChadTower]

WOW this guy is an effective troll.

Baaaaaaaaaaaah.

[hulkster]

okay, so again, tell me why buses have something to do with not being able to walk out of the city again?

[Stingray]

i lived in kentucky for a while, and no its not natural disaster central by any means.  but i remember when a big tornado was heading right for our house.  the weather people said if you dont have a basement or place to hide, then get out and go somewhere that does.  so we did.  we actually went about 30 miles north to a friends house with a basement.  and we had less time and less warning to get out.  the tornado was spotted south of us, and heading north.  so we left.  the tornado ended up not hitting our house, but we played it safe all the same.

This compares to the situation in the Gulf coast in no way at all. I live in Oklahoma and have my entire life so I'm pretty familiar with tornados. Although the winds are often higher than with hurricanes, they're tiny compared to hurricanes. Even a huge tornado is only a mile or a mile and a half across. Rita is in excess of 200 miles across. The number of people who have to evacuate is just amazingly larger than with a hurricane. You can actually drive around a tornado if you're very lucky and crazy enough to be in a car in a tornado's path.

-S

[hulkster]

WOW this guy is an effective troll.

Baaaaaaaaaaaah.

troll?

[hulkster]

i lived in kentucky for a while, and no its not natural disaster central by any means.

[mr.Curmudgeon]

i watched the news and saw all the people at the superdome and A LOT of them were healthy enough to get out on foot if they had to.  you are saying that they couldnt do that?

They were brought to the Superdome as part of the evacuation plan. Jesus. Talk about blaming the victim.



mrC

[Stingray]

It's one thing to be told to get out of the way. It's quite another to be able to. Many in NO were without transportation. A huge number in Texas are trying to get out of the way, but traffic is not cooperating. I know you're an established member of this community, but this thread is just inflamatory.

-S

[hulkster]

they were brought there because they were still in N.O. and needed to be evacuated.

[Stingray]

I think everyone here is pretty aware that I'm not easily offended. This thread makes me want to vomit. I'm finished with it.

-S

[hulkster]

It's one thing to be told to get out of the way. It's quite another to be able to. Many in NO were without transportation. A huge number in Texas are trying to get out of the way, but traffic is not cooperating. I know you're an established member of this community, but this thread is just inflamatory.

-S

say what?

[mr.Curmudgeon]

I think everyone here is pretty aware that I'm not easily offended. This thread makes me want to vomit. I'm finished with it.

-S

Same here. Pretty bad, even for me.   (and that's saying a lot)

I'm out. I hope this post gets a visit to Hell.

[ChadTower]

It is trolling and inflammatory because we've already had many long and contentious threads about this very topic.  Starting another one is not necessary.  Find one of the others and comment in that.

[tommy]

 

[hulkster]

whew.

[ChadTower]

That is not what I'm saying.  what I'm saying is that it would be intelligent to read the discussions that have already taken place on this very subject, and comment on those things that have been said.  Or make new comments there.  These things have all been discussed, debated, argued, people were called heartless dorks, and now we've moved on.  Go comment in one of those threads and people will respond accordingly.

[hulkster]

That is not what I'm saying.

[fredster]

A friend of mine lives in Texas City, near the projected landfall.

He txted me last night and said he was thinking about turning back.

He said that he was 11 hours into his drive and made 50 miles.

Nothing from him today. 

[ChadTower]

Bad friend, fred.

Send your monkeys to bring him to safety.

[Crazy Cooter]

Taking the thread off topic...

I wondered about that too.  I think I'd rather spend 11 hours shoring up my house than spend 11 hours in traffic and wind up out of gas, on the side of the road, 50 miles from home, with a hurricane fast approaching...

I see why people choose to stay.  Look at the guys in the Florida Keys, they were out partying when it passed through.

(as a political sidenote, I wonder how Jeb got the National Guard to Florida prior to the hurricane landing and how Texas is getting troops from NO to go there instead...  I'd like to say we learned something from Katrina, but the movement of troops from NO to Texas?  I dunno.  I think we need more troops at home if we have to play chess with hurricanes.)

[ChadTower]

I think we need more troops at home if we have to play chess with hurricanes.)

Since this is National Guard, and not enlisted military... and since it is easier and faster to move currently active troops than to activate troops and then move them... playing chess with the hurricanes is probably the best use of resources.  It's not like hurricanes surprise people.

[Zakk]

I see why people choose to stay.

[ChadTower]

They didn't know how to count, either.

[Crazy Cooter]

Right, we knew the hurricane was coming.  It's hurricane season and we have a pile of guardsmen around.  I think it would make more sense to take the ones that were in Florida (that wasn't hit hard) and move them to Texas.  Then the ones in NO could stay there (where they'll still be needed).

[ChadTower]

How far of a trip is it from Florida to Houston?

How far of a trip is it from New Orleans to Houston?

[Crazy Cooter]

Of the three locations, Which two need help?

[fredster]

FLA has a lot of experience with Hurricanes and is beginging to open the roads one way out.

That's the big thing, all of the main roads are tied up with traffic.  They didn't practice that little deal.  Lots of cars running out of gas.

and could you imagine how many times people are taking a dump over the overpasses?

OMG.  Imagine that at 70 mph.

[Ed_McCarron]

That's the big thing, all of the main roads are tied up with traffic.

How much you wanna bet that the toll booths are still operating???

[JB]

That's the big thing, all of the main roads are tied up with traffic.

How much you wanna bet that the toll booths are still operating???

Not really relevant in Texas. State law places such severe restrictions on toll roads that very few exist.

[danny_galaga]

okay, so what i dont understand is why everyone that lives on the coast for THIS hurricane(Rita)....is evacuating like you are supposed to, and the people from Katrina were all "stranded" and dying from the flood waters and stuff.

[paigeoliver]

You guys can make fun of scooters all you want, but I guarantee I could have happily motored along on the shoulder all the way out of texas, and I can carry enough fuel with me to go 500 miles. (Granted, that requires strapping a 4 gallon gas can on the rack).

[ChadTower]

Not once someone notices you making progress, opens the door to their Expedition, knocks you off and takes it.  Then throws rocks at you for having had it before riding off on it.

[Crazy Cooter]

Not if he bunnyhops the door