Fat Bones wrote:There was wall to wall coverage for a solid week leading up to this storm, and the weather trackers stated it had a dead bead on New Orleans as early as Friday afternoon. It didn't land until 7:00am MONDAY morning.
At what point do you say to yourself...Hmmm, maybe I should get the fuck out of the way?! Maybe I should leave the swamp, and take a short ride to...I dunno, somewhere north of Slidell? Or as mayor, maybe I should put down the chicken, and enact emergency evacuations as planned...
Here's a pic from 2:45 pm Sunday afternoon. Note the message: "902 mb, lowest EVER recorded in that part of the Gulf". That whole place is ate up with terminal dumbass.
FatB,
While I would agree with you that in hindsight, yes, they should've gotten out of the way, I also could say that NO gets a hurricane warning, it seems, at least once every couple of years. A lot of these people have been conditioned over the years that these storms do not hit NO or hit with only glancing blow. And most of those left behind did not have the financial wherewithal to evacuate. Nor the common sense either.
The local govt should have had better plans for those indigents to get the hell out of there. And for that the city and state govts are to blame. They ALL stuck their heads in the sand on that one. The Feds are to blame for not getting in there fast enough. And no amount of Bush apologizing can ever make up for the scenes that followed his complacency.
I say all of this to demonstrate that its just not that simple to say that "they should've left". Yea, those that could and with half a lick of sense (yours truly) got the fuck outta there. A lot of people did not or could not.
And as for one who grew up nearby, went to college, and worked out of New Orleans, I consider it my town. And for all those who dismiss rebuilding it because of geographical, racial, or whatever issues, I say candidly, defiantly, and as politely as possible
fuck you. My god, its an American cultural icon. Its a great city with great people. Focus on the criminals and idiots from NO all you want. There are many, many more people of all races who are vibrant contributors to this country both economically, socially, musically, and , of course, gastronomically.
It is my fervent wish that nothing befalls all of the naysayers in this thread's perfect little worlds, you know, like earthquakes, terrorist attacks, tornadoes, and what have you. Because of course nothing will ever touch your little Disneylands. But, rest assured, if and when that day comes, you will not have to look over your shoulder and guess who will come help you out. Those of us who survived the nightmare of Katrina will be right there brothers and sisters to help you out. Because we know what it was like in those dark days to have someone help you out, lift you up, and take you in. I know I do. And I won't ask why you lived on that fault line, or in that drought stricken valley, or in that probable terrorist target city. I'll just fucking be there.
