AtomikaLive fast and get fucked or whateverRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
As someone from the areas hit hardest and still having family and friends there, the media has been particularly appalling in their coverage. There were parts of Texas, Mississippi, and rural Louisiana that were utterly destroyed, and remain so to this day, that have yet to have a single national news story told about them.
It's a bit of a different feeling in Southeast Texas toward Katrina, because while the national media was still focused on the devastation in New Orleans, Hurricans Rita and Ivan were wrecking shit up on our coast. We just didn't rate as important a story because, A) Texas has no where near the rampant poverty (especially in major cities) that Louisiana does, and Katrina put everyone on edge and sent them packing elsewhere well before the next storms hit.
But in Texas, what I remember most about Katrina is the aftermath of refuges coming to live in places like Houston and Dallas, and the rates of crime and homelessness that skyrocketed in the wake. Houston got it far worse than Dallas, and I can remember friends who worked there telling me that it was a brief period of economic boom because so many refuges were using their FEMA cards for entirely ridiculous shit, like high-end furniture and clothing at places like Macy's and Niemann Marcus.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
I was on a plane heading to London when Katrina came ashore, we had to swing north around it. Was lucky to get past it I suppose. Watching BBC coverage of the aftermath was incredible, everyone wondering where the rescue and relief was, why was the response taking so long, etc.
I moved from New Orleans to Dallas in June '05, less than three months before the storm.
My parents, brother, one set of grandparents, and my 90 year old great aunt evacuated to a condo in Baton Rouge, which they wound up staying in for 8 weeks. My aunt was moved to Nashville to my dad's brother's house, but the moves were too much... she died at Thanksgiving.
My other grandpa and my other aunt stayed to ride it out. We had no contact with them from Monday evening until Friday night. Within that time, they watched the water reach the roof of their houses, they sat on my aunt's roof for 1.5 days, they moved close to Brother Martin High School and shacked up in a vet's office that they broke into (this is there they lost their dogs), they got moved to the airport for a day or two, and then when my grandpa had gone 3 days without his insulin, he and my aunt were medivaced to San Antonio. When my aunt finally got through to my wife in Dallas, we called my parents, and they made the 9 hour drive to San Antonio in about 5.5 hours.
First, pictures of my childhood house, where my parents still live. It's in Metairie, near the Causeway Bridge, so we only got 1' of water.
Second, pictures of my grandpa's house in Gentilly (the one who rode it out). He got 8' of water in his house, and it was eventually razed. He lives in Florida now with my uncle.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
The Levees in NO are under controll of the US Army Corps of Engineers. Before Katrina the maintance was underfunded and overworked for years. Thats why Katrina did so much damage.
In addition much of National Guard was on deployment in Iraq and the rest lacked gear(because of said deployments).
Blaming Louisiana goverment is incorrect.
Kipling217 on
The sky was full of stars, every star an exploding ship. One of ours.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
The poor parts of Louisiana are not significantly more poor than the poor parts of other states.
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
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DrakeEdgelord TrashBelow the ecliptic plane.Registered Userregular
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
The poor parts of Louisiana are not significantly more poor than the poor parts of other states.
Opelousas, LA had a seriously destitute vibe when I lived there back in the late eighties. Unemployment was perpetually over ten percent, the town was filled with empty store fronts, and the crime rate was always on the rise. While Ross' blanket statement doesn't really apply to the state universally, I've never seen poverty any where else that matches it.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
The poor parts of Louisiana are not significantly more poor than the poor parts of other states.
Opelousas, LA had a seriously destitute vibe when I lived there back in the late eighties. Unemployment was perpetually over ten percent, the town was filled with empty store fronts, and the crime rate was always on the rise. While Ross' blanket statement doesn't really apply to the state universally, I've never seen poverty any where else that matches it.
Detroit?
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
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DrakeEdgelord TrashBelow the ecliptic plane.Registered Userregular
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
The poor parts of Louisiana are not significantly more poor than the poor parts of other states.
Opelousas, LA had a seriously destitute vibe when I lived there back in the late eighties. Unemployment was perpetually over ten percent, the town was filled with empty store fronts, and the crime rate was always on the rise. While Ross' blanket statement doesn't really apply to the state universally, I've never seen poverty any where else that matches it.
Detroit?
Well, never spent time there before, so I can't say I've seen it. :P But I was more thinking on the lines of a state as a whole. Kentucky comes pretty close from what I've seen of it.
I remember reading about the situation here and on the Interdictor blog, which I found gripping and grounding compared to the mindless numb horror portrayed by pictures and video of devestation on a scale I'd rarely seen before.
Forar on
First they came for the Muslims, and we said NOT TODAY, MOTHERFUCKER!
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GumpyThere is alwaysa greater powerRegistered Userregular
edited August 2010
Was in key west when Katrina past over it, and it was only something like a grade 2 then. Pretty awesome to behold.
Pretty amazing how much power it picked up over the gulf
That's also a pretty apt description of Winder. The only reason the city has any money to do anything is because all the chain stores in the city along the main highways between Athens and Atlanta pay their taxes.
Well, never spent time there before, so I can't say I've seen it. :P But I was more thinking on the lines of a state as a whole. Kentucky comes pretty close from what I've seen of it.
Every state will have all kinds of places. Louisiana has prosperous suburbs, inner city slums, poor rural areas, mansions, ranch houses, etc just like everywhere else. I don't think even the ridiculous levels political corruption are all that atypical compared to the rest of America.
HamHamJ on
While racing light mechs, your Urbanmech comes in second place, but only because it ran out of ammo.
We were on vacation at the Delaware shore at my wife's family's beach house. I think Katrina must have sucked all the moisture out of the air for thousands of miles because the weather was perfect.
As the storm situation started to unfold, it became clear to us that all three levels of government (city, state, feds) were sitting around with a deer-in-headlights look on their faces. NOLA government collapsed, the Governor of Louisiana seemed to forget to activate the National Guard, and the policy of the Feds seemed to be to cross their fingers and hope it all worked out.
It was amazing just how badly the government dropped the ball when it came to NOLA. Other states seemed to have better responses, though.
Modern Man on
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DrakeEdgelord TrashBelow the ecliptic plane.Registered Userregular
...the Governor of Louisiana seemed to forget to activate the National Guard...
Pretty sure those guys were in Iraq with all the other National Guard units.
A quick Google search suggests that only about 1/3 of the LA Guard were in Iraq at the time. The units were available, but Louisiana government held true to its usual approach of incompetency and haplesness.
Modern Man on
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It's a bit of a different feeling in Southeast Texas toward Katrina, because while the national media was still focused on the devastation in New Orleans, Hurricans Rita and Ivan were wrecking shit up on our coast. We just didn't rate as important a story because, A) Texas has no where near the rampant poverty (especially in major cities) that Louisiana does, and
But in Texas, what I remember most about Katrina is the aftermath of refuges coming to live in places like Houston and Dallas, and the rates of crime and homelessness that skyrocketed in the wake. Houston got it far worse than Dallas, and I can remember friends who worked there telling me that it was a brief period of economic boom because so many refuges were using their FEMA cards for entirely ridiculous shit, like high-end furniture and clothing at places like Macy's and Niemann Marcus.
I feel that the blame (if we're still worried about that at this point) is mostly in the state and city offices of Louisiana and New Orleans. If many of you haven't yet, go spend some time in Louisiana, and not just New Orleans either. It's like going back in time to depression-era America, where roads are shoddy and often incomplete, and everything looks like the early stages of some kind of post-apocalyptic hellscape. The whole state is a poor and poorly-run place. In it's current state, any disaster that hit any part of Louisiana is bound to repeat those results, including New Orleans. Canjun Country is a land rich in spirit and history, but little else.
This is a pretty ridiculous over-exaggeration.
Edit: Woah @ that NWS bulletin.
My parents, brother, one set of grandparents, and my 90 year old great aunt evacuated to a condo in Baton Rouge, which they wound up staying in for 8 weeks. My aunt was moved to Nashville to my dad's brother's house, but the moves were too much... she died at Thanksgiving.
My other grandpa and my other aunt stayed to ride it out. We had no contact with them from Monday evening until Friday night. Within that time, they watched the water reach the roof of their houses, they sat on my aunt's roof for 1.5 days, they moved close to Brother Martin High School and shacked up in a vet's office that they broke into (this is there they lost their dogs), they got moved to the airport for a day or two, and then when my grandpa had gone 3 days without his insulin, he and my aunt were medivaced to San Antonio. When my aunt finally got through to my wife in Dallas, we called my parents, and they made the 9 hour drive to San Antonio in about 5.5 hours.
First, pictures of my childhood house, where my parents still live. It's in Metairie, near the Causeway Bridge, so we only got 1' of water.
http://picasaweb.google.com/CTFick/KatrinaCarthage
Second, pictures of my grandpa's house in Gentilly (the one who rode it out). He got 8' of water in his house, and it was eventually razed. He lives in Florida now with my uncle.
http://picasaweb.google.com/CTFick/KatrinaSpain
Edit: Wish there was a Louisiana PAX equivalent or whatnot.
Switch: 6200-8149-0919 / Wii U: maximumzero / 3DS: 0860-3352-3335 / eBay Shop
If I still lived down there the next hurricane evac could've turned into a Southern-PAX meetup. :P
Louisiana is a sparsely populated state with most of its population residing in just three cities. It's poverty rate is the second highest in the United States. It's hardly an exaggeration.
In addition much of National Guard was on deployment in Iraq and the rest lacked gear(because of said deployments).
Blaming Louisiana goverment is incorrect.
The poor parts of Louisiana are not significantly more poor than the poor parts of other states.
Opelousas, LA had a seriously destitute vibe when I lived there back in the late eighties. Unemployment was perpetually over ten percent, the town was filled with empty store fronts, and the crime rate was always on the rise. While Ross' blanket statement doesn't really apply to the state universally, I've never seen poverty any where else that matches it.
Detroit?
Well, never spent time there before, so I can't say I've seen it. :P But I was more thinking on the lines of a state as a whole. Kentucky comes pretty close from what I've seen of it.
Pretty amazing how much power it picked up over the gulf
Every state will have all kinds of places. Louisiana has prosperous suburbs, inner city slums, poor rural areas, mansions, ranch houses, etc just like everywhere else. I don't think even the ridiculous levels political corruption are all that atypical compared to the rest of America.
As the storm situation started to unfold, it became clear to us that all three levels of government (city, state, feds) were sitting around with a deer-in-headlights look on their faces. NOLA government collapsed, the Governor of Louisiana seemed to forget to activate the National Guard, and the policy of the Feds seemed to be to cross their fingers and hope it all worked out.
It was amazing just how badly the government dropped the ball when it came to NOLA. Other states seemed to have better responses, though.
Rigorous Scholarship
Pretty sure those guys were in Iraq with all the other National Guard units.
Rigorous Scholarship