Katrina EXPOSED! Must Watch! This makes me sick!!

There is no doubt in my mind, this is the worst disaster I have seen in my short lifetime. My heart goes out to anyone affected by this disaster. There is certainly plenty of blame to go around here. I find the blame game to be counter productive, but I will add my two cents.

My best friend's mother was in Biloxi, MS. She tells a story much different than what you see here. She tells a story of neighbors and community getting together and helping the situation, not making it worse. Citizens taking action before government even made a move.

I understand that N.O. was a different set of circumstances with the flooding, however, the citizens reacted in a different manner in Biloxi. They took responsibility as citizens. That's where this all starts. No one should have been surprised, the storm was hyped for days. The most hindering factor here was the fact that so many chose to stay behind, for whatever reasons you can list. If my community was faced with a disaster, we would follow the warnings in the days preceding. We would not be waiting on the government, we would have already taken action in the days after.

Second finger pointed: Local government failed to provide a means to help get these people out of harms way. The worst of all, N.O.'s own emergency plan that local government failed to enact:

en.wikinews.org...

The 2000 edition of the southeast Louisiana evacuation plan on page 13, paragraph 5 states:

5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.

Remember the busses sitting in a parking lot, flooded? Should they not have been used to remove the people of N.O.? Should they not have been moved to a safer location out of harms way to be used in the days following the disaster?

Government travels up hill, starting with local and state government. Even then, can any agency ever be prepared for a disaster of this magnitude? Even then can any one be blamed for the wrath of a Natural Disaster? It is the duty of the Mayor, the Governor, etc....a chain of command if you will.

What this video definitely gets across is the anger and desperation one would expect following one of the worst natural disasters of our time. What it really exposes is media bias and the glass half empty mentality. If you do enough research, you will find that the rescue effort was more of a success than failure, hindered by citizens that refused to lead under the shadow of a local government that failed it's people.

What it doesn't expose is the thousands of heroes, National Guard men and women, Coast Guard agencies, volunteers, and citizens that did act. What it doesn't expose is what did work in the days following Katrina.

The events of Katrina will be in our minds forever, especially those who lived in the heart of it. We can all debate and finger point all we want, but I think there were major lessons learned. Though smaller in scale, the last hurricanes seem to have been handled with much more expertise and have already disappeared from our TV screen.







[edit on 12-10-2008 by BeavX]

Some of the replies on this thread are down right sickening. First of all, the people that didn't have A PLACE TO LIVE, damn sure didn't have a car or a way to get themselves out of harms way. Yeah, they could have walked, but how far do you think they would have gotten before the storm rolled in? Not to mention that the city was telling them that there was safe haven at the super dome.. So why would they start walking FURTHER AWAY from the place that the city was telling them to take shelter??? Really, think about that for a second. Second, they couldn't leave the city when it was all said and done because there were soldiers on the bridge out of the city with guns telling them to go back. So what would you have them do? Strap their children on their backs and swim threw the sewage contaminated water to safety?? Yes, they were looting. You know what, if I was stuck in a devastated city with my son.. I would loot to! Survival of the fittest my friends. They were not getting relief, so they did what they had to do! Plain and simple. Maybe next time, the people that posted such obnoxious responses will be the ones that have to deal with the aftermath and they will have a change of heart. I was in the aftermath of hurricane charlie. We had relief WITHIN HOURS! You know why?? Because it was a predominantly white area and the governor was the presidents brother. We were lucky. I can't even imagine being in New Orleans when Katrina came in...

The people on their roofs had me laughing. Could they not swim? Could they not find something that floats and make a get away from their roofs? These people should have taken it upon themselves to get out of the situation and instead they chose not to and to wait for someone else to get them out. And I should feel bad for them?

I can tell you that, if it would have been me on a roof, no, I would not have been able to swim. And, at the time Katrina happened, I had a 4 month old baby. I would not have been able to swim with a baby in arms either.

I cannot believe you would laugh at something like that. I hope you never find yourself in a situation. You just never know. Your lack of compassion may teach you something some day.

Originally posted by nfotech
I know you don't get this but when you and others post your contempt for the looters and those who took advantage of the system what you're really saying is all those poor people, especially those poor black people deserved to starve because some of them were criminals.

I have not seen ANYONE post that those people deserved to starve because they were criminals. However a LOT of the problems were in fact due to a criminal minded population that went crazy the first chance they got.

MIDDLETOWN, R.I. — After Hurricane Katrina (search) hit New Orleans, federal officials flew Brian Murph and more than 100 other victims to Rhode Island. State police did criminal background checks (search) on every refugee and found that more than half had a criminal arrest records — a third for felonies.
www.roanokeslant.org...

In South Carolina, authorities performed background checks on all 457 refugees flown into the state, turning up 301 with criminal records. In West Virginia, which received approximately 350 Katrina refugees, state police found that roughly half of them had criminal records.

One full THIRD had been convicted of felonies! Lets keep in mind that those were the ones that were actually CAUGHT and CONVICTED, not the ones that managed to avoid prosecution, or the ones that were underage and had their criminal records sealed when they turned 18. If half had been arrested and one third had been convicted of felonies can you imagine the number of crimes that go on everyday and were never prosecuted? That is a seriously twisted population of individuals.

The articles keep mentioning the total number of refugees they took in, and then the number of convicted criminals, it does not mention children. If the numbers also include underage offspring that means that the percentage of adult criminals was much much higher.

You are talking about a population with the mindset that thinks "going to prison is normal" because one out of every three people that you know has been there, and probably more than once! And those were only times they were caught!

Do not even TRY to pretend that is "normal" for poor people everywhere. It is NOT normal, very far from it.


[edit on 12-10-2008 by Sonya610]

It looks to me that the people in the Dome where ment to die.

It could well be that the people who put them there believed the dome would collapse.
And after that the dams "broke"

Strange strange story.

Originally posted by esdad71
Mayor Nagin...it is not FEMA, our GWB, or Cheney or the republicans or white people. It was the Mayor of New Orleans and the Governor of Louisiana. Put the blame where it should go.

It was a tradgedy but how come no one talkes about the VISA cards that were handed out and used for tattoos, beer and topless bars? HOw about the looting and the kids on the bikes riding through stores?? How can you condone that behaviour?


Never, in any other hurricane, have citizens acted that way towards each other. Sick. Maybe Kanye West should donate the sales of his next CD to the victims...

[edit on 11-10-2008 by esdad71]

I agree that Ray Nagin is ultimately responsible. However, I can't believe that the federal government "just learned about those people" several days after this had aired 24-7 on all major news channels.

I don't condone the looting behavior, but I have to say that the people's spirits had been broken. I also don't believe that the majority of people were engaged in this activity. How is what they did any worse than trapping tens of thousands of people and making them sit in their own waste while watching people die all around them?

When have people been put in that position in your lifetime? I only know that if I am in an emergency situation, I will be doing the opposite of what the "authorities" tell me to do. I have seen how little they care about the individual.

Originally posted by Sonya610
I have not seen ANYONE post that those people deserved to starve because they were criminals.

Originally posted by Sonya610

Since when do criminals "deserve" to starve?

Under Federal Law the president of the United States can not deploy troops with in U.S. borders unless authorized by Congress[Posse Comitatus Act, Insurrection Act of 1807]. These laws limit the powers of the federal government to use the military for law enforcement. In this case with Katrina and in any other natural disater, it is up to the governor of the state to send in the National Guard to help the people. Please look into both laws and understand the law.

Originally posted by TARBOX
reply to post by TKainZero

 

Did you ever stop to think that a good portion of the people who stayed....had to because they were poor? Suppose they left...where were they suppose to go? Okay...so they get out of the city, but where do they stay and how do they eat? Believe it or not, but some people don't have the means to do the things that we do.

I can see your point...but only to a point. You may have the means to "get out" but some didn't because there was no way for them to and had no where to go.

Just saying.....

My thoughts exactly! I happen to live in a country where I am not a citizen and do not speak the language fluently - I speak enough to get by day to day but in an emergency situation, very doubtful.

I do not have family, friends or anywhere else to go if something like this should ever happen here. I don't have a credit card. I don't have a car. I would have nowhere to go and if I headed inland I'd be on foot with 3 kids and heading where exactly?

My grandmother lives in her home country and she's had 3 strokes, doesn't drive, relies on homehelp and would just be left sitting at home unless someone turned up to put her in her wheelchair and took her to safety!

Not everyone has the means to just up and leave. Some of us would be scared to up and walk to wherever with no idea of what we'd find there and whether we'd even find shelter. I wouldn't fancy walking with my kids just to have to sleep out in the open with them.

After reading posts here saying people shouldn't rely on the government - why not? Governments are mean to govern! God help any of you that ever find yourself in a similar situation and help doesn't arrive - it doesn't have to be a hurricane. It could be a natural disaster, it could be another 9/11 in your town, it could be civil unrest for any number of reasons. Would you not expect your government to help you?

I feel sorry for Americans if this is the way you view each other. Turn your back on fellow citizens? On human beings? Do you not have compasion? Have you never thought to yourself how lucky you are to have choices and that not everyone has the same choices as you. I thought the talk on ATS of civil war was a definite no go but after reading comments in this thread I can see that some of you would turn on each other within a heartbeat and that is very frightening and very sad.

Let's hope none of you find yourself ever in the position these people were in. Even if people did choose to stay how can you justify saying it's there own fault - when someone is hurt, hungry, thirsty, dying, is that how Americans deal with it? They simply shrug and say it's their own fault so why should we help? Then you go about your lives and watch, on TV, babies/elderly/sick/HUMAN BEINGS suffer and die?!

reply to post by KaginD


Screw the government, why do you liberals always rely on the gov to come to your rescue? What I saw were about a million uneducated, lazy unable to fend for themselves. Where were their survival instintics? Why did they just sit there instead of trying find shelter, water and food outside the city.

Why didnt they have supplies ready, first aid kit, survival kit, things of this nature? Because they are stupid people that have forgotten how to survive, they have been feeding from the teet of the gov for so long, they know nothing else. Why didnt they get out early, there were 1000's of school busses just sitting there waiting, no one showed up to leave.

This is why most humans will die if there is a worldwide or country wide disaster, they can no longer think or act for their own survival, they have not the tools and are lazy. Governement will not be able to save you, you must be able to survive and thrive on your own.

reply to post by Maya00a


Learn this and know it well, some people will die, some are too weak, too stupid to survive withou massive help. This is true evolution, the elderly, the sick, the severly injured will die just like in the animal kingdom.

Not everyone can live and most shouldn't. All humans had to survive on their own before big government, what has changed? People have become complacent and lazy. How many store extra water in their house for an emergency? I do, as well as dry goods, flashlights, batteries, flint, hunting knives, 2 axes, some shovels and a couple of hand saws.

You must use your brain in times of survival and if you dont, you wind up a victum of your own stupidity and lazyness. You think stealing a plasma tv is survival, what about the guy stealing liquor? They were not thinking of survival, they were greedy period.

reply to post by stinkhorn


Or...some people were handicapped, elderly, sick, and too poor to have any transportation. It is a long walk out New Orleans. Not everyone is as lucky as you are to have their own farm, private roads, private water supply, private source of gasoline and can be so amazingly self sufficient as to not rely on the government for anything. I sure hope these are your wires in the back of my computer, otherwise I think you are using socialist means by which to post on ATS.

reply to post by Asherah


So its our fault that you never learned how to swim or maybe its the govs fault? Wow, I like how everyone shifts the blame to GB and FEMA when the real problem was the people themselves.

Why is it when the missippi river flooded parts of Iowa the white farmers didnt go into town to loot tv's and shoes? They were not shooting at each other either...

reply to post by stinkhorn



I am truely speechless by your reply .

Screw the government, why do you liberals always rely on the gov to come to your rescue? What I saw were about a million uneducated, lazy unable to fend for themselves. Where were their survival instintics? Why did they just sit there instead of trying find shelter, water and food outside the city.

They didn't leave because the National Guard closed the roads.
The doors were locked at night , with the dead and dying.
Your racist comments are not only ignorant.
I wonder if you feel the same way about the citizens of Galveston,
the majority being white!

Shame on you!!

reply to post by stinkhorn


Because they had help immediately. New Orleans on the other hand, didn't.

Tell you what, you go 4 days without food or water, then tell me how desperate you become, oh yeah, don't forget to make your infant children, older children and elderly in your family go without food and water too. The seriously, tell me just how desperate you become.

reply to post by MorningStar8741


Naggins the brother in charge and the governer both whom are libs told the people, all the people to get out, busses were sitting idle waiting to take them out of the state, but only a few showed up.

The elderly and the sick need help yes, but you can only do so much for them, there must come a time when they are left to die just like in NO, they just left the corpses anywhere and everywhere. We are talking about a major disaster here, not some 1 day event. If you live 13 feet under sea lvl you better know how to swim, be prepared to evacuate asap even if that means walking out. The average human can walk about 15miles a day at a slow pace, those that are in shape can walk about 30. If they left on foot 3 days before it hit, they could be more that half way across the state by the time it hit.

The cables in the back of my computer? You mean like the cable line and electricity? Yeah, I pay for them with money, my money. I also pay a service fee every year in property taxes to keep it running, so what does that have to do with anything?

reply to post by stinkhorn


Thank you for making my point. There were plenty of people that could not get out right? You repeated it so it must be a good point, thank you. Then you also say that the people were told that busses were coming that never came...and you blame them for waiting for those busses??? Point is, not everyone was capable of leaving so stop blaming everyone that died for not walking away.

I said MY computer. I can see your words. I can read your post. That must mean that your connection goes beyond what you pay for with your ahem taxes. First of all, even those wires at your house are maintained by the government. If they decide they go away, no amount of your money will stop that. Secondly, the internet is global. Do you really think that what you pay is covering the rest of us on here? I guess there must be some socialist infrastructure at play that allows us all to connect then huh? Trust me, if you stop paying, the internet will still be here.

Originally posted by stinkhorn
reply to post by MorningStar8741

 

Naggins the brother in charge and the governer both whom are libs told the people, all the people to get out, busses were sitting idle waiting to take them out of the state, but only a few showed up.

Do you really believe that? Do you know where those buses took the people on them? To the SUPERDOME!

Do you know why many people decided to walk to the Superdome? Because you were NOT ALLOWED to bring your cooler with food and water on the Bus. You couldn't bring your pet on the bus. 1 Bag per person was all that was allowed.

You obviously were not in New Orleans, I was - I still am. Don't even try to feed me the lies that people have been fed to believe, I know better.

THE NATIONAL GUARD & HOMELAND CLOSED ALL THE EXITS!!!
The bottom 60 miles of Mississippi to the Gulf Coast is essentially a disaster zone, Hamilton said. All roads are either impassible
or have been blocked by the National Guard.

``The coroners reports are going to skyrocket,'' said James Stebl, a spokesman for the Federal Emergency Management Agency in Jackson, Mississippi.

reply to post by redhatty


I would not go 4 days without food or water, I keep 6, 5 gallon plastic bottle in storage just in case of an emergency. That is enough water for my family of 5 for about 8 weeks or more if rationed.

I know how to survive in many environments, i can make fire with a stick alone, but i never leave home without a lighter, just in case. I can build a shelter with nothing but some trees and rocks, water can be found with ease if you know where to look and i can fish in any water with the use of a thorn tree and some vine. Come on, most humans today are lost when it comes to living off the land they live on. People have become so damn lazy they can only blame their situation on others instead of taking PERSONAL responcibility.

I have also taught and continue to teach my kids how to survive on their own, they know how to make simple traps and build a fire and shelter, we practice these skills all summer and winter. Last winter they build a shelter that would truely impress and survival expert and they are 7 and 5 years old.