I know it’s taken me a while to talk about the devastation in the Gulf communities, but like everyone, I have been taking it all in and trying to figure out what exactly I can do to be of assistance. It seems that money is the best thing to give and everyone should be giving whatever they can to the Red Cross or any other reputable charity. The Red Cross generally is not my personal favorite as often nearly 60 percent of their donations cover overhead alone, however, as with 911, they have promised that the monies donated now will be given to those in need as debit cards so that they can purchase goods and services.
If you feel that the Red Cross is getting the lion's share, there are other charities out there too. As one alternative, here's a link to the NAACP's Website.
It also took me a while to write about the events here on Oliver’s blog because I was not entirely sure that it was appropriate to move from one blog about a cute white baby boy to another about the state of racism and poverty in our country. Then I figured what the hell, I blogged about the death of a newscaster and a local fire, so why not this event which is probably the greatest natural disaster in my time. Besides, if Ms. Moonves can talk about Katrina on a television show like Big Brother, I can certainly lay down a few words here in my kids’ blog.
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So after all the pictures of the survivors have been shown on the TV; politicians have blamed each other; celebrities have used the media to speak out and self-promote; the looters have raped and pillaged; and we move towards healing; what has stood out to me is this country’s need to address our Race & Poverty issues. It really is America’s Achilles heel. Here’s my rant:
Before Katrina hit the mainland, we all watched as all those people were leaving the coastal cities. Remember those long lines of people on the highway? The local politicians talking on CNN about what a coordinated effort was being made to vacate New Orleans? All the planning to evacuate the white people and the middle class blacks was worked extremely well. You even heard mention of the fact that for those who would not leave could be safely housed in the convention center. It seemed doable enough at the time. Who would stay behind with a class 5 hurricane coming anyways? They would have to be crazy. Turns out there were some crazy people who stayed, but the majority of them were poor and/or poor and black. They were abandoned by their townspeople and their politicians as everyone else just grabbed themselves and their families’ belongings and hit the highway. The Mayor and Governor included. Sure they would speak out against Bush later for not doing enough quick enough, but where were they? Even Harry Connick, Jr. made it back to New Orleans before they did. Don’t get me wrong, the President deserved those comments, but not from city officials who spent time and energy evacuating the wealthy and left their poor to either die and/or huddle in a convention center that had no food and water, no medicine, no supplies or even cots.
It’s no irony that the people we see on the television are mostly black and poor. Race relations are a gaping wound in this county that Katrina has brought to the surface. We forgot about these people and now we watch as the best and the worst of human nature is depicted in the news. I watch these people struggle and I am horrified that this is even my country. They are not refugees; this is not a third world country. Those are (for the most part) law abiding, tax-paying, child-rearing American families. Those cities that sit in ruin are our cities. It took only hours for tent cities to be raised in third world nations when the Tsunami struck overseas. Yet here we sit watching someone’s grandmother die in her wheelchair outside the New Orleans’ Convention Center.
Katrina is a serious wake up call for this country and this administration. If we cannot react to something we saw coming days in advance, how will “homeland security” react to a nuclear emergency? I can say this much for sure, if something unexpected happens in another one of our cities it’s safe to say we will see white people running around in the streets. You might even see some breaking into stores to steal those diapers and formula. It could be any of us looking for each other on those long lists of survivors.
Ok, the rant is done, It’s 6am and The Kid needs his bottle.
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"The Fresh Food Feeder by Munchkin" I actually forgot which website I originally bought it off of, however they have a couple of different kinds at BuyBuyBaby.com for about five dollars (American).
This thing is a life-saver. You get two per package and it's a good idea to have a couple because one is usually in the dishwasher while the other is in his mouth. Thanks for posting a comment! (Even if it's in the wrong spot.)
You can click here for the BuyBuyBaby website.
