Disasters

It is not that lessons were learned in Katrina which
translated to the California wild fires. It was that
people care about California and those who live there.

That a poor country like Jamaica can evacuate thousands of
people before the arrival of Hurricane Dean, and a rich
nation, like America, could not, proves it is not resources
but will which decides who lives and who dies.

Unlike wildfires, the landfall of hurricanes can be predicted
within a reasonable margin. Forty eight hours before Katrina
struck, the rest of the world could follow it’s path on the
Internet.

Forty eight hours is more than enough time to pack up and
leave New Orleans. I am sure those who could afford it
did so, and sat it out at motel somewhere a hundred miles
away.

The poor, however, were abandoned to die. And die they did.
Surprise.

The California fires were not as predicable, but the infra-
structure was there, the laws were in place, so that very
few people died.

Further, the housing of the population was not at a
vulnerable spot, but somewhere safe enough to insure
survival.

Pets were allowed, and the treatment given to those evacuees
was on par with staying at a hotel.

They were treated with respect and dignity, afforded
substantial food and entertainment.

This is because, people who live in California are important
to the government of California. People who lived in New
Orleans were not.

I expect that if another hurricane makes its way to New
Orleans in August, the same result will occur. Watch and
wait. Then move at a snail’s crawl.

Because the whole world could see the suffering of those
in New Orleans, unsafe trailers were eventually handed out.

“Brownie did a heck of a job!” President Bush exclaimed, no
doubt considering the loss of life and destruction of
neighborhoods a desirable outcome.

That the arrival of Bush coincided with the most valuable
window of opportunity to put out the fires, is difficult
to view as an accident.

He must know, or be presumed to know that all flights would
be postponed until he left, which allowed a few more acres
to burn, a few more homes to be destroyed, maybe a few more
of those pesky endangered species to go extinct.

If any lessons were learned it is that it is different
strokes for different folks.