Well, I was going to write a long-winded entry about Katrina, but I think this guy’s entry pretty much sums it up for me. Small amount of profanity, so be warned.

I think the screw-ups are not limited to the federal government, as much as some people would like to think. There were problems from all levels of government, including the hundreds of NO buses sitting there doing nothing. Apparently, Nagin says there were no drivers, but surely, some of the buses could have been rounded up?

Another side I’m a bit angry at are these people who think they’re made of steel and can survive every hurricane. Do they not read? This thing was predicted to land as a Cat 5. It ended up being a Cat 4, but regardless, no matter how strong your leeves are, if you can get out, GET OUT. That should not be a question for these kinds of storms.

Katrina also showed that racism indeed in still rampant in that part of the country. The amount of stories I read by black citizens who were barred (mostly by police) from leaving the city is astonishing. I meant to post up a link to a recent story citing the reason the authorities didn’t allow some people to leave because they feared crime in other neighborhoods, but I’m having trouble finding it now. I’ll post it up next time, since I’ll hopefully have found it by then. Apart from any during-Katrina immorality, the city’s Lower 9th Ward, among other sections, still has yet to be rebuilt, meaning thousands are stranded in other cities…still! A year later!

So I’m not viewing all this in a pessimistic way, at least the resolve of those who have returned to NOLA couldn’t be shattered by the hurricane. It is good that the historic city was not completely lost in the storm. I have hope that it will return to its former prosperity, albeit gradually (even if I do think that remaining on that pile of sand is not too wise for what could happen in the not-too-distant future if another storm hits).

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