I am Becoming Angry

Discussion in 'Off-Topic Discussions' started by DTechBA, Oct 26, 2005.

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  1. Clay

    Clay New Member

    Same

    I tend to break mirrors. Veale en el oscilacion transero.
    Mud
     
    Clay, Oct 31, 2005
    #41
  2. SteveFoerster

    SteveFoerster Resident Gadfly Staff Member

    Unsympathetic report from the front

    I live in Deerfield Beach, Florida, just north of Fort Lauderdale, and I've been without power since 7:30am on Monday the 24th. I came to work today, and can at last rejoin the online world now that my employer finally has power and Internet.

    As far as people and preparedness, yes, people here didn't prepare as they should have. I filled the car up the evening before it hit, and while I'm now nearly empty again, the lines for gas seem to have more or less disappeared as power has been restored. I bought enough bottled water to see us through the "boil water" order, and we had enough canned food for us and formula for the baby to last for any realistic period of closed supermarkets.

    Moreover, that period was measured in hours, not days. The hurricane hit Monday morning, and there was a convenience store open in my neighborhood by late Monday afternoon! Yes, ice and charcoal were hard to find, but that means you'll lose all your perishables, not that you'll starve to death.

    Don't like canned goods and cereal? No problem. A few restaurants were open by Wednesday. We've been having breakfast at the same little diner on U.S. 1 every morning since Friday.

    Frankly, by the time the government finally got distribution points set up, I had no idea why anyone wouldn't just go to Publix other than a desire for subsidized stuff.

    Finally, life was continuing as normal just fifty miles north of here, so for anyone who really couldn't take it, they could have just loaded up everyone in the car and gone to Disneyworld. I didn't, but I know a few people who did and were fine.

    As you can see, I'm not very sympathetic toward people who didn't get their own house in order and are looking for the government to bail them out of their own bad decision making. I understand that old people and the disabled might have had a tough time, but other than that? Come on, take some responsibility for yourself.

    -=Steve=-
     
    SteveFoerster, Oct 31, 2005
    #42
  3. Jigamafloo

    Jigamafloo New Member

    Can't say I've been through any of it, but I and my base have been heavily involved in the aftermath. I'm at Lackland AFB (San Antonio), and we've outfitted buildings, cleared warehouses, wired them for electric and communications, moved in cots, stored food, processed evacuees, assisted FEMA (trust me, they need all the help they can get), and pretty much anything else you can think of in support of the hurricane Katrina and Rita victims.

    For some reason, the military's involvement (AF and ARMY) is really being downplayed here, but we're handling 80% of the services and assistance for the city (even though Mayor Hardeberger gets 95% of the credit). And after weeks of it (on top of our regular duties, dropping everything to rush and pull an emergency all-nighter for an incoming rush of people, etc) I can attest to most of what I've read here.

    From conversations with a lot of the folks from New Orleans, a lot of these folks simply had no interest in going anywhere. They apparently expected to spend the night in the stadium, and then just go home to life as normal the next day.

    Hurricane Rita? Everyone "knew" it wasn't going to be that serious. For some reason they were pissed at Uncle Sugar because it was. In any case, the folks in the 500 person shelter seemed put out that they had to sleep on Red Cross provided cots.

    Our city was colossal mess because of the hoarding from Rita and road congestion, but it had nothing to do with the million plus citizens in San Antonio. The Houstonians ignored every warning to evacuate early, laughed at the schedule they were given, then clogged the highways and raided grocery stores at the last moment in a mad rush.

    The sad part? We still have hundreds of evacuees in the shelter that are still waiting for the Government to make everything “right”. No ambition, refused job counseling and or/ job offers, no interest in more permanent living arrangements, just waiting for reality to suspend itself and make everything as it was.

    My point? Don’t know if I have one other than to agree with the tone of the posting. My frustration? I’ve killed myself (to the extent of blowing out a disc in my lower back hauling supplies for these motionless folks on the Military’s behalf), and then I read here about folks who actually did something for themselves in the face of adversity. My hat’s off to you, folks. Hope it gets better from here.

    Dave
     
    Jigamafloo, Nov 3, 2005
    #43
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