Letter to the Editor: Intellectual Activist

This is in response to the Sept 2, 2005 article titled An Unnatural Disaster. The events in New Orleans are without doubt catastrophic, but to label the main reason for floundered emergency efforts as a result of the welfare state is uninformed and unfair. Accusing the government of New Orleans and the federal government of creating a "man-made disaster," that was unavoidable in those circumstances is a short sighted answer to something much more complex than socio-economic status or government dependence. The real issues, which were brushed under the rug quickly with the statement regarding people in the U.S. working together to help overcome adversity, are with the individual communities in which the atrocities occur. To label all Americans or even most of them as enterprising individuals and initiative takers is over generalizing and naive. No wonder the article blames the welfare state - it assumes all Americans are good people who can't and won't stand by while travesty plagues a city that needed help before the hurricane hit. The entire article centers on the difference in media coverage from a hurricane type natural disaster and a man-made disaster that was out of public view. Simply, any urban environment in which there is destruction on the scale of a class four hurricane will have the same problems exhibited in New Orleans. Desperation of the unprepared and hopelessness of those stuck in homes with none of the essentials to live leads to the most basic instinct instilled in humans: survival.

The allusion to the fact that the disaster was used as an excuse to loot and pillage the city and surrounding areas is a scapegoat tactics designed to divert the attention away from government response failings and the inability of the local government to prepare for something as massive as Katrina. The rampant destruction of personal property and the looting that created images of bias among the American public can be explained away as a crime of opportunity and desperation. The unfortunate few who remained in the city needed emergency services that were hindered as the flood created logistical chaos. Acts of desperation are heroic in contexts such as New Orleans, a much more admirable quality than the "enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us." If the American people were so enterprising why did the people of New Orleans wait until Katrina hit to try to fix their problems? Why were there so many initiative takers stuck in the swampy waters surrounding the city? It cannot be argued that the poor are without these qualities or are unable to manifest these qualities in communities where money is scarce. The answer isn't as simple as a bad welfare state nor can it be dismissed as opportunistic looters trying to maintain the level of havoc and chaos that fell into place once the weather had subsided. It is simply a dropped ball which affected thousands of stranded people.

One of the pinnacles of our modern culture is the development of the welfare state to help create diversity and equality among all Americans and their children. Referring to the social mechanisms in place to help prevent poverty and inequality as brutish and uncivilized is a disgrace to the American people and a front for assailing the lower income class as helpless and not worth the effort. Finding an answer to the violence and criminal behavior that devastated do many lives is important, but pointing the finger and trying to blame those people who were directly subjected to the horror is disgusting. The lack of planning, the lack of funds readily available, and the lack of real leadership in the New Orleans created a maelstrom of confusion that the best analysts in the world are still trying to dissect. In short the article reflects the poorest judgment and an accusatory tone blaming the victims.