The Governor of the great state of Texas, one of the countries largest states, a bragging state, a state full of people that always claim to do everything bigger and better than everyone, a state that gets lots of financial attention because that's where the President claims to be from...says to take Katrina evacuees elsewhere because the state is full.
Bet they'd have plenty of resources available for rich white folks with guns. Sounds like NIMBY to me.
I guess Texas does racism bigger and better than everyone else also.
Tags: Katrina Racism
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Texas is full
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What, you mean they won't even take the kitties and the doggies?!?
ReplyDeleteOnly the fluffy white ones with diamond collars!
ReplyDeleteLet me ask YOU -- are YOU taking in hurricane vistims into YOUR house? If not, maybe you should stop issuing charges of racism from the safety of your home.
ReplyDeleteI'm not, but then I figure that anyone who could make it across the Atlantic probably doesn't need to sleep on my floor.
ReplyDeleteWhy do you keep on with the comfy/safe home theme? I think that has been addressed but maybe you have difficulty understanding...so I'll say it again.
ReplyDeleteMy or anyone's situation has nothing to do with anything. When Beverly Hills cops beat up a black man for walking down the exclusive white neighboorhood street (even though he lives there also) my opinion that it is a racial event is not rendered invalid by the fact I am sitting in a chair in a condo.
The fact is that the majority of the victims of Katrina are the poor and disenfranchised and so far America has done a crappy job taking care of a domestic issue.
Within 12 hours of 9/11 thousands of US troops were on the Afghan border. When thousands are effected by a disaster at home Bush was slow to respond, did nothing to move the glacial response of Homeland Security, and was at a banquet while people drowned. Nero played a fiddle while Rome burned, Bush played a guitar at a banquet while the South flooded. In fact, Bush's initial statements were not about the people, but rebuilding tourist traps and his friend's ruined home.
KK, quit trolling, work on the reading comprehension and go hug a kitty.
Yes, we Texans must be racist, since we ONLY accepted 230K evacuees into the state. Since we've only already donated TONS and TONS and TONS of food, clothing and money to evacuees who made it here. Since our hospitals are already packed with survivors who need medical care. Since citizens of Texas all over the state have given up space in their own homes to help out perfect strangers. Since the school districts are working to immediately put evacuated children into our already overburdened school systems.
ReplyDeleteSince we're all White (whoops, Dallas demographics are almost equally split among white, black and hispanic) and close to the South, it must be racism that's causing us to say that our resources are stretched to the breaking point and that the state simply can't house any more refugees and give them the level of care they need.
Yes, Bush sucks, the response sucked and I'm sure we'll all be bored to tears by the Congressional inquiries for months, but saying Texas is racist for not having enough resources without federal help to absorb almost a quarter of a million people (who need food, shelter and medicine, not just land) shows a bit of stereotyping on your own part.
I honestly can't say whether or not race played a factor in the federal response, but it does seem clear that socio-economic status did. Not to mention the fact that the FEMA budget has been sucked into Iraq and Afghanistan for years....
Unfortunately Bush claims to be from here, but don't paint the rest of us with the same brush used on that xenophobic nut job.
Come on down to DFW, go to Reunion arena and see the volunteers sorting through the piles of donated materials. They cross just about every ethnic group there is. I won't ask for an apology, everyone makes mistakes and jumps to conclusions based on stereotypes without having all the information, but if you could spare a few hours to lend a hand, we could use the help.
I'm glad volunteers are sorting through donations. Knowing Texans though, they probably donated 'Salesmen of the Year' plaques and Dale Ernhart NASCAR clocks.
ReplyDeleteI have bad memories of Texas. I lived there a year and half and several times restaurants were suddenly "out of food" when we came in with a black friend, attacked while on the riverwalk, etc. And this was San Antonio. I doubt the place changed that much in the last few years.
Texas is big enough to absorb a lot of people and gets the funds to handle it thanks to the extra attention Bush brings. No way would George let the rep of Texas suffer as being cheap or incompetent.
As for schools, those 'No Child Left Behind' rules are forcing schools to refuse evacuee children, since they can't possibly meet the NCLB goals, which is also ridiculous in a National Emergency.
Of course not everyone in Texas is NIMBY-fied. You know who you are. Unfortunately the old generation is still running things and the minority have the say-so on how everything else goes in a horrible trickle-down effect.
I think with their resources Texas could manage a few more. To say you are FULL is ridiculous.
It's time for Texas to live up to the rep and COWBOY UP!
Sorry about your experiences, but there are idiots everywhere.
ReplyDeleteWe've had to declare the state a disaster area to free up the funds to handle the evacuees we already have. There are finite resources. I'm glad it's your opinion that to say we're full is ridiculous, but the facts don't back that up. I'm sure we could squeeze a few more in, but I'm not sure the evacuees want to be packed like sardines into a shelter. Texas has already stepped up. Now the state is asking for help.
When you state that Texas does racism bigger than everything else, you're calling everyone in the state a racist. Me, who you don't even know. My wife, who works as a clinical technician at a local hospital and has been treating evacuees for days. My neighbors, who have started food and clothing drives. I'm quite sure that there ARE a number of racists roaming around, but they seem to live everywhere, like cockroaches.
And you persist in stereotyping, which seems a bit hypocritical after your charge of racism. The NASCAR and COWBOY comments. Seems like you're letting your bad experience of a few years ago color your perception of over 20 million people.
Has Maryland invited 57,500 evacuees into the state? That's the same percentage, based on total population, that Texas has taken. If not, then it MUST be racism....
To say that ANY area could suddenly absorb almost a quarter of a million people who are arriving with only the clothes on their backs is astounding. And don't forget that current estimates say that the affected areas may not be safe to return to for 3-6 months. If we use up all the resources in the next 2 weeks, then the evacuees are REALLY screwed.
Slee, can you give a citation where you got this information from? I can't find any reports that say anything other than Texas is taking in lots of refugees.
ReplyDeleteAll over the news yesterday. Here's one of several.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/metropolitan/3339670
I'm curious about these numbers though. One article said a Texas town of 500,000 doubled its population due to evacuees and CNN and Fox are both saying Perry said he could handle far more than have arrived yet, but is now saying he can handle far less. Perry is also waiting to hear from other Texas cities as to if they can accept any evacuees.
I still think race plays a big part in the response of the entire Katrina event. It'll be about another 20-30 years before the more open-minded generation will start moving into positions of power. Again, it isn't saying EVERYONE in Texas is racist or prejudiced against socio-economic status, just the folks who run the show.
ReplyDeleteIn all the places I have been in America, Texas & South Dakota were the states where I observed racism and prejudice that was in my experience entrenched beyond what I would call the level of the average citizen.
Especially Texas. Sure my past experiences have something to do with it. How many times do you need to get refused service or housing (which was available and ready to move in to until my wife showed up to co-sign the lease)in several locations before you write off the state? For me it was twice.
I'm hoping that one of the good things that comes out of Katrina is a refreshed civil rights movement.
I'm cynical enough to think that all this will be forgotten by the time elections roll around.
KK answers Sleestak:
ReplyDeleteSleestak wrote: "My or anyone's situation has nothing to do with anything."
Wow. I'm glad you're not given to making sweeping generalizations. So no one's experiences in life mean anything, huh? Absurd.
Sleestak wrote: "The fact is that the majority of the victims of Katrina are the poor and disenfranchised and so far America has done a crappy job taking care of a domestic issue."
All true ... SO FAR. Disaster management is not instant and total. Government rarely works efficently. I'd ask if you've ever been in or worked around disaster sites, but no situation has anything to do with anything, right? So never mind.
Frankly Sleestak, I think you seem full of hatred that you have transferred to Bush. He is a politician! They all are! And almost all politicians are essentially whores. To believe otherwise is naive. Why waste your life hating politicians? Casting blame in a hateful manner helps no one in this disaster. That guy from Texas socked it to you good for your Texas slam. He was right! Take a hint, and work to HELP people, rather than wasting your energy trying to damage the "other side."
P.S. I am not "trolling." I'm a regular readers of this site. And I'll match my knowlege of comic books with yours any day of the week! And unless your collection numbers over 10,000 books, don't even bother.
KK Wrote: Wow. I'm glad you're not given to making sweeping generalizations. So no one's experiences in life mean anything, huh? Absurd.
ReplyDeleteMy situation has nothing to do with my opinion nor does it render it invalid..
Regular visitor? Thanks for visiting! That's great! And I'm not tranferring a hatred of Bush, just a hatred of stupidity, like choosing pets over people, playing guitar or shopping for shoes while people drown, that sort of thing. If Pres Washington was fiddling while people died I'd dislike him too.
"Match knowledge of comics"?
What?
Actually, I think this sums up how I feel about it. Said it gooder than I do.
ReplyDeletehttp://realtegan.blogspot.com/2005/09/any-sufficiently-advanced-incompetence.html