At a loss

I'm at such a loss to understand any of what has gone on in our country over this past week. The director of FEMA has blamed the tragedy on the victims, saying there was a mandatory evacuation and they should have left. His ignorance and refusal to see what is in front of his face is not unique, but it is appalling. Most of the people did not leave because they did not have the means to leave. New Orleans had a 30 percent poverty rate before the hurricane. Those people needed to wait until payday on Friday to have some cash to get out of town.

The lack of humanity from our government should not be shocking, but it is. No one is getting help to these people, and when "help" does come, it's in the form of armed National Guardsmen patrolling, rather than Red Cross or FEMA people with food and water. The looting has gotten worse, yes. But why? Because people are dying of starvation, of thirst, of lack of medication. Yes, there are some who are violent, some who have gone outside the bounds of rational behavior and stolen things like big screen TVs. But why focus on them? Stay out of their way. Is this really so important in the overall scheme of things? Get the victims out, get them to safety, get them water and food. And for God's sake, why not let them take their cherished pets with them?

It's so heartbreaking and so beyond belief. I'm at a complete loss. I'm so angry and disappointed in our government and "disaster relief system." I know there are many volunteers who are trying to help, who are trying to do the right thing. But there is such disorganization, such chaos, such a focus on policing and military efforts, that the whole idea of a rescue operation has gotten lost.

Every time I see an official on TV, they basically say "It's not as bad as it looks." This is crap and we are being lied to. It's worse than it looks. Make no mistake. My worse nightmares haven't come close to what is going on down there.

I can't help but compare this to 9/11, but the comparisons are very few. It's more of a contrast. On 9/11 and in the time after I saw extraordinary acts of kindness and compassion, of hundreds of firefighters and police officers giving their lives for others. Today I hear of police in New Orleans turning in their badges and running away. On 9/11 we watched as an enemy attacked and tried to show us the worst of this world, and as New Yorkers we came together. This week Mother Nature has shown us some terrible things, but the enemy is ourselves.

The governor of Louisiana holds a press conference to demand an apology from the House Speaker. Why did she have time to do this? Didn't she have more important things to do? Besides, the speaker's comments to my hometown paper did make a bit of sense. A city below sea level in the a time of global warming really does not seem like a good idea.

Rudy Guiliani spent 9/11 on more important tasks than reading reports from other places and demanding apologies. He stood up and took command. Perhaps that's the problem here. There's no one in charge. The closest thing we've got to that is Air Force One flying overhead and looking down at the predominantly black, poor people below and saying, "We'll get aid to you. Some time. In the next, er, few days or, er, week, or whenever we can get there."

Shame on us.