The "Medium and the Message"

[MorganGrayson]

For a long time now, we have known that the newsmakers no longer "cover" the news...they "create" it. You only have to look at the sheer volume of coverage of the so-called "Runaway Housewife" to verify this. Some nutcase flakes before her wedding and this rates daily coverage on the "Today" show when so much of the world is falling apart? You're kidding?

Racism can not exist in a vacuum. It must be fed, nurtured and photographed from the right angle. The example always given, because it is the truth, are the toddlers in the sandbox. If you take a group of toddlers of different races and ethnic backgrounds and put them in a sandbox they immediately begin to play with each other and communicate in toddler-speak. If you come back in a decade, after parents, school, and most of all, the media, have done their horrific jobs, they are no longer quite so eager to play together. They view each other with distrust and sometimes hatred.

Cameras love images of black people breaking the law. That's their message and it has been for some time. Now, 70% of the population of New Orleans and area is black. Therefore, if there are to be looters, I imagine 70% of them will be black. That's not racism, that's statistics.

The comparison between 9/11 and Katrina is spurious for one very important reason: as horrific as that day was, the Twin Towers were places of *business.* The survivors of that horrible day no longer had a place to work, but they could go home. Losing not only your place of business but your home, your neighborhood, your children's school, the local grocery store is a very different kind of loss. I am not in any way justifying what has occured. I, like many others, can understand looting for food, water and medical supplies. The rest...no.

There are a million stories of good, decent people helping each other that we will never see or hear on television. Why? They're boring. Footage of people doing the best they can to stay clean, to stay organized, to stay alive just isn't as much fun to point a camera at as someone telling tales of r*pe and murder.

Our local news - which I'm sure echoes the local news reports of every city and town in the US - showed the SEALS getting ready to leave for NO to help. This team is all volunteer and all trained. This is a big Navy town (San Diego), so it got coverage.

The blame for the mishandling of this crisis lies with the Administration. They have managed to prove that this country is not ready for any kind of a crisis, be it natural or man made.

The blame for the hysterical calls of "racism" lies with the media.

I will add that if it *is* true, that relief wasn't sent in on time because these people were poor and black...Goddess help us all. As a nation, we're doomed.

[JR]

i think racism is a natural function of what we are. its genetic. its primal. its something that is built into us that helps us survive as individuals and social groups. regardless of what type of animal you are, baboon, chimpanzee, zebra or a fish... the benefits and the survival advantages of sticking to your own kind are obvious.

we always have a more positive view of like people than different people. a homosexual will be more likely to have a more positive view of homosexuals than a heterosexual would. he would be more likely to defend homosexuals than a heterosexual would. a muslim would be more likely to have a more positive view of a muslim and a non-muslim would. we would be more likely to have a positive view of someone that shared our own common traits such as dress, appearence, income level, language/slang, type of work and so on. its normal in my opinion.

have you ever been in a foreign country and felt some sense of relief when you see someone from your own country walking down the street? thats what i am talking about. why? whats the difference if people are people and we are all the same?

i am not saying its a great thing to wake up everyday saying "i hate blacks because..." or "i hate asians because...". i am not saying that it is logical or rational or justified in any real meaningful way. i am saying that it is a general behavior that time continues to prove will never go away.

tendencies towards racism probably changes far less than the acceptable forms of expressing these tendencies.

[Rolo]

From the media http://www.zippyvideos.com/891102377...ng-in-walmart/ - Police Looters

[JR]

Originally Posted by Rolo

From the media http://www.zippyvideos.com/891102377...ng-in-walmart/ - Police Looters

sorry sir.... the ratio of white looters to black looters in your video failed to fall within acceptable ranges. society regrets to inform you that you are now a racist.

[Dravyk]

As white people are already a minority, one wonders if fifty years hence if there will be people sitting around their living rooms going ... "Damn, didja see that report? Those stupid whites are looting hologram sets again when they need toilet paper to wipe their asses." And someone replies "Shut your mouth with those racists remarks. You know damn well those poor uneducated white people can't help where they live."

[MorganGrayson]

JR...you have several valid points. I think one concept needs to be added though, and that is "familiarity." Long ago I had a discussion with someone about racism, and this person's take was "if you've only met one black person in your life and this was a bad person, you're going to think all black people are bad." If, however, you have a broad familiarity with lots of different races, ethnic groups and religions, your experiences broadens and so does your tolerance.

Dravyk...it's a virtual certainty that in 50 years, someone will be sitting around saying something about someone. As a species we seem to have an adamant refusal to learn from history.

[Nickatilynx]

Everyone is prejudiced to some degree. The art is realising you are and being aware of it when it detrimentaly creeps into your formulation of an opinion.

[Simon]

Originally Posted by MorganGrayson

... If, however, you have a broad familiarity with lots of different races, ethnic groups and religions, your experiences broadens and so does your tolerance.

Morgan, there is where you've touched on something that's bothered me for a long time. We really need to have a basic qualifications exam of some type for those who'd like to become president.

Someone should have to train up a bit even to be considered. And high on the list should be that they've traveled the world enough to see what it's like. Right now we're stuck with a "leader" who just isn't one. One who hasn't experienced enough of the world to know how to deal with other countries and their peoples. And now, he's also demonstrating to the world that when catastrophes happen, he's just not up to the demands.

The other thing that having "a broad familiarity with lots of different races, ethnic groups and religions" gives you, besides tolerance, is the inability to watch unmoved as those unlike yourself suffer.

Unfortunately, it looks like George W has no problem hanging out at the ranch (or reading to children), when he should be doing the "presidential" things that could have made a difference during the first days following the storm.

Racism? Yeah, it's always an issue.

But I don't think it was racism that slowed response.

We just don't have a man at the helm who knows what to do when you're taking direct hits and the crew is screaming for help... for leadership.

Simon

[Nickatilynx]

I agree , the response wasn't slowed by racism , it was slowed by incompetence at the highest level.

Bush does have a tendancy to , seemingly , "freeze" at moments of crisis.

[Carrie]

Can someone explain to me please how Bush froze?
Saturday he declared Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama states of emergency - almost 48 hours before the storm hit. This allowed FEMA to mobilize and get ready, and gave the State Governors authorization to mobilize their own Guardsmen (and accept Guardsmen from other States).

Monday morning after the storm hit, he declared Louisiana and Mississippi disaster areas, which freed up tons of money in aid for them.

By the time the storm was over on Monday, Guardsmen *were* on the ground in most of the affected areas and FEMA *was* on the ground as well. They had buses and trucks lined up on the highways outside of NO and could not get in because there weren't enough Guardsmen to keep them protected.

The Pentagon sent 4 Navy ships down to provide search and rescue and relief - 3 left port here in Norfolk late Monday night or very early Tuesday morning, they were gone at 5am when my hubby went in to work. 1 more left Tuesday afternoon.
The Pentagon also sent over 30,000 Guard south.
Mike Leavitt (Health and Human Services) declared a national health emergency on Wednesday and sent down tons of medical supplies and workers.

Friday, when Congress got back into session, they approved $10.5 billion in aid which the President immediately signed. He also enacted active duty military to go down and assist.

It truly seems to me that everywhere *except* New Orleans, things went smoothly (as smoothly as can be expected anyway). The true question lies with why weren't there more Guardsmen in New Orleans - and I think the answer to that comes back to Governor Blanco. She had full authority to mobilize her Guard and accept Guard from other states (we already know she was offered Guard by New Mexico's Governor and sat on it).

I'm not towing the party line here, I have been up since 7am (it's now 11am) hunting down timelines, going to state governor's websites, watching/listening to news reports archived online all over the place, trying my best to figure out what the hell happened in New Orleans. The only thing I keep coming back to is that Blanco did not send enough help there when she had full authority to do so (both her own troops and nearby states).

Each State is given these authorities and powers so that they can hold their own and facilitate the aid from Federal sources like FEMA, the Pentagon, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, etc. Congress was not in session when the hurricane hit, the very first thing they did when they went back into session was authorize more aid and money and give more power to the President to take more action. The President cannot act without Congressional approval. Perhaps we should set up some kind of system so that if the President declares an area a "disaster area", Congress has to immediately go back into session that day?

It's all coming back down to Governor Blanco, and why she didn't send more troops to New Orleans. Federal aid was available and ready and waiting to get in - it's HER call to distribute troops throughout her state. Where was she in regards to New Orleans?

[Simon]

Actually, i believe that if we had a leader at the top, he would have made sure that the things his people needed got to them. If that meant telling a Governor to get off her ass and do it now, or he would do it for her, then that's what would have been done.

Real leaders don't need to observe political niceties, when their people have catastrophic needs. He simply is not strong enough, and no longer has the political clout that it takes, to muscle his way to the front and lead when leadership is needed.

There were many unorthodox things that could have been done to get relief supplies and aid to those people immediately. He just isn't the guy you look to for the kind of 'out of the box' thinking that you need when you realize that your best plans are not going to be good enough, fast enough.

Unfortunately, I'm not sure he realizes that yet, or that he ever will. He may think he's doing a good job, and that he's giving us his very best. Actually, now that I think about it, this probably is as good as he gets.

We need more from our president, and we need to grow some better candidates real soon.

Simon

[PornoDoggy]

Bush himself did not freeze in response to the Hurricane. Bush himself did all that he was supposed to do in response to this specific crisis.

Five years into his Presidency, the difference in the response by FEMA to the crisis in NO compared to the crisis in NYC says it all.

Was the state government at fault as well? I have no doubt it was - which doesn't for a single minute mitigate the [facts | opinions] outlined above.

[Dravyk]

Originally Posted by PornoDoggy

Bush himself did not freeze in response to the Hurricane. Bush himself did all that he was supposed to do in response to this specific crisis.

Was that the playing the guitar part, or the looking out the plane window part?

[PornoDoggy]

New Orleans is, if I quote MikeAI correctly, 70% black.

There will be a certain number of people who will take any failure to respond as quickly as they believe necessary as evidence of "racism."

There are a certain number of people who will take evidence of conduct that they do not approve of on the part of members of certain groups of people as evidence that they are all bad.

Is either of the above two groups more stupid than the other?

I don't believe that the failure to respond in an appropriate manner to this crisis is caused by anything, including racism, other than gross incompentence.

[Carrie]

Originally Posted by Dravyk

Was that the playing the guitar part, or the looking out the plane window part?

Careful Drav, or you'll start sounding like the folks (see above) who still think Bush should've been psychically tuned in and known not to schedule a book reading at a school when the planes hit.

As for looking out the window - the Mayors, Governors, etc are all doing it too, it's how you get a good view of the devastation and can easily see where relief is deployed and where it isn't. Back in pre-tv and pre-helicopter eras leaders would do the same thing from high hills and towers. But any excuse to slam and the same naysayers jump right on it - gotta love their enthusiasm for the Bitch Brigade job.

Edited: eras, not areas. Damn fingers.

[Dravyk]

Originally Posted by PornoDoggy

I don't believe that the failure to respond in an appropriate manner to this crisis is caused by anything, including racism, other than gross incompentence.

Same here. And the latter fitting Bush like a glove!

Carrie, Bush Bashing is a hobby. It's like telling the crowd ogling the Emperor's New Clothes that he's actually naked enough times, people start to see it.

[Carrie]

And as strange a route as it might have been, it comes back around to nakedness again. We're awful. :P

[Dravyk]

Originally Posted by Carrie

And as strange a route as it might have been, it comes back around to nakedness again. We're awful. :P

Anything to remain "on topic".