Everybody Clap Your Hands Inanely Now!
For all who say this isn't about politics: it is, it is about politics when politics are the reason so many are dead and so many more will still die. It is ALL about politics.
For all who say we mustn't assign blame: Mustn't we? Why? Many are responsible for these deaths, the avoidable ones. Why are they not to blame? Why are they not to be blamed? Why hide behind the What's important now is to help the people?
It is indeed important to help the people.
But. BUT. It is important that the people we are now helping know we take their suffering seriously. It is important that their suffering is not minimised, that we don’t further rob them of their dignity by our collective Ssssh, hush, the booboo will stop hurting soon.
Newsflash y'all, the booboo will NOT stop hurting soon and it ain’t a fucking booboo anyway. Uzi was killed in the tsunami but if he had been killed now and someone were trying to tell me it's all in the past now, the future is what matters now - well, I'd want their eyes and some evisceration, I promise you. I do not care how prettified the package is, it is offensive, it is immoral, it is obscene. Now is the time to point the finger and say YOU FAILED US, yes it is! Now is the time to point the finger and say YOU MUST BE HELD ACCOUNTABLE FOR YOUR ACTIONS AND LACK THEREOF, of course it is! If not now, when?
Did I miss the mega-congress that decreed humans no longer are an open program species with the ability to learn and multitask? Are we now capable of either/or only? Help or Think?
It is all very well to mindlessly go abt helping others. It worked for Mother Teresa and her poor, and there is worth in that. But frankly, I have long felt that there is much more merit in one of Sister Helen Prejean's fingers than in the whole of Mother Teresa. Bcs Sister Helen woke up and smelt the bitter coffee, she realised that it is fine to tend to injuries but it’s so much better to fight in order to prevent them from happening in the first place. And she went against everything she had been taught, everyone and the Catholic Church to live by what she believes, and she paid the price for doing so, for not hiding behind The Greater Picture.
We cannot separate misery from politics, we cannot separate life and death from politics, especially when those lives and those deaths are political events. It is shameful and belittling to them and us to even want to do so.
So I blame the Mayor for failing to have a plan; and the Governor, isn’t it obvious why; and FEMA, good grief, FEMA and that Michael Brown anomaly, yes I blame him so much; and above all I blame that worthless, stomach-churning prosimian that is the President of the USA for failing to step in when it became obvious the situation wasn’t being attended to at all – and him I blame above all because he holds the ultimate power. UPDATE: And his mother who dared to say this is working very well for the victims, if you can believe that.
I am bloody tired of having the cowardly and the inept rule us all and of our closing our eyes to it due to what can only be personal reasons, and am tired of having American political correctness, one of the greatest plagues to ever ravage the planet, shoved down my throat. No one can act in a despicable manner, in a manner that has fatal consequences, and not be held accountable. Or, better put, no one should be able to. I am bloody tired of this collective LALALA I CAN’T HEAR YOU, THINK ABOUT THE PEOPLE NOW. I am thinking about the people. In fact, I cannot stop thinking about the people. I wake up in the middle of the night thinking abt the people. [The animals as wel but we’ve established the pro-multitasking bias.] And then I think about the people we will be writing abt in the future because bad things happen especialy to the unprepared.
I refuse to eat your bullshit so please stop offering.
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They aren’t hungry either. [Thanks]
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UPDATE: the brolls© (Bush trolls) have landed. Trolls at large, I must insist that when you leave comments here you:
a) address me with "You", not "you". Your President *insert reverent bow* will be so proud of your fine manners;
b1) gather your courage and sense of honour and leave your real name and link. No one will harm you, more will respect you;
b2) that failing, give yourself a moniker, something like "Broll but Kyoto-friendly" or "Broll but fond of rainbow stickers" This Anon thingy can be so very dull.
Oh Brolls, I can tell we're going to be such good friends! *Claps hands inanely*
posted by Lioness @ 9:49 am
32 furballs
32 Comments:
http://www.washtimes.com/national/pruden.htm
Well, as you know, I disagree, because I think it's the habit of blaming that got us into this hole in the first place, and that as long as we hang on to it we will just continue to dig ourselves deeper.
So I will go on mindlessly trying to help others.
I do think that the people who failed to try to get people out, and the people whose responsibility it was to get aid in quickly, should be fired, and when it's clear what policies and priorities allowed this to happen, they must be changed. But I'll leave blame to other people. There are always plenty of people ready to take on that job: we needn't fear that it will go undone.
Of course it's about politics and of course you can "focus on the tragedy" and still think for yourself and, yes, even assign blame if necessary.
I'm so angry and upset I don't even want to write about it, or even think about it really.
Daniel, nu? I don't quite follow. This is being used as canon fodder, what else is new. Nothing sacred anymore, we knew that.
Dale, I don't see how that's what got us here. What got us here was human irresponsibility, political agendas and tremendous bad luck. For them to be fired someone in power has to say "You did it, now out". How is that accomplished without finding who is responsible? And quite frankly, I don't see much of that happening anyway and that is what is making me feel ill the most - who will hang the bell around the cat's neck? I don't believe heads will roll. And I so dearly hope I'm wrong. As for "mindlessly", I don't think you could be mindless if you tried.
Ana, eu sei. Enfiar a cabeça na areia como estratégia geral às vees não me parece nada mal. Irra.
Silly Brolls. Hmm. When I read your website, what do I see? Why, I see links to how to donate. Do you know how I see that? Because I read the whole post instead of just lashing out. And again, just to reiterate what we've been saying all along, if you don't like what you read, hit the little x button in the right hand corner.
Anyway, another thing to point out is that anyone who is using the website mypoints.com has the opportunity to transfer their points into a cash donation and send it to the Red Cross. Which I did just recently. The other thing I found out was that iTunes will allow you to donate, apparently the same way you process a purchase for music.
From what I can see and hear, GWB is doing the job, that the Mayor of New Orleans should have done in the first place. The last I heard, he was hold up in City Hall w/ body guards, then when things really got hot, he creeped over to a Hotel w/ body guards in tact. Not a word from him. In the mean time, rapes, murders, looting going on all around him. After many of the homeless were transfered to Houston,Texas to the Astordome, a lot of lawlessness is still going on. So, how you can spew out hate for GWB, is really beyound me. Buckle down now, Lioness, read closely what is really going on. Some of your blogs are really good.
DM, I don't mind people disagreeing, it's the anonymity that galls me. And the arrogance.
I fear you are right and I pray you are wrong. I do not forsee anyone being held accountable. Many I talk to here in conservative, small-town Midwest are horrified and appalled with how things were and are continually being botched. I also know they will almost to a person vote the same way they did in 2004. A year ago I was amazed that he was not being summarily thrown out of office. I can't face the thought of who he will place on the Supreme Court. I can only take so much horror.
Wow, anon, "buckle down"? I'm afraid I'm not the type to buckle down. I suggest YOU read closely, I suggest YOU watch a foreign news channel. GWB in this, as in all the rest, has behaved disgracefully. And I don't really hate him, not really. I despise him, that's more accurate. With all my soul. I'm glad you liked some of my blogs.
Dale, I've thought abt it some more. What bothers me abt the others' position, and that doesn't bother me abt yours is, there is a philosophy behind yours, a body of belief if you will. The remarks I have seen peppering the blogosphere smack of hand-wringing and "Why can't we just get along?" Problems do not go away simply bcs we'd like them to, and shutting our eyes leads nowhere but to blindness. In the case of many, it isn't said out of conviction, as in your case, but out of fear of what might be.
Diana, it amazed me that so many actually thought he was going to lose this time. Here we were rather sure he'd win, and he'd keep on winning for 10 years if the election system allowed it. People chose to disregard evidence before, why would it change now. We are all horrified but life goes on and we become a tad more impervious, right? And anyway, as Barbara Bush said, the hurricane actually helped many bcs they were poor and miserable and now they're poorer and more miserable but at least they are in Texas and frankly, it doesn't get any better.
It's all there to see for those who are willing.
(I knew you weren't really aiming for me, btw :->)
Well, because I think at bottom the blaming habit of mind is the habit of mind that decides some people just don't deserve compassion. And that's what this negligence looks like to me. "Well, if they don't have the sense to get out when there's a mandatory evacuation order, they deserve what they get." Those were the sort of thoughts -- I speculate -- that made it thinkable to some people to leave twenty percent of the population of New Orleans to the mercy of the hurricane. They weren't thinking clearly, of course; they didn't stop and think about all the reasons why someone might not leave. But that's how the habit of blame works. It lumps things in together and sort of short-circuits the mind and erases complexity.
And then once you're getting hollered at and blamed for something you *know* isn't your fault, you write off the people blaming you, and their anger, and it just all rolls along that way, with people getting more and more hostile and simpler and simpler, until they really *are* being as nasty to each other as they all accuse each other of being. At that point you might as well pack it in -- politics is impossible and only violence is left.
So I'm willing to fire people, but I'm not willing to blame them. Nobody wanted this to happen this way, nobody wanted all this suffering. If we're not careful though we'll start thinking someone did. And that will just bring in more confusion and anger.
(sorry to be so long-winded. I feel too dull-witted today to be brief.)
I'm just wondering if he was reading books with school children this time too. I just picture W with that blanky look on his face sitting there wondering who will tell him what to do?
First to California, then on to Washington a few days later, nothing for me to do, la la, la la.
Maybe if half the national guard wasn't across the world doing something else there might be a faster response.
And since more people died because of Katrina maybe we can spend a few billion dollars a month at home.
OK, enough, stop it now.
Thank You for thinking about us. Notice, I said You, need to be polite).
Joe, tnx. The Y is duly appreciated. And we agree.
Dale, but the firing thing is exactly what I mean! Not simply saying "You are responsible" for the sake of it, but so you can "fire" the person. See? I don't understand how that can be done without a prior decision, i.e., this man has done X wrong, he must therefore lose his job.
Must mull over this some more but exam tomorrow and cannot elaborate further, I'm not phrasing this well.
Oh, I'm the one who's not being clear, I think. To me it makes a great deal of difference whether you fire him to punish him for his wickedness, or fire him so the job will be done diffeerently next time. In one way it's all the same -- the guy's out of a job. But in terms of what's been planted, and what the eventual harvest will be -- in our own minds, I mean, for the most part -- they're radically different. And that seems much more important to me. Because we're not really going to be hiring or firing anybody, you and I; but we really are ingraining the habit of our minds.
Why I'm picking on *you* today, I don't know. You're just lucky, I guess.
Good luck tomorrow!
You know what... I've stayed out of this discussion thus far primarily because the fucking CRIMINAL that runs the U.S. of Fucking A.... makes me so insanely angry that I lose any and all semblance of coherent and rational logic... something I generally take a great deal of pride in.... THAT along with the fact that I am NOT a resident of a country ruled by a semi-literate lying BAFOON. But you know what... as I sit here patiently miscarrying a fetus... hopped up on Percocet and red wine... I don't FUCKING CARE!!!
The only people for whom I have less respect than that murdering ape, are those who willingly put on self-imposed blinders and lap up the American propoganda without a second THOUGHT that it might... just MIGHT be worth exploring alternative media sources. And NO... believe it or not 'alternative media' sources does not mean the STAR or National Enquirer. Shocking though it may be... there is a world beyond your ethocentric borders... a world with a conscience and intellect enough to produce media capable of escaping the mighty fucking arm of that redneck cowboy who thinks he rules the fucking world even though he had NEVER ONCE IN HIS LIFE left the precious fucking boundaries of your country before he became President of the U.S. of A. Process the ramifications of THAT if you can.
AND LOOK... I have the fucking BALLS to post my real IDENTITY... because whether I'm right or wrong... I have enough INTEGRITY to stand behind what I say.
And yah.... you know what... perhaps if you aren't capable of helping others at the the same time as questioning WHY this happened? Then you probably should just go back to being the blind sheep that you are and just BAAAAH while you believe what you are told to believe.
I do agree that a much, much better system needs to be in place for averting disaster next time - on local, state, and national levels. I also hope that we as a country (or as a planet, really) decides that it might be a good idea to explore alternative energy sources when we see how badly this will affect oil prices.
I don't however, believe that blaming all and sundry is particularly helpful, nor is implying that those who voted for Bush (or, as Manuela so admittedly incoherently and without rational logic calls him "The effing criminal who runs the US of A") are not in possession of either all the facts or of any reasonable thought. It is difficult to openly discuss issues with folks who make such comments because it sounds like they don't want to hear from anyone who might have another opinion.
I disagree with much of what you said, Lioness, but would welcome the opportunity to tell you why without feeling as though I would be immediately shot down. I am surprised that I feel this way because I have never felt like this before commenting on your blog.
And I would never, ever, give my opinion and then sign as anonymous.
-Amyesq (am I considered a Broll, then? Is it fun to give someone a nickname because of what they believe in? You of ALL people I thought would be better than that.)
Amyesq... my rant is not aimed at people who make informed decisions... I can agree... or not agree. I just happen to wholeheartedly believe... that GWB is actually as close to evil in office as there has ever been. However, my rant is aimed solely at people who leave trollish comments without standing behind them, and people who aren't at least willing to QUESTION what they are told by the American media. I have no idea which camp you fall in and would never make such an assumption.
You know what.... I've been lying in bed tossing and turning trying to sleep.... and for the first time EVER I was so bothered by something I read on a blog... that I simply had to DRAG my sorry ass out of bed and address it.
Amyesq said two particular things that I don't feel I properly corrected in my brief retort.
I made TWO DISTINCT statements in my initial rant... (inflammatory, I admit... rife with unnecessary foul language... definitely) Firstly, I said that I think GWB is a fucking criminal... or something to that effect. Yes. I do. It would take days of compiling very compelling third party evidence from around the world over the last decade to support why I believe this...which... I sadly can't be bothered to regurgitate... but that's my belief.
Secondly, I said that I had no respect for people who blindly believe what the media tells them. Yes. This is also true.
HOWEVER... I did NOT say that I think that all people who voted for GWB "are not in possession of either all the facts or of any reasonable thought." I also did not in the slightest sense mean to imply this fact. Although I find it very interesting that Amyesq seems to believe that my two statements are impossible to exist as mutually exclusive events... which as a theory that she has now presented... I may have to take under consideration.
Furthermore, I am deeply saddened by this comment, "I also hope that we as a country (or as a planet, really) decides that it might be a good idea to explore alternative energy sources when we see how badly this will affect oil prices."
Oil prices. Yes. Indeed. OIL PRICES. Do I even have to elaborate as to why this leaves me shaking my head in pity???
Manuela, unfortunately I know what it is like to be hopped up on Percoset and red wine in bed miscarrying a fetus. And out of respect for that, I will email you so we can make this discussion private and not hijack Johnny's blog.
Johnny,
I haven't been commenting mainly because I don't know what to write. I have been reading and I just wanted to let you know that. I'll keep reading.
Dale, I still don't understand. Bcs when we fire someone yes, it'd better be bcs the person is incompetent. It should NEVER be a matter of spite. But again, your firing someone means you have decided that that person is responsible for things that are unacceptable. How is that amoral and dangerous? Amoral and dangerous would be to allow the incompetents, especially in a position of power, to carry on.
Manuela, I am happy you could find a place to vent here. Vent away. I actually understand it's not all foetus + percocet, GWB gets me so incensed at times I choose not to watch anything thaty concerns him.
M, thank you. THANK YOU!!! That is what I wish I could have written. That is exactly it, you have summed it up perfectly. EVRYONE; READ M'S COMMENT!
Amy, where to start? I wrote this last post in reply to all the syrupy comments I've seen and the anon comment I received. The latter was the actual trigger. I am always surprised to find that intelligent people voted for Bush, true. It would make it easier to bear if they were all dumb as fuck but alas, not so. Without exageration or emotion now, I'll tell you I honestly fear your President and his narcissistic personality. He is vain, not intelligent and self-enamored, and he has access to illimited resources, deadly ones included.
You may have made an informed decision but believe me, we are all avid Bush trackers here in Europe - in the sense that we feel an absolute NEED to keep informed bcs w him you never know. Sorry, but that's how it is. I understand that many may think we don't know a whole lot abt the doings of and in the US but I can assure you so many of us know more than so many Americans. When some anonymous commenter refers to "the President" as though there could be no other; berates me for criticising him in this hour of need; and another anon tells me to buckle down - tells ME to buckle down - and get informed, well, the shit will hit the fan bcs I AM informed thank you very much, so informed I sometimes cannot sleep!
Bush is now doing the MAyor's job? Wonderful! What took him so long ios what I'd like to know.
These were Brolls and you, better than many, know all abt trolls. And Chrolls, the ones who want us to welcome Jesus, ban IVF etc. They are trolls who are Bush-blinded and yes, I am entitled to giving them a nickname.
How does them being Brolls and my being annoyed at the cowardice and arrogance of a couple add up to your being one? You support Bush? Fine. Well no, obvioulsy. But come out and tell me why you feel he handled this crisis well. You won't be a troll till you behave like one - and you never have, here or anywhere else, why would you feel this applied to you? I even linked to the comments.
And Amy, I never blamed ALL AND SUNDRY, I blamed the people I feel are responsible for so much of the avoidable part of this tragedy.
I maintain that to have had knowledge of the severity of the hurricane; to have had the time to evacuate many more thousands bfr the hurricane hit and to not have done so; to have failed to deploy troops et al post-hurricane for days - is criminal behaviour. And you may see more inflamed posts bcs this is what I do here, I let down my hair and often sharpen my claws, and then I sleep a bit better.
At the end of the day, I might call you a twat but I'd never shoot you. So feel free to comment, you and everyone else. Even Bush/FEMA/Brown/what have you supporters. Explain why. Just tell us who you are and don't tell others how to behave. (especially me). Ha!
I haven't read all of the comments, but I do hold the politicians accountable. Fact is, people get elected mayor and governor on some pretty words and a popularity contest. In a time of crisis, what you need is a LEADER. I saw no local leadership, and I think the federal leadership failed simply by assuming the locals had it covered for so long. Compare Katrina to 9/11 and see how much faster Bush got busy and got into the area. This time he dilly-dallied on vacation. IMO, that holiday should have been OVER upon getting the news. I was reminded of fiddling while Rome burned.
I found Barbara Bush's remark about how the situation had a silver lining for the poorest people to be obnoxious. Go ahead and think a thought like that all you want, Babs, but when you put it out there it's an insult. It's for the ones affected to decide if it was for the best or that there is an upside. What she said is just a verbal bandaid that shows SHE has moved on from it. It was a very insensitive thing to do.
celeste_lippATyahoo.com
Welcome celeste, thanks for adding this. That's it, leadership. These people are elected to do a job. When they fail to do it, they should be held accountable. Politicians failing, especially at this level, is never a small or dismissable thing.
Maybe I am more simple-minded or not enlightened enough but this is what it amounts to IMO.
Yep.
That's all. Just "yep". I'm going to let you rant *for* me because you do SUCH a good job at it!
That was well said, Johnny! Please don't think I think Bush is doing a fabulous job - I don't. He could have really stepped up and didn't. And I agree with everything Celeste said about how he should have reacted faster, better - as should the politicians at the more local levels. I appreciate respectful way you phrased your response. I agree that blind following of "our president" is not helpful, nor it is even what the US is about. I just don't see how vehemently blaming one person is the key. I think the problems are deeper than that. That's all I'm saying.
Oh, and you know I lived in the UK for years, right? I do know the extent to which Europe is knowledgeable about US affairs (I don't mean that in a snotty way).
P.S. I like to discuss politics in a respectful way. I find that I learn quite a bit. I am frustrated when folks go into discussions with closed minds - and that is just a general statement not meant to point a finger at anyone. I am sure most posters on here feel the same.
Amy - I'm generous in my assigning of blame, as you may have noticed. I see at least 4 people who should be made to answer before the nation. But to me it's not really a matter of pointing the finger at one per se, it's understanding who was at fault and making sure they won't be in a position to fail again. Resignation, firing them, impeaching them, jail - whatever the *enter appropriate means* find appropriate for each case. Good luck w that, I know. And I can't really discuss politics in depth bcs I am absolutely biased re GWB and cannot, simply cannot believe the man and our misfortune. So yes, quite worthless as a discussion partner in terms of learning.
I'm beginning to think we are all pretty much talking abt the same thing albeit w different words, you know. Yes, I did know abt the UK - but sadly you are not your average countryman, and too many of those seem to have incredibly deep navels that demand much perusing. One could get lost in there.
[And the percocet + foetus bit broke my heart again, for both of you and all the others.]
Kim, do you know, here in Portugal hardly anyone bothers to vote anymore. We are sort of burnt out politically, socially, economically, and riding a depression. And we're the size of what, Maine? If that. I don't know, we have close to 11 million inhabitants.
And yet, the majority don't care, and that despite us being bombarded w information abt our own country and the world. Honestly, the US is so vast and so culturally supposedly self-sufficient, I cannot imagine the majority of Americans wanting to take part in the life of their country. But I am heavily prejudiced against Americans - as an abstract notion - due to tourist encounters and what I read and see. Either way, it has to pass through the people at least being given the chance to become more involved and realising it is actually up to them.
I think the limits have been reached long ago. For instance, one thing that has always puzzled me is how you can still live w the electoral college, it is so... medieval and off-cutting.
Go here for a truly eery scientific prediction:
http://sheepsheadianstories.blogspot.com/2005/09/email-from-my-mom.html
[Will someone please PLEASE tell me how to link within the comments, I forgot! Again. Sorry.]
Just to make where I'm coming from clear, my wife and I worked damn hard trying to get someone other than GWB elected, so I'm not trying to operate as a smokescreen for him. I don't loathe him, because I used up my loathing energy way back when Nixon, who was considerably worse, was president. I'm an old man. I've seen a lot of nasty men sit in the White House; I don't think there's anything unusually nasty about this one.
I'd just ask you to think for a while about when you've fundamentally changed your opinions about something. No, I mean really think about it. No, not that, either. I mean really go back to it and picture it. Not how you'd present it now, but how it was then. Those are the conditions you'll need to create in the minds of American Republicans before any of this will change. (If you've never fundamentally changed your opinions about something, well, that tells you something, or it ought to.)
Ok--I will venture in--This is really simple. A whole lot of people screwed up. Beginning with the state of La and its elected officials. We are a nation of states and I have to say that M is not correct in all that he says.
The bureaucratic BS that governs the process for intervention by the federal goverment is insane.
But why did GWB have to tell the Mayor or governor to order the evactuation? Believe me when I say--GWB is also at fault. He waited to long--he depended on people HE chose and they acted like they were from outer space.
Of course heads will role--this is not going to go away--no way. When the dust settles--many will pay. To those who do not want to blame--it is not about blame--it is about being accountable.
As far as the levees--heck--one can go back 5 prez's and local officials for that one. One area of the levee was stopped because it would disturb a bird nesting area.
One really also needs to understand La--of all the states in this nation, it still relys on laws made absolete in the 1800s.
This is the part that really upsets me--we Americans go about thinking it will never happen to us. We trash the experts that study and warn us--until the disaster happens, of course.
I am deeply disturbed on many levels at the lack of being prepared. School buses capable of evacuating 20,000 souls were never called into action and now lay under a ton of water.
N.O.--a city below sea level--surrounded by water--a levee disigned for only a catagory 3--a catagory 5 then 4 hurricane is rushing in--HELLO! Mayor? Govenor? Fema? GWB? LA. senator? congressman? and I could go on.
So please--do not view the fact that there is blame to go around as some typical blame game--it is NOT. This was a complete break down from the bottom all the way to the top! The people of this country--regardless of political leanings need to demand answers, if for no other reason that those who died because of inaction do not die in vain.
Lioness--your agaisnt Americans? Maybe I did not understand.
Anyway--to post a link within comments--just copy and past the url.
Lioness: my question to you, and to anyone else is WHO ELSE do we choose? There was a peace protest/parade last weekend, all about anti-war and anti-bush and anti-the government. All I wanted to ask was "yes, I agree with some of what you are saying, but, what, or rather WHO do you propose instead?"...the answer "i don't know, just anything else" isn't a good one. we have to have a plan, a candidate, and volunteer to take us to the place we want to go, and take us well. It's a job I wouldn't want to do. Sigh. it's all so hard.
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