I had a surreal experience today. I am leaving in the morning to deliver $$$ and items to food banks and shelters in the Houston area this weekend and I sat next to a woman at lunch who actually said "its so weird this is happening in the state right next to us and it doesn't effect my daily life at all!" I almost puked. Later she added insult to injury with "I don't understand why they have to get violent in the Superdome. They should just drop the ones they saved back in the water where they came from."
Before you ask, I will tell you that, yes, she loves the Bush family.
All I could think to do was to try the intelligent response...they don't know where their families are, they don't have homes or jobs to go to, they don't have underwear or food, oh yeah, don't forget the dead bodies floating by...you just cannot apply normal, rational thought processes to the situation.
Her response? Oh the dead bodies they would find repulsive but it wouldn't make a person crazy. Did I mention I work for a behavioral health company? HELLO? Can you say PTSD? Read about PTSD
Someone help me here, what is the percentage of the actual population on some form of anti-psychotic or anti-depressant? The percentage of crime per capita based on X number of people per square mile? Okay, cram 25,000 people in a building under less than desirable conditions, no medications for REGULAR medical conditions, not enough food, water, sleep deprivation, no feminine hygiene products or clean underwear, no clothes, no idea where the other family members are, no money, no way to get a disability check in the mail, some pregnant, some sick, oh yeah, and just have been through one of the worst disaster in our recorded history? What does that do to a person? I think it's a miracle it isn't worse...
Now take that with the Repent America leader saying its basically okay because it was a wicked city and the billions we are spending with similarly angry Iraqis that don't have homes, electricity, food, shoes, and it's still okay the priorities our country has? It is embarrassing that we are in one of the richest countries and we cannot help these people. Someone has decided that everyone stops rescuing folks from rooftops to protect stores against looters? How would that feel if you were on that rooftop? You haven't slept and no one is helping you...
We will be blogging from Galveston Island this weekend. Please check back in the event you may know someone looking for someone or a place cataloging names. We will list anyone looking for the missing and how to contact them. Bless all of you that are helping this weekend...
