Katrina, that is. At least in many ways it is.
It's difficult for me to believe, even today, after all that's happened, many people on this forum and millions in America are as detached as George W. Bush is from the realities of the lives of the many people left behind in New Orleans.
The vast majority of our brothers and sisters that were left behind (or who chose to stay) are DIRT POOR. They're the kind of people (mostly) that just want a meal and a bed and to hug their kids at night after a day of hard work (that is if they are off to their second job on the night shift).
This is a reality that no one of us -in this on-line community- lives on a daily basis. Most of us know that it does exist and we empathize. But many Americans -some here- are simply detached from reality and refuse to acknowledge the existence of poverty in your own country!
I sincerely hope that George W. Bush catches a glimpse of and realizes what he is truly looking at on his "tour" today! That is, Poverty.
The floating bodies, those simply set aside in the chair they died in, those in the gutters being consumed by vermin, and the new born near death from dehydration, and the body that could have been saved had he acted when and how he should have.
According to most sources on poverty statistics, approximately 1.1 million more Americans slipped into poverty in 2004. This number has risen steadily since George W. Bush took office.
I question Bush's ability to empathize with those still on the streets of New Orleans. After all they should've just gotten themselves and their families out right? And if any comment or diary any of you have written here in recent days has referred to these people having made a choice to stay and ride out the storm, then I question your ability to empathize as well.
As I write this, the bodies of some of the poorest folk in the country are being literally eaten by rats in the street.
The Aftermath. The ignorance. The stupidity. I see the willful stupidity of our government and willful abandonment of the poorest of the poor in one of America's oldest cities.
OUTRAGE. That's what I see here today.
POVERTY. That's what I see.
I, like many people, are livid. This is America. George Bush has been spouting off for years about how he loves America. Bullshit. George loves power and greed and that's what he serves.
Yes Anderson Cooper "lost it" last night. And I applaud him for it. Somebody has to speak up for these people and as far as I can see, CNN is the only MSM doing it. How is it that anyone would not decry the non-actions of a president who would sit back and watch thousands of his fellow Americans die in the aftermath of a storm while he plays his guitar and eats cake?
I suppose now, no I'm certain that now I will see the propaganda machine that is GOP (and Fox news) spin this into a great show of leadership from Bush. More Bullshit. More anger.
Those who say don't politicize this are reckless. I say attack the sons of bitches NOW with everything we have. And don't let up. Bush is a criminal and a thug. He is the real looter. He is an arrogant greedy piece of shit who hides behind The Cross of Christ.
George W. Bush is an impotent warmonger who shoots off missiles because he doesn't know how to be a peacemaker. And now - the ultimate insult- he ignores the poorest citizens of N.O. because they are just mostly poor black and he has no idea what to do for them. They are farthest thing from his "base". They are the impoverished.
