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It has been, god...3 years now.
Aug. 28th, 2008 06:52 pmFor those of you that aren't aware, I'm originally from Mississippi. I was there when Katrina hit, and actually had to fly to DC a few days after. I remember thinking I was never going to get to the airport in Memphis because I needed gas and stations around the state (and city I was in) were running out due to power loss and well...not many places were easy to get to at the time.
Anyway, I have to say that it always bothers me when I hear people talk about Katrina and New Orleans. They all believe (because of the media) that New Orleans was hit head on by Katrina.
No. That isn't true. The Hurricane actually hit a few miles west of Biloxi/Gulf Port Mississippi, and wiped out several town. It then tracked straight up the state. By the time the storm had passed into the Tennessee, my whole state was out of power for the most part. The Governor was giving press releases with flashlights and power generators that ran huge lights used to light up work areas after dark. I was one of the few lucky ones to have power, but it was still a maze to get in and out of places. You had to dodge fallen or falling trees, downed powerlines, and all in all it wasn't any fun.
Worst was when we finally got news of all bad it everything really was, New Orleans took the shower. There was, of course, some wind damage. No one would ever argue that. But the worst damage was done when the levees broke because of Lake Flooding. Thats right. Most of their damage was after the fact, and while Mississippi fought its way to its own coast, and dug in for a long haul, New Orleans started to bitch.
And because we are good neighbors? We sent people and buses to help. We did what we could, all while handling our own massive crisis. We were missing roads, boats were all over the highway, Casinos gone; and ship-building factories and oil refiners were offline. Most of our economy was/is supported by the coast, mind you. This was not a little blow.
We did our best, with an already poor, but fairly honest economy. We didn't complain and we all took pride in the way Trent Lott went to bat for his people against the insurance companies. But no one outside the state ever seems to know that.
For the record, it took a week to get power back up to Jackson and other central Mississippi cities (some 200 miles from from the coast). Hattiesburg was more like a month or two, and the coast was three or four months. And when we finally broke down and told the Federal Government we just needed a little more money and a little more help?
They said they couldn't, because New Orleans was important. Maybe they didn't really say it like that? But it damn well came off like that. Our Governor, Haily Barbour bitched a fit on CNN about. I was watching, and while not a Republican, I was really proud of him. (For the record, Hailey wouldn't back Bush after that, either. It was a really long, drawn out thing).
So, what prompted this whole post?
This. Because things like this needle me.
Everyone cries for New Orleans.
FUCK New Orleans. And Fuck you all if the only thing you think about when it comes to Hurricane Katrine is NOLA. There is more on the coast than that little shit hole. And if you haven't been there? Don't even try to defend it. NOLA IS a shit hole. No matter how much fun it can be, you have equal chances of being shot as you do of getting drunk. The people that stayed after the Hurricane were the worst of them, too. I have spent a ton of time down there, and I did feel bad when the hurricane hit and they were flooded. Three years later? I'm fucking sick of hearing about it. Especially after knowing how much they don't care about getting things fixed as much as they care about finding things to bitch about and setting FEMA trailers on fire. Why should I give a shit about people that can't take the helping hand they are giving and be thankful?
Anyway, I have to say that it always bothers me when I hear people talk about Katrina and New Orleans. They all believe (because of the media) that New Orleans was hit head on by Katrina.
No. That isn't true. The Hurricane actually hit a few miles west of Biloxi/Gulf Port Mississippi, and wiped out several town. It then tracked straight up the state. By the time the storm had passed into the Tennessee, my whole state was out of power for the most part. The Governor was giving press releases with flashlights and power generators that ran huge lights used to light up work areas after dark. I was one of the few lucky ones to have power, but it was still a maze to get in and out of places. You had to dodge fallen or falling trees, downed powerlines, and all in all it wasn't any fun.
Worst was when we finally got news of all bad it everything really was, New Orleans took the shower. There was, of course, some wind damage. No one would ever argue that. But the worst damage was done when the levees broke because of Lake Flooding. Thats right. Most of their damage was after the fact, and while Mississippi fought its way to its own coast, and dug in for a long haul, New Orleans started to bitch.
And because we are good neighbors? We sent people and buses to help. We did what we could, all while handling our own massive crisis. We were missing roads, boats were all over the highway, Casinos gone; and ship-building factories and oil refiners were offline. Most of our economy was/is supported by the coast, mind you. This was not a little blow.
We did our best, with an already poor, but fairly honest economy. We didn't complain and we all took pride in the way Trent Lott went to bat for his people against the insurance companies. But no one outside the state ever seems to know that.
For the record, it took a week to get power back up to Jackson and other central Mississippi cities (some 200 miles from from the coast). Hattiesburg was more like a month or two, and the coast was three or four months. And when we finally broke down and told the Federal Government we just needed a little more money and a little more help?
They said they couldn't, because New Orleans was important. Maybe they didn't really say it like that? But it damn well came off like that. Our Governor, Haily Barbour bitched a fit on CNN about. I was watching, and while not a Republican, I was really proud of him. (For the record, Hailey wouldn't back Bush after that, either. It was a really long, drawn out thing).
So, what prompted this whole post?
This. Because things like this needle me.
Everyone cries for New Orleans.
FUCK New Orleans. And Fuck you all if the only thing you think about when it comes to Hurricane Katrine is NOLA. There is more on the coast than that little shit hole. And if you haven't been there? Don't even try to defend it. NOLA IS a shit hole. No matter how much fun it can be, you have equal chances of being shot as you do of getting drunk. The people that stayed after the Hurricane were the worst of them, too. I have spent a ton of time down there, and I did feel bad when the hurricane hit and they were flooded. Three years later? I'm fucking sick of hearing about it. Especially after knowing how much they don't care about getting things fixed as much as they care about finding things to bitch about and setting FEMA trailers on fire. Why should I give a shit about people that can't take the helping hand they are giving and be thankful?
