Extra Blog: Hurricane Katrina

In class we have been watching a movie about Hurricane Katrina. The video is interesting because the people speaking in the video end up talking about each other and their reactions to the storm. I thought it was good that they ordered a mandatory evacuation. I just didn't think it was okay that the government was not able to properly execute their order. They should have found a way to get those who could not afford to leave, were too sick, or too old out of there. Many died or became ill. People lost everything in this storm. I thought it was harsh of the police not to take any calls even though their was a warning that no one will help those who choose to stay. The fact was that no one wanted to stay and die people just could not leave for one reason or another and should not be punished for that reason.

It struck me how many fingers were pointed in this movie and the lack of unity showed in America. I thought Bush putting international affairs before ones at home in the US was a slap in the face to American cities. He made people feel he didn't care. It took him too long to send help and really get people recovered and to safety. It was embarrassing to me that Canadian troops were there and wanting to help before American troops. The citizens of New Orleans were made feel that this issue was minor compared to other issues in America due to the lack of help they were getting from the federal government. People were angry and upset because they were suffering and no one truly knew how bad it was. People were breaking into stores everywhere in order to get supplies for survival. Many citizens became violent and it became scary out there. About 80% of the city was covered in water. People lost their lives. People went days without water. People got separated from their families. 50,000 people were in a center at one point and had no where to change, no where to bathe, no food or supplies and the government claimed they didn't know that many people were there. The airport when people finally were starting to get out and sent to civilization, was packed with people wall to wall. The upstairs was full of sick people being recovered by doctors. There was no air in their because of the amount of people. People were miserable from their conditions and the heat as well as the unbearable humidity. One lady who spoke on the video said she was angry because one official in uniform had an attitude. All she wanted was a little compassion after all these citizens had been going through.  This made me sad. This was very different than the 911 video where Americans came together and unified. This showed a bad side of America which made me very sad.