Dagmar wrote:

Decius wrote:
They are not letting people leave. The Astrodome has stopped accepting people. Rattle's theory is that they have a disease problem and so they don't want to evac people until they are ready to quarantine them. This spin, however, is terrible. Some people couldn't leave. Some people didn't get the memo. The Governor of Mississippi has gone on record saying that as of Friday they had no idea it was going to be this bad, so blaming the people on the street is unconsionable.

...
To put it bluntly, I blame _Bush_ for this massive collection of fuckups. If his war on terror were anything more than a smokescreen for taking some oil fields, they'd at least be able to use all the so-called emergency plans that everywhere is supposed to have been drafting up to deal with a massive terrorist attack to get _some_ of those people out of there. Bush, on the other hand, has apparently refused to allow some spoiled peasants in New Orleans to screw up his vacationing plans with actual work.

Well said, but that doesn't make the FEMA guy any less of an asshole. Also, you weirdly neglected to mention the irony of the police spending time fighting looting when the people have literally been left with no alternative.

I am forced to disagree with you on a big point, however. As far as packing up and walking north, they have absolutely no reason to believe it's any better anywhere else. They have no idea how far the destruction spreads. They can't imagine facing the unknown terrors of 20' deep floodwaters, no neighbors to help them, possible getting trapped if it starts to rain again,etc. I'd say they learned their lesson; after failing to evacuate, they have since done what they were told by sitting it out in the Superdome. If they leave, who's to say their children won't die the day after authorities arrive with supplies? Its a pretty big risk, especially for families with children. Afterall, even the dirt path had towns for stocking up on necessities.

-janelane, sympathetically

RE: CNN.com - FEMA chief: Victims bear some responsibility - Sep 1, 2005