Hiroshima v New Orleans
T Moore
confirmation this past week, as hurricane Katrina cut a swathe of death
and destruction across the southern United States.
No matter how big the bombs we build and however mighty the missiles we
manufacture, when it comes to dealing mega-death Mother Nature - also
called God - has us all licked.
Rank amateurs we are, depending on big machines and endless quantities of
high explosive to achieve our destructive aim; whereas it takes nature a
mere minute's tremble to raze cities to the ground or a thirty foot wave
travelling across an ocean to kill hundreds of thousands.
The idea that, in addition to all the built-in violence that Earth can
throw at us - earthquakes, floods, volcanic eruptions, tropical storms,
disease - we feel impelled to add a bit of our own is amazing. With such
an array of possibilities for horrible, premature death readily
available, why add more?
Also amazing is that Katrina was allowed to do what she did in the first
place. Hurricanes are a regular feature in that part of the world and
you'd expect that the richest, most technologically advanced nation in
the world could have done a bit more than cry "holy shit" and leg it for
the hills.
I've hardly recovered from the stunning sight of an astronaut repairing a
shuttle in space and now I'm confronted with the spectacle of obviously
substandard housing lying there, ripped to pieces like shoeboxes, old
cars floating down the streets, shops being looted and upwards of a
thousand people lying dead, creating a serious risk of pestilence.
I'm reminded of an earthquake that hit Japan just the other day; a quake
that caused minimal damage, in spite of its force. That's because the
Japanese have learned to build for earthquakes. What has kept the
Americans from constructing, in hurricane-prone areas, buildings that can
withstand the likes of Katrina?
The Dutch, after their terrifying experience of the February 1953 storms,
made sure that flooding and destruction on that scale would never happen
again by creating the greatest storm surge barrier in the world. They
called it the Delta project.
You'd think that it wouldn't be beyond the wit of the US authorities to
do something similar, but looking at the aerial photographs of southern
Mississippi and Louisiana you'd think you were gazing down on Nicaragua
or Honduras. A professor at Delft Polytechnic put it this way, "reducing
the threat [of hurricanes] should be quite feasible technically. It's
simply a matter of investing money."
Since when, in the world's largest economy, was money a problem?
There must be a reason for all this. The population of the stricken
region is largely poor and mainly black. Not the kind of people on whose
protection you'd spend a lot of money and effort, especially when that
money and effort can be spent more profitably elsewhere, as in Iraq.
New Orleans may be one of the great attractions of the Deep South,
especially on calm summer days as the black jazz bands can be heard in
every club in Basin Street and the Mardi Gras parades move rhythmically
down Bourbon Street, but its denizens are expendable.
Don't be surprised if the current problems stir up a racial resentment
that many had thought was a thing of the past. And as for money: cleaning
up the mess, restoring the infrastructure, rebuilding what has been
destroyed is going to cost America huge amounts of dollars over a very
long time. Adequate protection would have been a lot cheaper.
Meanwhile, the great and good are falling over themselves to express
their horror at the scope of a disaster they did nothing to prevent.
"Possibly the greatest natural disaster in our nation's history", the
always impeccably briefed George W. Bush called it. George W. Bush, you
will recall, spent the start of the New Orleans disaster, at a fund
raising even for the US Republican Party.
Louisiana State Governor Kathleen Blanco called the situation
'untenable' and 'heartbreaking' and went on advising people to spend last
Wednesday in prayer. "That would be the best thing to calm our spirits
and thank our Lord that we are survivors", she said with that arcane
logic that comes with deep religious faith, "slowly, gradually, we will
recover; we will survive; we will rebuild."
No kidding. How loud a chord her words struck with those still trapped in
their homes, or huddled together in the Superdome, or raiding the shelves
of shops on Canal Street, or wading through the flooded streets looking
for loved ones is hard to say.
I know it's probably unfair to criticize people for saying pointless
things in times of crisis, but who wants to be fair? However much I
sympathize with the dead, wounded, homeless and destitute of the southern
US seaboard, worse has happened in the world. Mayor A Holloway of Biloxi,
Mississippi, commented, "this is our tsunami."
No it isn't. It may be bad, certainly by American standards, but a
tsunami it isn't.
But even that ill-considered claim seems innocuous when compared with the
words of Mississippi State Governor Haley Barbour, after a quick fly-over
of the inundated region, "it's not a case of homes being severely
damaged", he said, "they're just not there. I can only imagine that this
is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago."
Hiroshima, eh? Isn't that the Japanese city that was incinerated by a
nuclear bomb in the space of a few seconds, with 120,000 people being
charred to a frazzle and many more dying of the effects of radiation in
the following years? Strange to think that, from only a few thousand feet
up, you can't tell the difference.
T Moore
John #8
"T Moore" < click.an....@one.of.my.sites.com > wrote in message
news:Xns96C65037EAE51...@127.0.0.1...
> Man's status as an unwelcome guest on Planet Earth received further
> confirmation this past week, as hurricane Katrina cut a swathe of death
> and destruction across the southern United States.
I just read your post, "T Moore" & I have a short comment.
Your text spoke the truth with intelligence. It's a shame that the
American conservatives who feed on propaganda that fills
the media & pollutes the mind can't even relate to the truth
of your terrific post. I won't see or hear the truth that you
articulated so well anywhere. It's a shame. Well congratulations
on a post that was plain truth, a commodity that is rare in our
country. Yes I mentioned truth a few times because it's a word
that is lost these days a must be repeated.
Regards:
John:
John #8
"T Moore" < click.an....@one.of.my.sites.com > wrote in message
news:Xns96C65037EAE51...@127.0.0.1...
Hi "T Moore" I was a young Air Policeman who had the
pleasure of living in the UK (Fairford) back in the 1950s
for three & a half years. We are carefully taught from
childhood that America is that golden city on a hill that
every one envies & of course want to live here. Bunk!
I loved my stay in the UK. The people were wonderful
& I cried when I had to return. From that time so long
ago I never disparage another country. It's a lesson we
Americans will never learn because we have been brain-washed
which leads to arrogance. Keep writing. Your posts are great. <g>
Cheers,
John:
T Moore
news:l_WSe.119$Xq6...@newssvr22.news.prodigy.net:
Dear John
Thank you very much for your kind comments, which I genuinely appreciate.
> Yes I mentioned truth a few times because it's a
> word that is lost these days a must be repeated.
Truth has been devalued in recent years, but it still has some value,
after those who's homes are always safe, have expressed their
disingenuous horror, and marked the needless waste of more human lives,
with a minute or two's silence, and promises of financial aid, that will
be revised when the matter is no longer news worthy.
Truth works for all sides, Christian and Atheists, Left and Right wing
political views, black and white, racist and non-racist, even Manchesters
United and City. They all have truths their opponents like to ignore.
You said truth is a word worth repeating. And so you should, for that is
the truth.
Best wishes
Tom
T Moore
Hi John!
> [ . . . ] I was a young Air Policeman who
> had the pleasure of living in the UK (Fairford)
> back in the 1950s for three & a half years.
I wonder if you have heard of RAF Lineham and RAF Colerne, both now
closed. I grew up in Colerne, but both Lineham and Colerne were entirely
British (I think).
> We are carefully taught from childhood that
> America is that golden city on a hill that every
> one envies & of course want to live here. Bunk!
True, and it blinds you to the good things in the US. Service and health
care are excellent in the US, albeit the latter unjustifiably expensive.
They tell my sister, in NJ, when it rains, she must feel at home. It
certainly rains a lot round here, but not like that.
> It's a lesson we Americans will never
> learn because we have been brain-washed
> which leads to arrogance.
Well it's not much good when Americans visit Canada, and send picture
post cards back home, using UPS stamps, but that's a different type of
arrogance to thinking you're better than others. Americans love they're
country, and tend to behave as if the US is the only country worthy of
note, but they do not usually believe they are better people (these
generalisations can get you into trouble).
> Keep writing. Your posts are great. <g>
Thanks, but I doubt it. I had to spend three weeks in Prison, and did
some writing there, most of which I've recently posted. Being locked up
23 odd hours per day, you may as well go through the tedium of endless
re-writes.
That and Katrina was a bit of gift to critics, like 9/11, a crisis
waiting to happen, without the scapegoat. It's not as if George W. Bush
can blame God, is it?
Regards,
Tom