After the storm

I can't even imagine what the people in the Gulf States are going through right now. And I wonder at the strength so many of them have shown as they take what little they have left and try to move on. Holding Samson and watching the news this morning, I was hit with how blessed we are and how much our family has to be thankful for. And this is not just because our house isn't flooded or people aren't shooting in the streets [we live in Baltimore, people are always shooting in the streets here]. But because we've got family and friends we could turn to if we ever needed help. I'm not going to get all Tiny Tim on you, but it means a lot to us.

Part of me is furious at the images I've seen of looting and wanton lawlessness --- and I'm not talking about people taking food and water. At this point, that qualifies as survival. But part of me is also deeply sad and utterly incredulous at the seeming lack of infrastructure and safety nets that New Orleans has for its most vulnerable citizens. If a third of your population lives below the poverty line, that means almost all of those folks have no car. Which, and I'm no city planner, would lead me to believe that they'd need some assistance leaving the city, or at least getting to higher ground as the storm approached. And this is not even taking into account those who are elderly, ill, or require other special assistance.

While I'm on my soapbox, I'm also sick of only seeing black faces when the networks show looters; I understand that the city is 67% African-American, but I refuse to believe that all the white folks stuck in the city somehow managed to avoid temptation and the ubiquitous news media presence. Jack Shafer had a great piece on this in Slate today.

In any event, I always give Sam a big hug when I get home from work. But I've been holding him extra tight these last few days. Those folks in the gulf are going to need a lot of support. And the real work will begin, as always, once CNN, the Today Show, and others head back to NYC to cover shark attacks, diet tips, and celebrity marriages on the rocks.

If you want to help, the usual suspects are on the ground and working:

American Red Cross
Catholic Charities USA
The Salvation Army