New Orleans is Sinking
New Orleans: it will take many, many years for the city to recover -- long more than many will believe -- and it will cost a lot more than the already promised US$10 billion. The city will never be as it once was -- a lot of history has been destroyed -- it will also gain some ugly history in what is now transpiring. Hell. New Orleans has descended to hell, and we are only now starting to see it.
The aftermath of Katrina's visit upon the city will become one of the most widely covered natural disaster in history. It will surpass the coverage of the South-East Asia tsunami -- I'm waiting for the bloggers to mobilize a Katrina blog. Maybe it's already out there and I just haven't found it yet. Years from now, when New Orleans is back to being somewhat normal -- as normal as it gets for New Orleans -- there will be stories -- books, songs -- movies. The sad stories will be retold; the tragedies; the corruption; the mistakes; the evil; the beautiful and ugly of humanity; they will all be told -- and people will forget, even as they remember. Until then however, hell.
Hell is where those who haven't been found yet, are. It is when the last spark of hope is doused -- when a body is recovered, and the hope that it may still have been inhabited, is crushed. It is when the flood waters have retreated, and the corpses have to be picked up. It is what those will see when they comb through the wreckage. It is what the forensics team will discover when they examine some bodies -- that while Katrina was vicious, it was still a natural disaster -- and the death of some will be far from natural. Hell will be the stories of those that will never be told. It will be the stories only the city will remember -- stories of the lonely, the weak, the poor -- those who will not be remembered because they never were to begin with. It will be the untold stories of those who were -- will -- be stolen in the darkness of Katrina's wake, by evil. It isn't just the armed thugs that will be the guilty -- there will be those that will be quietly murdered by those they know -- their deaths, disappearances, blamed on Katrina. They will be lost to petty reasons -- insurance money, hate -- whatever reason murderers need. Hell will be those who died because they were the wrong race -- or lack money. It will be where the profiteers from this disaster will go. Hell is already starting to show it's face in New Orleans, and the world will watch. Some will weep; some will reach out for those in need in help; some will prey on the those who are in need.
The aftermath of Katrina's visit on New Orleans will be humanity's show. Our best and our worst is -- will -- be played out. Let us hope, for the sake of those in that hell right now, that what the world will see is humanity's best.
The aftermath of Katrina's visit upon the city will become one of the most widely covered natural disaster in history. It will surpass the coverage of the South-East Asia tsunami -- I'm waiting for the bloggers to mobilize a Katrina blog. Maybe it's already out there and I just haven't found it yet. Years from now, when New Orleans is back to being somewhat normal -- as normal as it gets for New Orleans -- there will be stories -- books, songs -- movies. The sad stories will be retold; the tragedies; the corruption; the mistakes; the evil; the beautiful and ugly of humanity; they will all be told -- and people will forget, even as they remember. Until then however, hell.
Hell is where those who haven't been found yet, are. It is when the last spark of hope is doused -- when a body is recovered, and the hope that it may still have been inhabited, is crushed. It is when the flood waters have retreated, and the corpses have to be picked up. It is what those will see when they comb through the wreckage. It is what the forensics team will discover when they examine some bodies -- that while Katrina was vicious, it was still a natural disaster -- and the death of some will be far from natural. Hell will be the stories of those that will never be told. It will be the stories only the city will remember -- stories of the lonely, the weak, the poor -- those who will not be remembered because they never were to begin with. It will be the untold stories of those who were -- will -- be stolen in the darkness of Katrina's wake, by evil. It isn't just the armed thugs that will be the guilty -- there will be those that will be quietly murdered by those they know -- their deaths, disappearances, blamed on Katrina. They will be lost to petty reasons -- insurance money, hate -- whatever reason murderers need. Hell will be those who died because they were the wrong race -- or lack money. It will be where the profiteers from this disaster will go. Hell is already starting to show it's face in New Orleans, and the world will watch. Some will weep; some will reach out for those in need in help; some will prey on the those who are in need.
The aftermath of Katrina's visit on New Orleans will be humanity's show. Our best and our worst is -- will -- be played out. Let us hope, for the sake of those in that hell right now, that what the world will see is humanity's best.
Related sites to visit:
- Learning about Segregation from Katrina -- America's cities are segregated, and in New Orleans the poor seems to have been hit the hardest; is there a relationship there?
- The Martian Anthropologist -- currently doing a great job of keeping on top of related news.
- Repent America and Agape Press brings the extreme Christian view to Katrina's visit on New Orleans -- it was god's way of dealing with abortions, gays, Mardi Gras, sodomites, witchcraft and false religions -- to name a few. Hmm ... I think hell was made for these Christians.
- the Survival of New Orleans blog -- the pulse of New Orleans from an Internet domain hosting service that is still alive.
- Rapes & Killings -- an AP story, being an example of the horrors.
- Katrina's Impact -- a photo journal.
- In Katrina's Wake -- coverage from the Washington Post.
- Hurricane Katrina -- NY Times coverage.
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