1-800-HELP-NOW

[moonwise]

That's the number of the Red Cross. Which all of you Americans lucky enough not to be affected by Hurricane Katrina should be calling. It doesn't matter if you can't give hundreds of dollars. Give what you can.

You can also go to their website: The Red Cross

If you want to wear your support, you can get one of their super-cool field bags or shirts or knit kits in their Red Cross Store. I have the t-shirt and the bag, and they look great with jeans.

A lot of people were left with a bad taste in their mouth after 9/11 regarding the Red Cross. However, the ARC is a disaster relief organization, not a charity operation. They move in after situations like a natural disaster or during wartime and dispense aid. What money they don't use, they save for the next disaster. So let's all move past 9/11.

And can I say this to all you media people out there in TV-land who are trying to find something or someone to blame this hurricane on: CUT THAT SHIT OUT RIGHT NOW. KATRINA WAS AN ACT OF GOD, IF THAT TERMINOLOGY PLEASES YOU. IT IS NOBODY'S FAULT. PEOPLE ARE NOT PSYCHIC AND HINDSIGHT IS ALWAYS 20/20. KATRINA CAME ASHORE AS A CATEGORY 4 STORM, AND IF YOU DIDN'T EXPECT THAT TO BLAST A CITY THAT LIES BELOW SEA LEVEL BACK INTO THE 18TH CENTURY, YOU ARE OUT OF YOUR FUCKING MINDS.

I was thinking about all the unfortunate people who have been victimized by this storm, and it seems to me that it must be very hard to reconcile living in the 21st century with the reality of what has happened. You know that 150 miles in any direction, people are living their lives with water and electricity and communication and food, all these things that we have come to take for granted because our society is so advanced. You can understand why people are upset - it's more than the disaster. It's the whole "We live in the United States - how can this be happening to us? Where is food, where is water, where is transportation?" And then they think about aid to tsunami victims and Florida and get angrier. Then they get a gun. And then things go to hell.

Comments

[ladyofthesea.livejournal.com]

My father told me not to give to the Red Cross too. I'm like 'That's the past. This is now.' Everyone is willing to lend a hand no matter who they are. I can't determine if the anarchy is a result of poor organization rescue wise or it's an excuse to rape, pillage and plunder. It might be a little bit of both. It's just so sad. :(

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I think that when you have destruction on this scale, efforts are bound to be disorganized. Louisiana got broadsided. It's very difficult to plan for that kind of thing. As for the looters... people are opportunistic and self-serving no matter where you go, and that's too bad.

[pointedview.livejournal.com]

And can I say this to all you media people out there in TV-land who are trying to find something or someone to blame this hurricane on: CUT THAT SHIT OUT RIGHT NOW.

Thank you. I said something similar a couple of days ago, and got jumped on. :/

As my wise mother says, "We cannot go back. We can only go forward."

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I'm sorry you got jumped on - you were certainly more articulate than I am! What annoys me about the article your friend posted is that - again - NO ONE KNEW KATRINA WAS COMING. The tragic part is that she did, and the improvements would have helped. Would they have changed the outcome? Probably not. But, if Katrina hadn't come, the talking heads would have railed against using the resources of the Army Corps of Engineers so poorly.

No way to win, here.

[pointedview.livejournal.com]

That is so true, arafel, especially about the "no way to win" bit. Why, on Monday (early) when people thought NOLA had escaped the direst predictions (before the levee gave way), I heard people saying "Oh, those weather people. They'll exaggerate and just do anything to get ratings. It's bad, but not as bad as they predicted."

And then the reports of the flooding started pouring in, no pun intended, and now some of the same people are saying that the feds haven't done enough quickly enough.

You really can't win. I have no doubt that the workers there are doing the best they can, but they're not superheroes, they're just humans in a situation so stressful that most of us can barely imagine it.

(That's the long, rambling way of saying I agree with you.) :)

[ramothhe.livejournal.com]

The red cross actually funded my mom's phD work. As a social worker, she just called them and she says they're sending her down to Lousiana for 2 weeks to aid in disaster relief. She really wants to do everything she can.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I saw that in your LJ! :)

[lalieth.livejournal.com]

Ummm...we can just chalk this up to me stupidity but do you mind refreshing my memory as to what the problem was with the Red Cross in the past? I honestly don't remember that.

And you already know how I feel about the blame game.

[arafel.livejournal.com]

I'm not sure exactly what happened, because it was a while ago, but there were accusations that the Red Cross misappropriated funds that had been donated to help victims of 9/11. Again, the Red Cross is a disaster relief organization, and when the towers fell, it wasn't like an entire city was homeless, without food, without power; and the numbers of wounded were lower than expected (because either people got out or they died.) So, they kept the money for the next major disaster, and the folks who donated got upset. I think that's about the long and the short of it.

[tntoxfox.livejournal.com]

This is what my boyfriend found on Wikipedia this morning regarding the 9/11 issues:

"In the end, out of the $961 million received, 71% went as cash assistance to those directly affected, 15% went for long term mental care and hospital care for the victims and people in the affected region, and 10% went for immediate disaster relief like shelters, food, and health care. The remaining 4% went for administration."

[lalieth.livejournal.com]

Ah yes, now I remember.

I always thought that was lame anyway. When you donate to Red Cross you should just donate to the Red Cross, period. It's up to them to figure out where the funds need to go. Someone in need in Wichita or Buffalo or Albuquerque is still a person in need, and just as important as any other. The only was the Red Cross could 'misappropiate" funds is if people starting driving luxury cars and taking extended cruises.

[ikaruszino.livejournal.com]

The media would KILL to have footage of Al Qaeda taking credit for the hurricane. They would slaughter a land of innocents if the footage contained Bin Laden himself turning an egg beater attached to a small windmill to create winds.