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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
 Posted - 09/03/2005 : 13:44:15
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Just some notes from the hurricane coverage and events.
CNN got caught by the bloggers calling blacks who were taking things looters while noting a white couple "found" some bread and water.
Did they call victims of Andrew refugees? Just curious.
300 better off folks got a 20 bus armed guard caravan escort out of the Marriott while the Convention Center still had no food or water or medical care for the dying.
That same 300 had some doctor "commandeer antibiotics" from a nearby pharmacy to give the folks before they had to wade through the dirty water.  Which was stupid anyway. As an ID practitioner I'd say that was absolutely unnecessary and actually more likely to do harm than good. Too bad that same doctor didn't see fit to go volunteer to take care of some real patients.
And I have been noticing and wondering why all those huge high rises weren't used to better care for the citizens in the Convention Center and the Superdome. And why did the helicopters deposit people on overpasses when it looks like right across the river is a whole city not affected by the floods?
What a shameful country we are in right now. I can almost understand, but not accept, having no empathy for healthy young folks but seeing those babies and very frail elderly just made me cry.
I'm not painting everyone with this brush mind you. The teenager that stole a school bus and drove people to Texas, what a hero! And the people that were volunteering and helping also are great folks. And there is a lot of them.
Just a side note: I wonder if Tucker Carlson or some of those other FOX friends will come away a bit disillusioned by their wonderful government. Shepard Smith was clearly frustrated with O'Reilly's interview even though he watered down administration criticism in the end.
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Edited by - beskeptigal on 09/08/2005 12:29:23
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GeeMack
SFN Regular
USA
1093 Posts |
Posted - 09/03/2005 : 15:23:12 [Permalink]
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Here's a BBC staff reporter's take on some of the same things you've just said, beskeptigal...
New Orleans Crisis Shames Americans
An article reprinted from the Toronto Star describes how the police and military intend to treat the victims of this mess. I can't imagine people being treated this way if they were white and wearing Dockers slacks and Izod polo shirts. You'll also notice the censorship and mistreatment of the press is already becoming an issue for concern...
New Orleans on a Hair-Trigger
A couple days ago, when the dickhead George W. Bush hadn't yet seen fit to send any help to the stranded and dying, an acquaintance of mine made an extremely thoughtless comment. He suggested to some pals that they get in a pickup truck with their shotguns and head down to Louisiana to "take care of those people" who were trying to avoid starving by taking food from the stores. I thought, "Of all the fucking nerve. You're an outspoken supporter of the Bush regime. Bush hasn't lifted a finger to send these poor people any food or supplies. Bush put most of the National Guard somewhere else not guarding the nation. Bush hasn't mobilized the few scraps of homeland security we do have available. And you want to go shoot "those people" for trying to stay alive?!"
It's saddening to hear people of any other race referred to as "those people". I'm afraid things aren't likely to get better soon, either. I believe it was beskeptigal who first mentioned that George Bush said the other day, "It's as if the entire Gulf Coast were obliterated by the worst kind of weapon you can imagine. And now we're going to go try to comfort people in that part of the world." That part of the world? WTF?
Bush Refers to New Orleans as "That Part of the World"
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 09/04/2005 : 13:15:51 [Permalink]
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| I didn't say it but I'm not surprised by the statement. It's the old' "you people" slip. |
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Plyss
Skeptic Friend
Netherlands
231 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2005 : 08:24:16 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by beskeptigal
Just some notes from the hurricane coverage and events.
CNN got caught by the bloggers calling blacks who were taking things looters while noting a white couple "found" some bread and water.
A link to a picture of the footage concerned. I'm not certain if it is the same as was shown on CNN but the theme is similar. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 09/06/2005 : 13:16:55 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Plyss
quote:
Originally posted by beskeptigal
Just some notes from the hurricane coverage and events.
CNN got caught by the bloggers calling blacks who were taking things looters while noting a white couple "found" some bread and water.
A link to a picture of the footage concerned. I'm not certain if it is the same as was shown on CNN but the theme is similar.
Quite disgusting IMHO. |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 14:26:54 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by Plyss
quote:
Originally posted by beskeptigal
Just some notes from the hurricane coverage and events.
CNN got caught by the bloggers calling blacks who were taking things looters while noting a white couple "found" some bread and water.
A link to a picture of the footage concerned. I'm not certain if it is the same as was shown on CNN but the theme is similar.
I think those photos are from different news agencies. The one on the right is from the AFP and the one on the left is from the AP. I don't think it suggests racism unless another AP photo calls white people "finders" instead of looters. It is just a differnt take from a different news agency. |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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Dry_vby
Skeptic Friend
Australia
249 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 15:27:53 [Permalink]
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.....and now we've got Babs Bushytail saying something to the effect of "Serves them right for being poor."
http://theage.com.au/articles/2005/09/07/1125772566487.html
This is not a race issue, it is a class issue.
Edited to add link |
"I'll go along with the charade
Until I can think my way out.
I know it was all a big joke
Whatever it was about."
Bob Dylan
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| Edited by - Dry_vby on 09/07/2005 15:32:02 |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 15:58:12 [Permalink]
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quote:
Did they call victims of Andrew refugees? Just curious.
Yes.
Same for the 90's midwest floods, same for every major natural disaster I can recall in my lifetime.
Refugee has apparently only taken on a racial undertone recently, and apparently only in the minds of those prone to see some deliberate racial discrimination in everything.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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Dry_vby
Skeptic Friend
Australia
249 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 17:45:55 [Permalink]
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.....and now for a message from Led Zeppelin:
http://www.led-zeppelin.com/ |
"I'll go along with the charade
Until I can think my way out.
I know it was all a big joke
Whatever it was about."
Bob Dylan
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marfknox
SFN Die Hard
USA
3739 Posts |
Posted - 09/07/2005 : 18:42:16 [Permalink]
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Dry_vby wrote: This is not a race issue, it is a class issue.
Why can't it be both? Do you honestly think the situation is so simple that the two can be separated?
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"Too much certainty and clarity could lead to cruel intolerance" -Karen Armstrong
Check out my art store: http://www.marfknox.etsy.com
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| Edited by - marfknox on 09/07/2005 18:42:49 |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 01:13:32 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by marfknox
Dry_vby wrote: This is not a race issue, it is a class issue.
Why can't it be both? Do you honestly think the situation is so simple that the two can be separated?
If you think it isn't a race issue you live in a fantasy world. Class compounds it tremendously but this is a country full of prejudice.
One only need look at our responses to world tragedies to see the racial prejudice. Why should we expect internal events to not reflect the same bias?
As to whether those two photos are from the same wire service or not, so what? Actually, CNN (Wolf Blitzer) read a blog comment on air citing the same thing occurring on CNN so I presume CNN committed the same type of bias or I'd think Blitzer would have denied it.
The "looting" was reported on over and over when in reality an awful lot of the looting was for food, blankets, mattresses and so on. Some of that I attribute to the news media looking for the usual bad stories more than CNN thinking any black person taking something was a looter. But subtlety, the prejudice seeped out here and there. |
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CourseKnot
Skeptic Friend
USA
82 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 06:59:46 [Permalink]
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| Do you think that if the people shown taking what they needed to survive were, say, asian that the media would not have used the term "looting"? |
Just flying through space with the rest of you... |
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Valiant Dancer
Forum Goalie
USA
4826 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 08:36:18 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by marfknox
Dry_vby wrote: This is not a race issue, it is a class issue.
Why can't it be both? Do you honestly think the situation is so simple that the two can be separated?
It can't be both because the predominately white population in the surrounding areas are suffering the same kind of delays and the same kind of hardships. If it was race alone, the white population would have recieved help first. They have not. |
Cthulhu/Asmodeus when you're tired of voting for the lesser of two evils
Brother Cutlass of Reasoned Discussion |
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astropin
SFN Regular
USA
970 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 09:51:03 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by CourseKnot
Do you think that if the people shown taking what they needed to survive were, say, asian that the media would not have used the term "looting"?
No, they would have, but unless the used it with everyone it's racist.
Do you think it would have taken a week to get in there, if those people were upper-middle class white folks? |
I would rather face a cold reality than delude myself with comforting fantasies.
You are free to believe what you want to believe and I am free to ridicule you for it.
Atheism:
The result of an unbiased and rational search for the truth.
Infinitus est numerus stultorum |
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Robb
SFN Regular
USA
1223 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 10:30:58 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by astropin
quote:
Originally posted by CourseKnot
Do you think that if the people shown taking what they needed to survive were, say, asian that the media would not have used the term "looting"?
No, they would have, but unless the used it with everyone it's racist.
Do you think it would have taken a week to get in there, if those people were upper-middle class white folks?
I think it is more flat out incompetence. There are affluent white people in Mississippi that have not gotten any more help than in New Orleans. |
Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master. - George Washington |
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Dude
SFN Die Hard
USA
6891 Posts |
Posted - 09/08/2005 : 11:01:37 [Permalink]
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quote:
I think it is more flat out incompetence. There are affluent white people in Mississippi that have not gotten any more help than in New Orleans.
I'm not sure you can compare those two population sets. The level of disaster in New Orleans and the immediate needs of the people there, are an order of magnitude worse/greater that in Mississippi.
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Ignorance is preferable to error; and he is less remote from the truth who believes nothing, than he who believes what is wrong.
-- Thomas Jefferson
"god :: the last refuge of a man with no answers and no argument." - G. Carlin
Hope, n.
The handmaiden of desperation; the opiate of despair; the illegible signpost on the road to perdition. ~~ da filth |
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