More on Katrina... and Kanye, too

I know I already had a Katrina post, but I feel the situation that has unfolded in the week following the Hurricane warrants some additional comments.

Truth be told, in the days after the big storm, while I was speechless and saddened over the destruction of the storm, I really had no idea about the magnitude of the situation down there and even less of a clue about what little was being done for the people.

Now I think it's safe to say that everyone knows about the unacceptable response to the situation and overall disorganization and unpreparedness by all authorities--and the chaos that has ensued as a result. What is saddest to me, though, are the images of corpses on city streets that have been there for days and days, and stories of rape and murder among people who should be binding together as a community.

That this catastrophic event has highlighted racial divisions is an understatement. People have posed the question-- a valid one-- about what the response would have been like had the victims been mainly white and affluent. Poor black people have become the face of this tragedy, and the images of looters on TV have been mostly of black men. What is unfortunate is that the small percentage of those who are adding to the chaos--the ones who have stolen guns and opened fire at random, the ones who have made the situation unsafe for innocent families trying to find shelter-- are painting a negative portrait of the community-at-large, and in the process are giving critics even more of a reason to turn their back on the city.

I didn't get a chance to catch the live drama of Kanye West's off-script comments on the NBC live concert fundraiser on Friday night, but I haven't missed the buzz it's created. As crazy as it is that he lashed out on live TV like that, and though I don't necessarily think what he did was right, I want to give him props for speaking his mind!! What he said about the slow, ineffectual response to the victims are thoughts that so many people have had, and in the midst of all the usual media rhetoric, it was refreshing to see someone get all emotional and just say it like he saw it. It was also something else to see the usually confident, almost arrogant Kanye appear so_freaking_nervous in a public appearance.

I was actually on the treadmill today at the gym watching an Oprah special on the Katrina catastrophe. I was running as usual but all of a sudden I was getting choked up and almost felt sick at one point from some of the horribly graphic and sad images. It hadn't hit me like that up until this point... What can I say, Oprah's always had a way of rousing up all my real emotions.

In any case, I thought I'd post some links about ways to help. Most of us know about the usual channels, so here are additional ways to make a contribution:

Gulf Coast Relief 5K - Saturday, September 17: All of the proceeds from this 5k in Old Town Alexandria will be donated to the American Red Cross hurricane relief effort.

Give Blood: Here's a Red Cross link to where you can schedule an appointment to donate blood in the DC area for victims of Katrina and for other areas in need.


Current Music: Forgiven, by Ben Harper