Thoughts On Katrina Ignorance

So yesterday I wanted to get glasses, and didn't have my prescription with me. I did have my contact lens prescription and was informed that wasn't the same thing. Fine, whatever. But the conversation I had with the sales girl was slightly disturbing to me, though it took me a couple hours of thought to pinpoint why.

I said, "I have a current prescription, but the problem is I'm from New Orleans, and I'm not sure if they're open."
"Well, on Monday you can call them and have them fax it over," she said.
"No," I said. "I'm from New Orleans. It might, um, be destroyed?"
She finally figured it out. "Oh." Then she did apologize, but the whole situation was rather awkward. I just assumed she would know what I meant; she didn't.

I think it's just frustrating because a lot of people think Katrina is "over." They think everything's been fixed and is back to normal. I have heard of many other "exiles" who have experienced similar ignorance. People really believe things are normal there! I know that, when we arrive in 3 weeks, we will find that this is far from the case. Businesses are closed, basic services are not available, and the city is empty, even three months later. So pardon me for saying it, but I'm offended by people other places in the U.S. who assume New Orleans must be OK by now. What kind of people are we? We see 24 hour coverage of something awful, feel bad, send $50 to the Red Cross, feel absolved, and then turn off the news and promptly forget. The city of New Orleans itself is currently suffering from the exact same problem: an initial outpouring of good wishes, coupled with an utter lack of follow-up.

Why aren't more people upset about what's happening? Is it because, when Americans think of 9/11, they have an enemy they can picture? Does that make it easy for them to remember New York yet forget New Orleans? Why do we persist in wasting tax dollars in Iraq, while expressing stinginess toward Americans? And lord, I am really not trying to be a whiner here, but why is "easy" charity the only charity people are willing to offer?

I will try to give some examples of everyday Katrina frustration to explain what I mean. OK, so I go to the bank and they won't cash checks because I don't have an account. There is no Bank One/Chase here, so I have to mail my checks to a P.O. Box in Kentucky, which takes a week. "But our bank matched $1 million dollars in donations to Katrina refugees." Yes, good for you, but real refugees would be most helped out by the simple things, like for you to make me a money order so I can put down a deposit on an apartment. Or perhaps let me take out more than $200 per day from your ATM. We needed $2200 cash to get an apartment, and that process took DAYS, because no one was willing to cut us a break. Nor were people willing to rent to us on a 4 month lease. "No, sorry, can't sell you beer because you don't have a Massachusetts ID. But yeah, sorry about... uh, that. If there's anything else we can do..." "What? What is the point of a reference with a phone number that doesn't work? That's not a reference. What do you mean, you don't know where your landlord is? Who doesn't know where their landlord is?"

It's the little things that make your everyday life the way it was before that are compromised. Those things are important. OK, now imagine my daily red-tape-related annoyances on a large scale. The scale of a city. We don't want empty sympathy-- we want a country that values genuine help over sentiment and spin. We just want to be able to live our lives the way we lived them before.

Sorry about the rant. Go read this editorial in the New York Times. And don't be ignorant.

This is pissed-off Sarah. She looks pissed-off, doesn't she? Pissed-off Sarah demands levees (among other things). Have a nice day.