I’m going to counter some of the points in this ‘article’ [which I sincerely hope is an editorial]:DESIREE COOPER: Outrage, caring mix in Katrina response. I’m not going to counter every point in the article, but for those of you with not as much time to read everything I’m going to quote the article inline, so you don’t have to jump over there.

It has been hard to watch the devastation of Hurricane Katrina without drawing parallels to Detroit. Like New Orleans, Detroit is a predominantly black city with a black mayor and meager resources. The poverty rate in both cities rivals that of Third World nations. So as I watched the hurricane converge with racism and poverty, creating the perfect storm, I couldn’t help but think: If Detroit were underwater, no one would bother to rescue us either.

Wow, this is a loaded opening paragraph, and as far as writing goes, it is strong and surely grabs ones attention. However, its also loaded with insinuations that are not facts. Parallels exist between cities but blanket extraction of characteristics is unfair. And unless you’re seeing shanty-towns built in Detroit, I doubt that the poverty is the same type. Wellfare in the United States is better than some of the crap that people have in third world countries. There is absolutely no reason to claim equality with New Orleans and third-world countries in this opener, it is non-factual, but builds up a powerful emotional charge to launch into the rest of the article.

New Orleans had municipal and school buses available to evacuate citizens in… they were not used. 2,000 vehicles of mass transit and not one, to my knowledge, was used to move people out before the flood. The mayor has the authority to get that going, I believe, not matter what race he is.

Finally, this paragraph closes with what is one of the most blatant misrepresentations of the response to Hurricane Katrina that I’ve seen to date: saying that no one helped New Orleans residents is just disgusting. I could stop here and the article would be ‘debunked,’ but I won’t because there’s more to address in this slanderous look at America.

I’m always angered by generalizations about race… to use generalizations just breeds further tensions. In my life my first recollection of a black man was a neighbor of our friends who was legally blind. I loved it when he would come over because he would let me wave my hands in front of his face and ask, “Can you see that?” over and over. His skin was the last thing on my mind, but his laughter and playing with me was enjoyable. Later, our neighbors in Sunneyvale, California were black (and we had Jewish and Asian neighbors, too, but who’s counting?). They gave me my first drumset, which I’m forever grateful for. I also tried to break into their car. I have a former student who is black, whom I still keep in contact with and love as a brother in Christ. His skin color is not an issue with me – neither is his economic condition – I care about his spiritual well-being (as do I worry about everyone’s spiritual well-being).

According to a Sept. 13 poll conducted by CNN, USA Today and Gallup, 60% of blacks say the federal government’s delay in helping victims in New Orleans was because the victims were black. Only about 12% of whites shared that sentiment.

This reveals a bad attitude on the part of Blacks surveyed and does not reflect reality (which can’t really be quantitively evaluated) but only the small percentage of people who took the survey. It further is a loaded question since it pins race as the sole issue that motivated response to the hurricane. This kind of ‘science’ is not accurate. It is not a controlled group and the variables are not tested like in a real, accurate test for fact. Weighing opinion into an article is popular in our Democratic-Republic, but it is in no way reflective of reality. Put your polls away and spend your energy on constructive things.

Early on, blacks were angered by President George W. Bush’s tepid response. Tempers also flared over the use of the word “refugee” to describe the mostly black evacuees, a term usually reserved for those seeking asylum in the United States — not for those who are already citizens.

Yes, and so were Whites. Bush has apologized and taken responsibility for the delays in response. Refugee, by definition (I looked it up), is someone fleeing something. I would consider the destruction of my home and city something to flee. Post-modern education likes to redefine words or inflict a definition on a word as will, this is useless and further feeds the problem without actually respecting the limitation of vocabulary. I don’t reserve the term for that and I don’t know why you would. If Aurora, Colorado is ever flooded, hailed upon too intensely or somehow destroyed you can bet I’m going to be relocating somewhere else, I will effectively be a refugee… and that is OK with me.

“I have to laugh when people say this isn’t about race,” Nails said. “If so, it would be the first time in our history that something happened that wasn’t about race. If a hurricane was bearing down on Hyannis Port, the U.S.S. Comfort would be there.” Then, referring to James Baldwin’s 1963 essay on race relations, she added, “Make no mistake: This is the fire next time.”

Why is this about race? Who brought the hurricane? Who was warned about the hurricane? Who didn’t react on a local political level? Who is funding the rehabilitation of Luisianna and Mississippie and Alabama? I’ll answer those questions for you:

This is not about race, it is about people in multiple states whose lives have been ravaged by a storm. Some lives were lost.

This is either an ‘act of god’ [little ‘g’] or an act of nature. I personally want to say that it is a result of sin corrupting the Earth and causing bad things to happen that would not have happened had Adam, the father of all races, not sinned. That’s theological and is not a point of this post.

Every single person was warned about the hurricane with possible minor exceptions. People might have walked out of the hurricane disaster area had they started two days early.

The mayor of New Orleans reacted some, but as was stated did not use buses to move people for the evacuation. Federal reaction would have been better after the fact, which it did do, and local preparation would have been better. In fact huge sums of money were never put towards the levees… which was the result of local officials redirecting that money to other places. This whole issue could have been prevented if people were not negligent in their jobs as political leaders in the local area of New Orleans.

All of the United States citizens are funding the rebuilding of New Orleans… we are paying taxes and will pay taxes that will go to its rebuilding. A professional football player, Randy Moss, left a comment on this blog saying he wished his money that he had donated would go to the people when the event first struck, but instead would probably go to the rebuilding of New Orleans’ SuperDome. We’re all going to be donating and paying taxes. Lets be united in this restoration instead of being divided. I’m white, but I don’t care. I’m probably considered middle class, due to my income… but I don’t care. I want unity between ethnic groups possibly more than many people due to various family relationship that I have – but I’m not about to stand for an us verses them. Mz. Cooper, I ask you to work towards progress rather than widening the rift that is already felt in this area of world politics.

I’m not going to address the rest of the points of the article because I don’t have that kind of time, but instead, I’m going to let you think about this – dont’ get distracted by race – get excited about unity through compassion, enjoy your citizenship and learn and grow. If you do, I promise that you’ll break down some of these superficial walls of ethocentric garbage. I’m tired of this tribalism – are you?