When the Levee Breaks, I'll Have no Place to Stay

Maybe it's because of a glum state of mind, or maybe it's because I live in a desert and the idea of death by water is absolutely and utterly bizarre to me, but I have become slightly obsessed with the flooding disaster in New Orleans.

The sight of people floating by on rafts made of doors or mattresses, dragging black garbage bags of 'looted' supplies behind them is shocking. The idea of the now-homeless living like animals in the Superdome, or spending the night on the ruined freeway, or rescuers pushing floating bodies aside to try and get to the living is downright apocalyptic.

I actually can't comprehend what this would be like. Life in New Mexico is so stultifying normal, when there's a snowstorm people freak out. This is not a big natural disaster area. The worst thing that happens are summer brushfires, and although a few years ago a brushfire did wipe an entire small town they usually amount to nothing more than a funny smell in the air.

When the tsunami hit Southeast Asia, it was horrifying, but like most Americans, places like Indonesia and Thailand exist only in images in movies and on TV.

It's shallow, I know. The loss of life in the tsunami was astronomically higher and more widespread. But New Orleans is a city I've been to. I've had the beignets at the Cafe du Monde. I've played pool at Molly's. I listened to the Tom Waits-esque piano player in Lafitte's. I took some cool, haunting photographs in the city's cemeteries.

Chalk it up to human nature, but a disaster that is close to you is infinitely more disturbing than one far away. And I am more than a little ashamed to say that.

Anger rises in my blood, too, to hear about the people who literally couldn't afford to leave the path of the hurricane, or the fact that the New Orleans flood control budget was cut in order to pay for our misadventures in Iraq.

But there's some to feel good about, as well. Skippy, (or, skippy as I should more properly say) the Bush Kangaroo has issued a challenge.

the people in louisiana, mississippi and alabama are americans. this is about america. and americans have historically always rolled up their sleeves and pitched in to help out their fellow countrymen in need.

skippy has donated $100.01 to the red cross for hurricane relief. and now, skippy challenges everyone who writes a political blog, no matter what side of the spectrum they inhabit, to do the same.

but that's not all of the challenge. skippy then dares everyone on his blogroll (who will be receiving an email with this double-dog dare), after they donate, to (a) blog about it, and (b) send an email to everyone on their blog roll.

This is, of course, awesome.

There are a couple of blogs I've found keeping track of the developing situation. DeadlyKatrina.com, Making Light, and the folks at This Modern World have been doing some fine blogging on the topic.

This is some scary shit going down. Looting is out of control. Lack of any running water or electricity has reduced the already poverty-stricken Gulf Coast to a third world country. The sick and elderly are going without care.

Can you really blame people for looting, though? If you had to choose between breaking the law to help yourself and your family, or taking things from others, can you honestly say you're such an upright citizen you wouldn't choose looting? It's easy to criticize when you're not faced with that choice.

A lot of the looting seems to be for food, medicine, and other necessities. Even when it hasn't been, it's sad that people in this area are so poor that given the first chance they can they get new clothes and shoes. Even something like a TV might be tradeable. I suspect a black market in goods will develop in the area in the coming weeks and months.

I wish I could reach through my TV screen and help these people. It's downright agonizing.

(Updated some after publication as blogging with insomnia often leads to typos and a lack of clarification.)