“Feets” Binkowski, reporting from Southern California
A Guest Post by John Doheny, visiting professor of music at Tulane University.
Here’s my friend 
marieoroumania checking in from Socal.
Everybody was happy and smiling and seemed thrilled to death to be sleeping on FEMA cots. Free food, free water, impromptu dance lessons, live bands volunteering, some of whom were evacuees themselves. I cannot believe how much of a party atmosphere there is there. Especially after the grimness of the Astrodome in 2005 and the governmental fuckups. What a difference some organization, some money, and some genuine giving a shit enough to plan for an awful disaster makes. Seriously. I didn’t want to leave. I saw one girl with her face painted, and asked her where she got it done, and she told me “oh, over in the arts and crafts section.” Arts and crafts section! At an evac site!
While I am of coure happy that human suffering seems be being kept to a minimum, I actually felt sick reading this. Because I know that, sure as shit, this situation is going to be used to beat us New Orleanians over the head with how much better republicans, in a rebublican state, with a republican governor, are at managing disasters. And, once again, how the fuckups in Katrina are entirely our fault for electing a democrat mayor and a democrat governor (note the subtle ‘republicanspeak’ of substituting ‘democrat’ for ‘democratic.’ In the south, when you want to insult someone, you ‘call them out of their name’).
The fact that this is apples and oranges will be glossed over. It’s not just that SOCAL has a lot more money and a lot fewer poor people. It’s that it still has large metropolitan areas that are completely unaffected. It’s that the stadium has power, and running water, and the sewers haven’t backed up and flooded the place with shit.
Are the happy Southern Californians being kept inside by armed guards? When they tried to walk away from the fires (well okay, this is socal. drive away from the fires) were shotguns fired over their heads to turn them back? And, last I heard, about 600 homes had actually burned. That’s a tragedy for 600 homeowners, but over 150,000 homes were destroyed in Orleans Parish alone.
I sympathize, I really do. And if you have time later on, check the comment strings on places like Huffington Post. The same ass-trolls clamboring for my town to be abandoned are yammering on about hollyweird liberals too stupid to run from fires. So, you know, welcome to the club.
But in the long run, especially in the MSM, this is going to get spun as a triumph for Bush and the republican governorship of california, and a further indictment of Louisiana. And that makes me almost as sad and angry as the disaster itself.
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I live in San Diego, and I’ve been so annoyed with this “I’m almost gonna mention Katrina, but not really” thing that everyone does in their speechifyin’, and I just couldn’t say it better that you did in this post. The biggest thing I can point to is that the water worked at all the evacuation sites, and no one had to wonder where to put their shit.
Hey K! Good to hear you are okay!
I passed on your comment to John just now, glad you like the new voices I’ve been bringing in!
Would you care to send us an update from out there?
Hey! Sorry I haven’t been back to the site since I made that comment. Everything and everyone did work quite well out here during the fires.
I am constantly amazed at how much money there is in this community. There were plenty of “regular folks” who donated supplies and small amounts of hard-earned money to help the “victims” of the fires, but there are also A LOT of ridiculously rich and philanthropic people who pump their money like crazy into non-profits locally. Our shelter is so lucky in that regard, and I never lose sight of that when viewing other shelters around the country.
I say “victims”, because so many of the people affected were quite rich and can fairly readily afford another large home in the quasi-wilds or at least scenic and suburban landscape. There certainly were some lower-income folks who lost their homes and needed help to get back on their feet, but a smattering compared to those affected by Katrina.
It’s frustrating to me that one of the reasons everything worked so well, is that there is a government-heavy infrastructure in place to deal with disasters. This web of regional and local government was put in place by liberal-leaning politicians who thought government protection of the populace was more important than stripping down the government, letting the corporations take over in the name of “freedom” and “lower taxes” and the like. YET, the republican governator is taking the credit and pretending his admin. had anything to do with the successes of the fire/police/red cross/etc agencies.
What the FUCK, with FEMA actually responding well and in a timely manner for our people. That PISSES me off! People in NOLA still can’t get their money/supplies, but somehow we can get ‘em with an snap of the fingers. Racism, classism, what the hell else explains it?!
I do give great kudos to those workers in the trenches who toiled tirelessly to help their fellow man. I do believe the community learned from watching your tragedy on T.V. and were scared to death to not respond quickly and donate generously, and not wait for government support just in case.
Closest to my heart is the way animals were treated as full members of all families and no one was expected to leave animals behind. All the evacuation sites had a place for animals either provided by gov’t or by private non-profits. We had a mobile unit in the field at one evacuation site and officers and others trucking donated pet food and supplies out daily to those pet parents in need. Horses, livestock, none were left with nowhere to go.
There are a million reasons why the Katrina and the recent wild fires are not comparable, and anyone bringing up Katrina in this context (except to say “shew, thank Bastet this wasn’t like Katrina”) is being cruel to Katrina victims, and using others’ pain to further their own selfish interests.
BTW, I was not affected personally in the slightest, and our shelter didn’t even receive many of the burn victims, largely because we only take in relinquished animals, by law unclaimed animal victims went to the Dept of Animal Svcs in various municipalities. We work closely with these agencies and provide help to them where needed. People were so generous during the fires that SDHS has donated money/food supplies left over and we have set up a fund to reimburse anyone with ongoing pet related expenses due to the fires.
It’s great to be where there is so much money flowing around the community, but no one should lose sight of why it is that way. Many corporate bigwigs call SoCal home and so the much of the money comes from elsewhere in the country and abroad. Hard-working people like those in NOLA make other communities richer and their own community poorer if the companies who suck off the community do not re-invest back into it. Large gov’t agencies paid for by very high taxes are in place to help those in need here (all the time, not just in disasters)
STOP! The oversimplification and blame that comes out of events like this and SHUT UP! about it if you aren’t willing to consider all the factors thoroughly and realize who you are hurting by spreading lies and misinformation.
(Not aimed at you or your readers obviously, but at the dimwits who want to blame the brave people in NOLA for the gov’t that didn’t work and the money that wasn’t there)
Thanks! for checking in on me! BTW, I haven’t seen anyone post anything here about K-Ville! I watch it for the NOLA scenes, but cringe at the plots and acting. See much of the filming? Are they good about it or the usual Hollywood assholes?