Hurricane Relief Efforts

(Editor's note: I thought I would be able to let this pass by without comment, but it turns out--I can't. What follows is a particularly bile-filled rant.)

Hurricane Relief Efforts: Contribute Some "Shut the Hell Up"

By all accounts, Hurricane Katrina hit land at 6:09 am on Monday, August 29th. That's nearly three weeks ago. In the aftermath, residents of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana have struggled to find loved ones, pets, shelter, food, and other daily necessities. Meanwhile, those who live outside the area are bombarded with dire news reports, pleas for supplies, and an endless cycle of blame.

First, the news reports. I understand the major networks' desire to be on top of all the information available. Unfortunately, the constant reporting of bad news contributes to the nation's feeling that nothing is happening and things are just about as bad as they can get. My proposal is to limit the number of times a news network can run the same story, and in the meantime, send those reporters and camera operators out to evacuee sites with supplies.

Regarding supplies: C.R. has a great link on her website regarding credible Katrina charities. Too many unscrupulous people have used this disaster as a way of fleecing money from people who want to do what is good.

There are literally hundreds of ways to contribute to relief efforts. The American Red Cross has done an admirable effort to get help to those who need it. That being said, here's why I don't support the ARC: For the last four decades, they have ignored scientific research regarding the existence of AIDS in the blood supply. Instead of spending approximately 5 cents per liter of blood to run an ELISA, they ask certain "at-risk" groups* to self-select out of the donor population. The policy of self-selection is not only dangerous, it's also discriminatory.

And finally, about the blame. I have received several e-mails from MoveOn, HRC, and NOW about the necessity for a coalition to investigate who's to blame in the failure of relief efforts. To them, I say, no. No.

What we need now is not a scapegoat, because that's all that an investigation would do. We need to apologize to the people who were left behind. We should apologize for not having an evacuation plan in place before the hurricane hit land. Most of all, we should apologize because this is nothing new.

The average family income of those hardest hit by the hurricane is $11,000 per year.** This isn't new--families have been living below the poverty line for decades in that area. The disparity between the rich and the poor isn't new, either, although the gap between the two groups widens each year. What is new is that something has happened to call it to our attention.

Kanye West received a lot of flack recently for saying that President Bush hates Black people. I don't think that's entirely true, although I can't speak with any certainty about W's racism, real or otherwise. What I think is true is that America doesn't understand poor people, the majority of which (right now) are Black and Hispanic. Those in power have always been the elites, from Thomas Jefferson to the Kennedys to the Bush dynasty. Their backgrounds, with a few exceptions, create a mentality where poverty is absolutely impossible to fathom.

I am not issuing a polemic against the political regime. I'm angry that this is a continuing problem. Because if we have a commission to figure out who dropped the ball, once someone is censured, the issue of poverty will fall through the cracks once again. And for the 12.7 percent of Americans who live below poverty levels, that is unacceptable. So to those seeking someone to blame, shut the hell up. You're not helping. To those who want to give aid contingent on meeting some moral or otherwise arbitrary criteria, shut up. To the news media outlets who keep yammering on with the same dire news stories and horrifying rumors: Shut. Up.

In other words, put your money where your mouth is.

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*These groups include: gay men and lesbian women, anyone who has had sex with any gay or bisexual man, IV drug users, tattoo recipients, anyone who has lived outside the US for more than 4 or 6 months (depending on who you talk to).
**For a family of four, the poverty line cut-off is $19,350 per year.