That was a nice post Sonny. When I read your first post when you compared Katrina victims to the daily losses many people around the country suffer, I thought..."can't be compared". Not many people lose their home, family, jobs, social structure, and memories all in one day. I am glad you came around on that one. I also posted and said some things about Katrina that I regret. I guess we just aren't use to the magnitude of this type of event and it takes a few days for it to all sink in. Thanks for a good post.
Jeannine
JoinedPosts by Jeannine
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12
I think it's finally sunk in...
by sonnyboy ini want to officially retract the opening statment of my "does anyone else not care about katrina?
" thread.. i've been watching coverage like a hawk all day, and it cannot be compared to the homeless problem in our country.
i still stand by what i said, which is that we should always support and feel compassion for those who are less fortunate, even when cnn is not involved, but this is definitely different.
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I Can't Believe JW Relative Called
by Jeannine inmy husband and i have been basically ignored for about 15 years by most of his jw family.
his mom calls once every few months, but only to ask for money (yes, she is a mooch).
both of his brothers are elders.
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Jeannine
My husband and I have been basically ignored for about 15 years by most of his JW family. His mom calls once every few months, but only to ask for money (yes, she is a mooch). Both of his brothers are Elders. My husband was never baptised and was the only person in his family to not get sucked into this cult. I am the wicked, former Catholic turned non-believer-in- any-religion-wife. There has never been any disagreements or real family problems. The distance was created soley because of their JW beliefs. When our niece got married, we were sent a wedding invitation....only to have it RECALLED about a week later when the JWs realized that we were sent the invite. Yes, this is true. After getting the invitation and mailing in our RSVP, we received a phone call from my mother-in-law explaining that there was a "change in plans" and the whole family was no longer invited and that we can't go. My niece didn't even have the decency to call us herself. The wedding was held and we stood home in disbelief. So, there is some background. Now, the shocker...my Elder brother-in-law called my husband today and left him a voicemail that said, "I haven't talked to you in a while. Call me at XXX-XXX-XXX. I just want to see how you are doing". My husband is beside himself. His brother hasn't spoken to him in YEARS. My husband says that he will return the call sometime today.
What the hell is going on with these people? They have choosen not to socialize with us for many, many years and suddenly...they check up on us. Are they taught this crap? Are there ever talks at the meetings about reconnecting with lost family? I am thinking that SOMETHING must have been said at a meeting to compel his brother to call us. Could this be a sign that his Elder brother is second guessing that religion (I doubt this one)? BTW, in the past, his brothers never preached to my husband, so I am certain that this phone call isn't to recruit or convince my husband to join the JWs. It has been so long since we've talked to anyone from his family, besides my mooching mother-in-law, that they have NO IDEA WHERE WE LIVE or what our home phone number is. My bro-in-law was able to get my hubby's cell phone number from their mother. How sad is that?
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Should Katrina Victims Share Blame ??
by Jeannine init has been a few days since i raged and cried for the victims.
it has been a few days since i cursed our government and became forever disgusted with their actions.
it has been a few days since i made my red cross and animal rescue donations.
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Jeannine
BTW, I have seen lots of footage of roof-top rescues and there is almost always one or more CARS in the driveway (now submerged in water). None of these cars worked? The City provided several different shelters, not just the Superdome. Nobody should have to be rescued from their roof after being given stern warnings that a major hurricane is enroute that could topple the levees and cause 20 ft of water. This fact was repeated over, and over again prior to the storm. Yes, I blame some of those people that are now clinging to their shingles.
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Should Katrina Victims Share Blame ??
by Jeannine init has been a few days since i raged and cried for the victims.
it has been a few days since i cursed our government and became forever disgusted with their actions.
it has been a few days since i made my red cross and animal rescue donations.
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Jeannine
Kazar, I followed Hurricane Katrina once it was known that it would hit somewhere in the Gulf because I have family in Pensacola, FL. I paid attention to the preparations, believing my family may evacuate (they were spared as the storm turned west). I watched the news as people were bused to the Superdome, at the expense of the City. My source is the news. The preparations that took place in New Orleans were widely covered. In my opinion, there were some poor decisions made by individuals in NO, as well as local and state government. If a Cat 5 is heading your way and you live below sea-level, you must evacuate to higher ground to save your life. Period. Having little money is a poor excuse for being stuck on your roof AFTER the City offered you transportation to higher ground. If someone had pets and couldn't take them to the Superdome, then I can sympathize. Otherwise, these "stuck on the roof" people simply made a bad decision.
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Should Katrina Victims Share Blame ??
by Jeannine init has been a few days since i raged and cried for the victims.
it has been a few days since i cursed our government and became forever disgusted with their actions.
it has been a few days since i made my red cross and animal rescue donations.
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Jeannine
You guys are right. My post was too long and too harsh on the victims. I just needed to vent. Anyway, just to let you know...I have always been poor and I have always been black. I have lived through several hurricanes. I evacuated to the local high school each time. It didn't cost me a dime. The point of my long, boring, post was: a majority of the people who remained in New Orleans choose not the go to the Superdome prior to the storm. I can't understand why anyone would take a chance in their homes when they are promised safety somewhere else. Let's forget what ended up occuring at the Superdome after the storm...that is not my issue. The issue is: many people didn't heed the warning. Yes, I feel bad for them. But, they do share in some blame if they got stuck on their roof.
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Should Katrina Victims Share Blame ??
by Jeannine init has been a few days since i raged and cried for the victims.
it has been a few days since i cursed our government and became forever disgusted with their actions.
it has been a few days since i made my red cross and animal rescue donations.
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Jeannine
It has been a few days since I raged and cried for the victims. It has been a few days since I cursed our government and became forever disgusted with their actions. It has been a few days since I made my Red Cross and animal rescue donations. I've done all I can do from where I am. I have PLENTY of compassion for the victims. Nobody deserves to starve to death, dehydrate, defecate on a floor in a huge public crowd, bake in the sun, get raped, and whatever else happened to the victims long after Katrina passed by. Katrina did some damage.....society did the rest. Having said that, I still hold many of these victims partly responsible for what happened to them. They should have evacuated. I am sick and tired of hearing that they were "too poor" to evacuate and didn't have cars. Or, "too elderly". Many elderly people could have evacuated with family members but were TOO STUBBORN. I keep hearing reports of family members that begged and pleaded with their elderly relatives to evacuate with them. Many of these elderly people thought that just because they are 1 million years old and lived through 50 more powerful hurricanes (of course I am exaggerating), that they could survive Katrina. The City provided buses prior to the storm to pick up the elderly. Many, many elderly did not take those buses. Yes, the buses were only taking people to the soon-to-be-doomed Superdome, but nobody predicted the horrors there. So, the elderly that didn't get on those buses were simply stubborn in their ways. The City provided a telephone number for the elderly and disabled to call to be picked up by these buses if they couldn't make it to the pickup locations. As for the "poor", yet able-bodied adults.....give me a break. Anyone of them that really wanted to flee, could have. If a Cat 5 storm was heading my way and I had children living with me BELOW SEA LEVEL in a city that has been warned about the levees breaking....I would be out of there. I would walk with my kids if I had to. I know that is easier said than done, but in a life or death situation most of us can do it. The same "will to survive" that exists after a tragic event is the same "will to survive" that can exist prior to the tragic event. How many of the "poor" do you think spent the day before the hurricane buying their supplies of cigarettes and liquor ? Not all of them...but some sure did. The Superdome was said to be filled with crack pipes. How many of the "poor" do you think spent the day before the hurricane buying their supply of crack cocaine? Not all of them...but a few did. How many of the "poor" sat around in the days before the hurricane laughing about it and downplaying Katrina's approach because they didn't want to spend whatever money they did have trying to get out of town? I am not saying that these people should have come up with a few hundrend bucks to flee to an out-of-state Ritz Carlton. All I am talking about is GET TO HIGHER GROUND, even if that higher ground is just a few miles from where your particular house is. Thousands of people did not even attempt to get to the Superdome prior to the hurricane, which proves that they did not take this seriously. Nobody needed money to get to the Superdome. Transportation was free. The Superdome initially only took in 9,000 people during the storm. What does that tell us ? That tells us that those people who remained in their homes either drowned, or became another victim stuck on the highway overpass with no food or water for days, or are still stuck in their homes, or finally joined in at the Superdome after the storm and wading through filthy water for a few miles. I understand that the same horrible conditions occured at the Superdome and Convention Center to those that heeded the initial warning to evacuate, but I am not debating which groupd actually suffered more. I am just pointing out that it is easy to see what a majority of these people were really thinking (or not thinking) when they were told to evacuate from town or evacuate to the Superdome. Many CHOOSE not to. Those that choose to remain in their homes probably would have made the same choice even if they were wealthy people. In fact, many people with money decided to remain in their homes also. They too, are suffering now. There were also tourists that had a way out of town prior to Katrina, yet decided to "ride out the storm" because they didn't want to cut their vacation short. I am starting not to feel bad for many of these people anymore. Some deserve sympathy....but many don't. I think stupidity and indifference on the part of the victims played a huge part. Ok, I am done venting.
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WWW.JW-Aid.COM going belly up already?
by DannyHaszard inthis is what their front page now shows either they are upgrading the site or their getting heat and going down.
missing persons search
until we hear otherwise, we are directing those looking for missing loved ones to the red cross missing persons registry shown below.
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Jeannine
What a farce. What kind of person remains a JW after such a tragic event occurs and the very organization they believe in offers nothing except more warnings that the "end" is coming, and promises to get disaster relief only to their own kind (by donations earmarked for whatever the WT decides) ? If I were a JW I would be sitting in a hall wondering why we couldn't make THIS ONE EXCEPTION to our stance against charitable donations and donate to the Red Cross. I can't be the only person who would feel that way. There must be some JWs that don't have their brains scrambled. What kind of loving organization pressures its individual members to shut down a website set up for "JW Aid" ? What kind of person allows themselves to be silenced like that? Holy crap, these people are complete lunatics.
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Dubs Pimp Katrina
by Valis inwell they certainly didn't waste any time using this disaster to their own twisted advantage...they stuck this on their home page with a quickness.
http://www.watchtower.org/library/g/2003/8/8/article_01.htmperfect weather control.
in god's new world, people will not have to fear having their home or crops wiped out by freakish storms.
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Jeannine
JWs are now preaching at the Astrodome and calling their actions "aid for the victims". WTF !!!! If I was a victim who just went through pure HELL the past few days, the last thing I would want to do was listen to someone babble about the "end" being so "near". These victims are yearning for their lost families, friends, pets and LIVES. Do these JWs really think that they are helping by telling these people, "Don't worry, the rest of the world is about to be ruined too. Your personal world isn't the only one doomed". I mean, come on !!! As a religious org. the JWs should be concerned with providing food, water, and shelter for these folks. Period. The JW ought to learn a lesson from the Salvation Army. The Salvation Army is a religious group that SHUTS UP while indiscriminately handing out food and water to victims of natural disasters. I could not tell you what the Salvation Army's religious doctrines claim, but I always give financial support to them because they are the BEST in the worst of circumstances.
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I just heardÂ…
by _Atlas ini just heard.
bros from new orleans were down on baton rouge for the convention.
others were in texas over the weekend for their convetion too.
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Jeannine
Prior to the storm, the authorities did NOT legally stop anyone from returning to their homes. Even a "mandatory evacuation" is not mandatory. The police were not out in full force enforcing an evacuation. Anyone who was away from the area prior to the storm and wanted to return home to "ride out" the storm was ALLOWED to. So, to say that there were "brothers" returning from a convention that weren't allowed into their pre-hurricane homes....is a lie. Further, why on earth would these "brothers" make the attempt to come home anyway, while the entire area was being ASKED to evacuate? Pretty stupid on their part. For this reason, I find this entire story of JWs being "saved" to be a complete exaggeration. If JWs weren't caught up in the hurricane, it is only because they voluntarily heeded the evacuation order....just like millions of other people did. After their convention, nobody would have stopped them from returning home.
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Rescue inequality?
by Simon inthis doesn't sound right:.
hyatt guests given priority.
at one point friday, the evacuation was interrupted briefly when school buses rolled up so some 700 guests and employees from the hyatt hotel could move to the head of the evacuation line much to the amazement of those who had been crammed in the stinking superdome since last sunday.. how does this work?
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Jeannine
While it is true that the private hospitals were evacuated well before the public ones, there was more than "inequality" by our government that caused that. The private hospitals are just that....private. Private hospitals are owned and operated by....private individuals. These private individuals prepared in advance for the hurricane and had a good evacution plan at a cost that was paid by themselves. These private hospitals did not have to rely on the government. Instead, they picked up their own ball and got their patients and staff out of there. Unfortunately, the public hospitals had nobody to rely on except our incompetent government. So, yes, in the end there has been great inequality. However, not all of it was by "design" of the government. Just look at the rich hotels that did everything that they could do to perform a privately paid evacuation. It is heartbreaking that money became the difference between life and death in this tragedy.