Sara Annie

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Posts by Sara Annie

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  21

  Do You Know What It Means to Lose New Orleans? - Why they didn't leave

  by GentlyFeral in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i don't actually have anything to add to this.

  but - isn't there anyplace in your life that you love this dearly?.

  gently feral .

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  Sara Annie

  Yes the feds were inexcusibbly slow in their disaster response ;however competent local planning and execution have saved lives and eased suffering.

  The fleet of school busses, rather than being left in a flood zone, could have evacuated hundreds of ;people.

  A truckload of food and water could have been taken to the superdome before the storm hit.

  Sanitation planning could have been a small consideration.

  All excellent points--the very first 'failure' in New Orleans was that of the local government. It does seem that their entire disaster plan in a nutshell was "1. Herd everyone into big places with absolutely no provisions or plan for caring for them. 2. Scream really loud for faster federal asisstance. 3. When someone suggests that you just migh be a little responsible for the present situation, put your fingers in your ears and scream louder. 4. When federal aid DOES arrive (and at about the time it would have if anyone else had been doing their job) just keep talking about how late it was."

  The ineptitude of the local plannners coupled with the inaction of the state government were the dominoes that kicked off all the other governmental failures in the New Orelans evacuation "plan".
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  64

  Does anyone else not really care about Katrina?

  by sonnyboy in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  ok, some people may call me a heartless bastard for making this thread, but i have to be honest.. i really don't care about the hurricane victims.

  i highly doubt that the people walking through walmart with shopping carts full of clothing and electronics would send me one f'ing red cent if i was in need (and i am in need, by the way).. i just can't find it in my heart to care at all.

  maybe i'm the only one who thinks like this, but i've been struggling to survive for the past 2 years and no one has ever lifted a finger to help me.

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  Sara Annie

  I've read all your posts in this thread, and I'm trying to find some common ground on which to sympathize with you. I'm having a very hard time doing so.

  I really don't care about the hurricane victims. I highly doubt that the people walking through Walmart with shopping carts full of clothing and electronics would send me one f'ing red cent if I was in need (and I AM in need, by the way).

  The people you see looting Wal-Mart and the legions of people trapped in the city this last week represent a very small percentage of those who have been affected by Katrina. The vast majority of those who lost EVERYTHING THEY OWN were the several hundred thousand other inhabitants of New Orleans and every other city and town along the gulf coast that has seen itself effectively erased from the map. These people lost their jobs, and their homes and every single material possession they couldn't carry with them when they left. They are facing months and possibly even years with not a single thing to their names, with the impossible task of rebuilding a life that simply does not exist anymore.

  Perhaps you're having a hard time getting your mind around that idea, I know I still am. But what might help you to find the barest amount of compassion for those in situations far and away more pitiable than yours is to remember that while you sit and feel sorry for yourself and the sad condition of your life, you are doing it with a roof over your head, with water readily available from the tap, with a shower to in which to clean yourself, with a bed to sleep in, with food in the cupboards, with a roomate to help pick up the slack, with a television to watch the destruction on, with a computer and internet access that allows you a place to tell your sad story, and a job that gives you $21,000 a year in which to fund this miserable, terrible life you lead. Why, given the squalid conditions you must exist in, should you be expected to have empathy for anyone else?

  Life is tough all over, sonnyboy. You lost your job and took a big pay cut, and you lost the house that you could no longer afford. It sucks, big time. But you didn't lose everything, did you? You might not have the comfortable life you became accustomed to, but $21,000 a year hardly puts you out on the streets either. There are families of four out there who are making the same money you do who fell less sorry for themselves. So you sit and lament the condition of your life all you want, but any sympathy I might have felt at your plight disappeared with the attitude of entitlement that accompanied your relaying it.
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  43

  Five people killed by New Orleans police !

  by Simon in

  1. social
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  just on a news flash.

  what the hell is going on?

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  Sara Annie

  I hope they can protect the contractors. What are these thugs thinking? Who the hell would do something like this, people that have come to repair their city???

  I hope they can protect them too. My husband will be one of those workers, likely leaving at a moments notice within the next week or two.

  I've posted about this in other threads, but my husband does post disaster structural evaulation with a volunteer group of other professionals. By Tuesday night, the FEMA contact he's worked with over the years was on our phone by 11 PM telling him to be ready to head out to the gulf coast at any time. Over the several days now there have been numerous emails flying about the scope of the damage and the timeline for the work they'll do (they evaluate post-disaster structural integrity and decide which structures must be razed, which are habitable, which need rebuilding, etc). In the past, when he's gone to areas that have suffered tornadic, earthquake or hurricane activity he has generally been gone for about 2 weeks. This time, due to the sheer size of the affected area and the fact that a major metropolitan area is involved, they first said he could be gone for three months doing just the first 'shift' of the work that needs to be done. Now they're saying that it may be three to five months. And on top of environmental and structural hazards, now I've got to worry about him being mowed down by jackasses with an attitude.
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  69

  I won't shave my body hair, so there!

  by crankytoe in

  1. social
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  most of the women i've dated never seemed to have a problem with my body hair.

  but every now and then i run into a girl who seems both amazed and disgusted by it.

  it's happened often enough now - so i'm wondering if all women are turned off to varying degrees?.

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  Sara Annie

  I'm out of hairy celebrities---I could only think of Alec.

  Well, that's not true. I did think of Robin Williams as an example of the freakishly hairy, but I couldn't find any picture of him that was even remotely sexy...
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  54

  Katrina Aftermath - whatever happened to personal responsibility?

  by EscapedLifer1 in

  1. social
  2. current

  ok, all you "bleedin' hearts" get ready to flame me..... i have been watching the developments in the devastated areas like everyone else, and something has begun to strike me.

  there seems to be tens of thousands of people who are just sitting around waiting for help to miraculously drop out of the sky, and the longer they sit idle, the madder they get that the government hasn't swooped in and immediately solved all their problems.

  i have a few questions about this mindset:.

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  Sara Annie

  I don't think right now is the time to pin people to wall for their level of poverty. Lots of cities have citizens of every economic level ;who don't drive and wouldn't be able to get out of the city quickly in case of an emergency.

  Again, I agree that that it's not the time to start 'pinning people to the wall' about it, but I disagree that it's a subject that should be ignored. It's relevant, and will need to be addressed as a causal factor in the failure of the N.O. evacuation plan. It's relevant to every other city in this country when diaster plans will be reexamined and rewritten.

  Right "now" may not be the time, but the time is going to have to come soon.
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  69

  I won't shave my body hair, so there!

  by crankytoe in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  most of the women i've dated never seemed to have a problem with my body hair.

  but every now and then i run into a girl who seems both amazed and disgusted by it.

  it's happened often enough now - so i'm wondering if all women are turned off to varying degrees?.

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  Sara Annie

  Alec Baldwin has a seriously hairy chest and he's yummy (if a little insufferable, personally):

  (edited because I can never just post a picture without embedding a page...grrr)
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  54

  Katrina Aftermath - whatever happened to personal responsibility?

  by EscapedLifer1 in

  1. social
  2. current

  ok, all you "bleedin' hearts" get ready to flame me..... i have been watching the developments in the devastated areas like everyone else, and something has begun to strike me.

  there seems to be tens of thousands of people who are just sitting around waiting for help to miraculously drop out of the sky, and the longer they sit idle, the madder they get that the government hasn't swooped in and immediately solved all their problems.

  i have a few questions about this mindset:.

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  Sara Annie

  When someone is in danger of dying, imo, you don't stop to ask how they earned their living and if they were worth assistance in time of disaster.

  I agree. Regardless of the circumstances surrounding the suffering we've seen, something needs to be done about it. In the name of humanity, you give your time, your cash, your resources and your sweat to help those who are in need and rebuild what has been destroyed.

  But that does not mean that the deeper, larger issues behind the condition that thousands found themselves in should be ignored or overlooked in the same spirit. The issues surrounding the cycle of povrty in this nation and the responsibility of all of the players involved--both the victims and those who are charged with coming to their aid--needs to be shouldered by each. The actions of the government (every level from local to federal) will continue to be examined and held accountable for their shortcomings in this situation, but so must the victims own up to the responsibility they had in the situation of their lives.
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  69

  I won't shave my body hair, so there!

  by crankytoe in

  1. social
  2. relationships

  most of the women i've dated never seemed to have a problem with my body hair.

  but every now and then i run into a girl who seems both amazed and disgusted by it.

  it's happened often enough now - so i'm wondering if all women are turned off to varying degrees?.

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  Sara Annie

  so I'm wondering if all women are turned off to varying degrees?

  I guess it depends on just how much hair we're talking about here...
  

  We all have our likes and dislikes regarding physical features and attributes that we find attractive in the opposite sex. If you find that you have such excessive body hair that it is unattractive to those you are trying to appeal to, it might not be the worst idea in the world to consider some alternative grooming techniques. While you may not need to shave or wax all your more hirsute parts, a little careful grooming may make those areas more palatable. What good is digging in your heels and refusing to change something so minor as a little 'shoulder fuzz' if it might make you more attractive to do so?

  I know my husband would love me just as much as he does now if I decided not to shave my underarms, legs, etc.--but I like to be at my most attractive and I know he appreciates those things just as much as I appreciate him being clean shaven and well groomed.

  
  Edited to add: Personally, I think men are supposed to be hairy in all the right places...
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  28

  What's the very first thing .......or amount ......you ever won?

  by hubert in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  i took a chance on a raffle in a variety store, and won a "mothers day cake"!!!

  ha, ha !!

  it was so freakin' dry, too !!

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  Sara Annie

  When I was a year old, my dad put my name in a raffle for a $100 savings bond at the annual festival held at his alma mater every year...I won it.
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  14

  Why Violence in New Orleans?

  by MegaDude in

  1. jw
  2. friends

  it will be a while before everything shakes out about why things went to hell in a handbasket in new orleans but here's one opinion from an article on the net.. ------------------------------------------------------------.

  it has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out how to deal with the disaster in new orleans.

  the man-made disaster is the welfare state.

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  Sara Annie

  Yes, the people are immediately at fault, but what kind of society creates such an underclass with such poverty and inequality? Why are they put in that state and kept in that state so that when something happens it all kicks off so badly?

  
  

  
  Simply put, they are "put" in that state by well-meaning social programs that provide for all the basic necessities (food, shelter, medical care, etc) with the hope that utilizing these programs will be a temporary condition and that the 'leg up' that is being provided will allow them to, through their own initiative and by taking advantage of educational and vocational opportunities available, allow them to transition from total dependence on state aid to taking control of their own lives and gradually becoming independent earners in society. That is what has 'put' them in that state.

  What has 'kept' them in that state is far more complex. A certain portion of the population will never be able to exist independent of state sponsored welfare programs. But a far larger portion of people choose not to take control of their own lives and make the transition from the welfare to independence. That may be unpleasant to hear, the truth often is, but the fact remains: When you are given the opportunity to make something better of your life and you do not take it, your actions (or inaction) have had a direct effect on the unsatisfactory condition of your life. The reasons that people do not seek to make their lives better than they are are numerous and complex, and it seems like when anyone tries to say them out loud--either from outside of the community involved or from within it--the most immediate action many people take is to clamp their hands over their ears and refuse to listen, and brand the speaker as a bigot.

  The problem never goes away though because IMO the root underlying cause is inequality and this can be the immediate wealth difference between the haves and have-nots (and Bush's have-mores) but also inequality of opportunity - there has to be a way open to escape the slums and crime riddled parts of society and incentives to do so

  I agree with you 100% that the answer to the problems inequality in the U.S.A. absolutely lies in closing the gap between the 'haves' and the 'have nots'. But I also believe that the 'way open to escape the slums and crime riddled parts of society' often already exists but will never be taken advantage of in any significant number until people within the affected populations stand up and declare that the to pursue success educationally and through personal achievement does not equal treason to their own people or a desire to distance themselves from their roots. Until the idea takes hold that personal responsibility is preferable to the existing culture of entitlement, not much is going to change.

  Surely the solution lies somewhere in the middle, don't you think? Even more readily available opportunities to improve one's lot in life coupled with a cultural shift in perspective on those opportunities and the implications of taking them.