Bear with me for posting a Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.-themed diary a day late. Because of the holiday, the libraries where I do my computer work were closed. And last night’s Democrats’ debate, along with other things that have been on my mind, have made me wonder how the Rev Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would feel about…..
…how a President who cut the levee maintenance budget to be able to afford tax cuts for the rich caused the flooding of 80% of a beautiful, historic city;
…the way, in spite of the fact that the immediate effects of New Orleans’ flooding cut across racial, class and cultural lines, the mainstream media spun this as a disaster that affected mainly poor blacks;
…the way whites who took stuff from stores were described by newspeople as taking what they needed to survive, while blacks who did the same were described as “looting”;
…how when BushCo saw these media reports they decided that drowning people in Louisiana were not worth saving promptly, and their federal government was not only slow to initiate such rescues and relief, but also threw roadblocks in the way of others who wished to rescue them, or provide relief?
…how BushCo, by means of an efficient spin machine, placed the blame for everything that went wrong during Katrina and New Orleans’ flooding at the feet of Louisiana officials, especially Gov. Blanco;
…and how BushCo punished Louisiana ever since then be making her quest for aid difficult;
…the way, in spite of the historic impact of Katrina and New Orleans’ flooding on the whole country, the MSM almost never brings them up today;
…how the national conversation this dual disaster was supposed to have brought about regarding race relations, civil rights, poverty, urban problems, the environment, global warming, etc. has yet to take place;
…how New Orleans’ recovery and repopulation are being strangled by a BushCo who seems to be deliberately allowing this fine city to die;
…the fact that BushCo is in effect practicing cultural genocide in Louisiana by doing all it can to discourage the return of poor evacuees, many of whom are people of color, to make its Final Solution stick to keep Louisiana a Red state;
…how a serious affordable housing shortage in New Orleans is being perpetuated to that end, with many evacuees who’ve managed to return sleeping under overpasses;
…how people in Louisiana and Mississippi have been suffering mentally and emotionally not only from the traumas and losses from the storm and flood, but from the stress and frustration of the slow recovery;
…how this has gotten to be so bad that some in New Orleans are becoming depressed, giving up, and dying?
…the fact that in spite of Mississippi’s having received a disproportionate share of the disaster recovery funds, this money has not trickled down to the survivors of all colors who are still stuck in Bushvilles (FEMA trailer parks), but has made its way into the pockets of Gov. Haley Barbour & Co.;
…how Mississippi and Louisiana homeowners whose homes had clearly been damaged by the ferocious winds of Katrina and/or Rita are being cheated by well-known, deep-pockets insurance companies whose ad slogans are familiar to many Americans, who are neither on their side nor like good neighbors, which fraudulently have claimed this damage as due to water;
…the silence not only by the media but also by politicians of both parties regarding the plight of people in New Orleans and the rest of the Gulf Region 2 1/2 years after 8/29;
…the way even Americans who call themselves “progressive,” out of “Katrina fatigue” have turned their backs on the suffering of those in Louisiana and Mississippi;
…the absurd misconception about Katrina and New Orleans that this is just a “black issue”;
…the fact that perhaps because of this erroneous idea, New Orleans and Katrina are not being treated as a valid campaign issue;
…the fact that Brian Williams, Wolf Blitzer, and other debate moderators have effectively disenfranchised the people of New Orleans, the Mississippi and Louisiana Gulf Coasts, and the rest of the over Great Britain-sized area affected by flooding, Katrina, and Rita by not bringing up their plight or the issues they must deal with in debates;
…the way G. Paul Kirk, Jr., and the rest of the BushCo lackeys on the nominally bi-partisan Commission on Presidential Debates rejected New Orleans, with her diverse culture, as a debate venue, in favor of Ole Miss, with its racist baggage;
Last but not least, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. once said in effect that an individual must not be judged on the color of his/her skin but on the content of his/her character. How would the Rev. King feel about the character of Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, and John Edwards that….
…none of the three–not even Edwards–has New Orleans and Katrina above the fold on their issues pages?
…although last night Edwards did mention kicking off his campaign in the Lower 9th and how Americans had been surprised to see the devastation still there, none of the three–not even Edwards, for whom this was the first time he’d mentioned New Orleans after several debates without having mentioned her–has regularly or frequently brought New Orleans and Katrina up as issues of their own volition during debates, in a way that would alert the MSM to the fact that they and BushCo’s neglect are still national issues;
…none of the three–not even Edwards–has assumed leadership regarding the issue of New Orleans and Katrina by making his/her recovery plan the centerpiece of his/her campaign?