Bullet Proof Soul

In the last week, I have felt surges of anger that I didn't even know I was capable of feeling.

Anger at America

Anger at Media

Anger at FEMA

I have never ever wished that I could reach through a television and grab the neck of a person spewing the most ignorant bullshit that my ears have ever heard.

But I did. I wholeheartedly wanted to inflict bodily harm on the FEMA director Mike Brown on more than one occasion. Each time this man was asked questions, hard questions, he seemed to find a way to appear less and less credible, and more and more detached from reality.

Some gems that were dropped from this man:

"Saturday and Sunday, we thought it was a typical hurricane situation -- not to say it wasn't going to be bad, but that the water would drain away fairly quickly"

The director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency said Thursday those New Orleans residents who chose not to heed warnings to evacuate before Hurricane Katrina bear some responsibility for their fates. Michael Brown also agreed with other public officials that the death toll in the city could reach into the thousands. "Unfortunately, that's going to be attributable a lot to people who did not heed the advance warnings," Brown told CNN."I don't make judgments about why people chose not to leave but, you know, there was a mandatory evacuation of New Orleans," he said.


"People who were unable or chose not to evacuate are suddenly appearing. And so this catastrophic disaster continues to grow. I will tell you this, though, every person in that convention center, we just learned about that today and so I have directed that we have all the available resources to get to that convention center to make sure that they have the food and water, the medical care that they need"

What exactly is this man being paid to do?

FEMA had a drill recently for a hurricane catastrophe:

"We made great progress this week in our preparedness efforts," said Ron Castleman, FEMA Regional Director. "Disaster response teams developed action plans in critical areas such as search and rescue, medical care, sheltering, temporary housing, school restoration and debris management. These plans are essential for quick response to a hurricane but will also help in other emergencies"

What happened to the action plans?

What kind of effective emergency action plans lack the forethought, resources, and technology for the "worse case scenarios"?

Would the response have been quicker if it had been a terrorist attack?

There is undeniable racism, classism, and inequality that has been brought to light in the wake of Katrina and sadly, I am not even shocked.

Not at all surprised that even in the midst of disaster, privilige is extended, and there is no such thing as "equality" in protection:

AN Australian backpacker stranded in New Orleans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina has told his parents he witnessed horrific scenes while sheltering in the city's Superdome, including murders, rapes and stabbings.

John McNeil, a 20-year-old university graduate, rang his parents in Brisbane yesterday from a payphone in the foyer of the New Orleans Hilton, where about 60 foreign tourists, including 10 Australians, were sheltering under armed guard after they were rescued from the Superdome by US military personnel.

Nor equality in rescuing:

"poor and black, like those stuck at the back of the evacuation line yesterday while 700 guests and employees of the Hyatt Hotel were bused out first"

I expected terms like "lawlessness" and looters to land in the stories. I expected "those people" type comments from certain individuals.

What I didn't expect is the media playing dual role as irritant and advocate in the stories that were told. The blatant racism displayed in the "looting" and "finding" pictures incensed me.

Then the next minute I am watching Anderson Cooper cut off a politician who had the unmitigated gall to thank government officials when people were knee deep in death and dying. He actually had me cheering.

I feel like I have been on this infuriating cycle of emotions that honestly has left me changed.

I am changed by the attitudes that I saw exposed around the world, in media, and in the blogosphere.

I am changed by the realization that regardless of social status, education, or economic empowerment, some people will always view poor people as animals, savages, and "looters".

I always thought that I had a pretty good idea of how our country works but now my perspective has changed.

The upside to my anger?

I woke up.

Now I will become more aware of who I vote for.

I will keep watch on issues that may not impact my everyday life but affect the lives of other people.



I don't want to come through this past week unchanged.

The images and sounds I have heard won't let me.

After my anger subsides, I want to have clarity on the world I live in and my place in it.