Has the fact New Orleans is in the South caused some to not care?

[HEyHEY]

As much as they feel they should?

I must admit, I don't seem to care as much as I should. And that's not to say it isnt' terrible...
I don't know...it's like it isn't registering as much as it would if it was Seattle...geography maybe?
And I in no way mean to minimalize the situation... I just think that the Continent has been so divided that we don't have an initial "MY GOD!" reaction. That we should... I don't know if we are as concerned as something in Africa because we're so used to being told the other side is not like us.

[Lex]

1. You mean, like how we Americans would feel if it were Canada?

:shrug:

[HEyHEY]

5. Good comparison, if one were to take the geography take

I feel terrible for all that's happened, but it doesn' seem to have the same smack in the face value as other evetns

[Lex]

14. Some people can't bring themselves to feel bad because

they see a lot of black people in coverage of New Orleans.

Not saying YOU, but I get that sense from some.

[HEyHEY]

161. I get sick when I see people knockinh those looting grocery stores

If you're black..and have no money.. it's bad... imagine if a bunch of white people wee stealing food?

[melody]

63. I would feel wretched if this was happening ANYWHERE

I'm in Los Angeles - was born and raised here - but this kind of tragedy should reach any human anywhere. A lot of the people in Seattle and Los Angeles have deep roots in this region of the country. Most of we westerners come from somewhere else. Many of us have family in this place - and many, many, many (especially among the poor and middle class) of the people suffering are Democrats. Even if they aren't, they're suffering.

Bigotry tends to dull the senses, but I'd think that even the most hard-hearted person would feel for anyone in this situation.

[Solly Mack]

2. Damn

just damn

[JVS]

3. I recall that someone here said that any misfortunes in red states...

will no longer bother them

[Lex]

9. . . . that's writing off a lot of progressives and DU'ers.

And blue states are not 100% blue just as red states aren't 100% red.

[LittleClarkie]

12. Aside from being fucked up on its face

they should realize that New Orleans is a very blue spot in that Red State. How about eeking out a tear for the blue folks in the cities then.

But still. I'm sorry, but that's just a fucked up attitude in general (I do realize it's not yours. I'm just saying)

[Bouncy Ball]

21. Yeah, geez, they're human beings.

Tons of people in this country don't even vote at all, so all this red and blue crap needs to get the fuck out in light of people starving, drowning, watching their family members float away, pet dogs tangled up in electrical lines, and the coming days that will get worse.

Damn. Seriously. Fuck the red and blue crap for just ONE hot minute.

[still_one]

28. tradgedy doesn't care whether you are liberal or conservative

In fact it brings people together. 9/11 did that, but this animal who leads our country took advantage of that goodness which is America, and used it to justify a war based on a LIE. That is unforgivable

How can you NOT feel for those that lost everything they had

It brings home very clearly the tradgedy we have inflicted on the people of Iraq, many of which have lost everything also

[nonconformist]

4. the fuck? nt

[still_one]

6. New Orleans is actually a pretty liberal city

I think what perplexes us is that the south went for bush even though they were voting against their own interest, and that is what we can't understand

One thing to keep in mind, the sufferring that is occurring is happening to everyone of all backgrounds, but you can believe the hardest hit will be the poor

[HEyHEY]

11. 100 per cent agree

The poor are getting it the worst

[expatriot]

35. like the FUCK it matter! Jesus people!

If it had been Provo, Utah or Witchita Kansas I would weep no more or no less than if it had been a liberal hamlet of similar population! Are you guys so... oh fuck, never mind.

[still_one]

42. and if you read the entire content of what I said

I said that the tradgedy affects everyone

[melody]

66. Amen

And well said.

[Name removed]

7. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[SheilaT]

8. Well, yeah.

And the fact that New York City is in the north would make some not care, if a catastrophe happened there, or that Los Angeles is where it is and so on and so forth.

It can be hard for some people to connect to a place and people who are far away.

Me, I've visited New Orleans, and so there's that connection to it, but I don't have friends or relatives who live there, so this is all very far away from me. But I care as much as I can about what's happening to anonymous strangers far away. And me degree of caring/disconnectedness would be identical if it were Boston, another city I've visited but have no friends or relatives in.

[Frances]

10. I haven't heard any criticism because of location.

I have talked to two people here in California (not DUers) who seem very ignorant of the devastation the hurricane has caused. In fact, on Monday one of them thought that the weather service was crying wolf and that there wasn't much damage at all. I guess the two people I talked to just didn't know what was going on. Also I don't think they can visualize what a flood is like because they have never been near one.

[fujiyama]

13. New Orleans is a relatively liberal city

It isn't the rest of the deep south. Those affected the worst will be the poor and black, likely those voting Dem.

Not that it matters, of course. It's a tragedy regardless of the people's politics. New Orleans has a unique place in American culture and history.

Unfortunately I can't say I have visited the place. I always wanted to try their famous bars and restaurants (and I'm a fan of spicy food so I'm sure they would have had something to my liking).

[HEyHEY]

16. Your'e right, regardless of politcs..this is awful

I'd never wish this upon any republican... again, perhaps I've jsut never felt the shock

[fujiyama]

44. I don't think an expected weather related event

like a hurricane or tornada will have the same shock value as say terrorist attacks or earthquakes (which aren't quite as easy to predict).

After all, we knew this was coming and we had a rough idea where it was going to happen. Now, of course many say the same thing for terrorist attacks (based on intelligence but intelligence depends on human error and other man made events), earthquakes (no long term warning system), and certain other natural and man made phenomenon (like say airline crashes - also based on human error).

The difference between the former (like a hurricane, tornado, or storm of some sort) is that it can be clearly tracked and models can give a pretty good estimate of where it will hit. With the other events (with the exception of earthquakes - we know where they will occur but no quite when), we have little idea when they will happen (except for those involved, those collecting intelligence, or those in charge of maintenence).

[Bouncy Ball]

15. Hmm.

I've cried my ass off and lost plenty of sleep over disasters that have taken place half a world away from me.

Geography has nothing to do with it. Humanity does.

[HEyHEY]

20. Hey, maybe you're right...

Cause I've cried too for things way farther away/..

[Lex]

22. When I see injured Iraqi children, it is no different than when I see

injured American kids.

You're right. It's about humanity, not geography.

[CityDem]

17. It is sad

It is quite sad that the politics of this administration has been so divisive.

[Stephist]

18. I think the fact that the city is 70% Black causes some not to care.

sad but true:(

[HEyHEY]

24. strangely

I think you may be correct.. but for me personally....

When I think of NO I think white

[JVS]

19. I'd really feel much worse if it were Montreal

[Skittles]

23. JAYSUS are you SERIOUS?

I feel SICK watching this coverage and I desperately want to help

[HEyHEY]

29. Here it is

I see it and I feel like, "Oh my god, this is awful, those poor people."
But, it doesn't seem to have the same impact as when I see the destruction in say...Indonesia, after the Tsunami

[HuckleB]

25. Actually...

Because it's New Orleans and not, say Miami or Tampa Bay, or even Los Angeles, I probably care much more than I would, if I held everything equal and without prejudice.

[Tyranny_R_US]

26. I doubt anyone but the President and his followers could turn a blind

after seeing video of the devastation.

[expatriot]

27. this is the most disgraceful thread I have ever seen on DU.

I wish I could say thank you for being frank with us on how you feel but I would have greatly preferred for you to have kept such sentiments very far from me. Do you need some fucking sensitivity training?

Start with this one.... follow these directions closely.

Go to http://www.cnn.com
Go to the green free video box....
Click on "More video picks"
then select the last one listed
"Heartache for hurricane victim" it's only a minute long. I cry just THINKING ABOUT IT.

Oh, by the way.... oh never mind.

[HEyHEY]

37. Hey, not meant in that way

this is an important question. How divided is North America.
You think I enjoy this kind of pain and suffering? Fuck no.
Look at some of the other responses, they reflect the same, unfortunate circumstances.... we are somehow divided.


By the by, I need no sensitivity trainging... as a journalist, I see a lot of terrible shit, and frankly have choked tears back on many a news cast.
My point is that for some strange reason, this doesn't hit as hard.. I don't know why. All the logic of why it is so tragic is there...but

[AgadorSparticus]

65. maybe you are still in shock.

I was just telling my husband tonight that NO has affected me more than say, the tsunami (and I cried over that too) because the images I see on TV have a personal effect on me. I've been to NO and I have some amazing memories of that place. I have memories of mardi gras, bourbon street, po boys, & begnettes (sp?). I have pictures of me in NO in different phases of my life. I just LOVE New Orleans. I love the dichotomy of NOLA. The old world intertwined with the new world. It was magical. And I feel deeply over this. ugh....

[melody]

72. I'm sorry, I think this is just horrible

How divided North America is? I'd suggest this is bigotry, not "division". I have numerous Canadian friends desperately trying to reach friends in that region.

If this had happened in Montreal or Vancouver, I'd be equally as distraught. If you just don't give a damn that this is "just" happening to Americans, then I'd suggest you seek the answers in your own soul, not from this board.

[JI7]

30. New Orleans is a very Democratic area

not that it should matter.

[Swamp Rat]

31. I lost every thing and my mother is missing, and my dogs are drowning.

Many friends lost... my beautiful Crescent City, the shining, ancient jewel in the South... the Carribean... the American Atlantis ... it was a birthplace of jazz, rock, blues, funk ... Mardi Gras ... creole food ... free-thinking, Dionysian artists ... French and Spanish-speaking Americans ... a unique blend of colors ... so much more I want to say but I can't type or think well while I am crying so much.

How do you feel now? Do you care, or is it too abstract for you?

[Bouncy Ball]

34. God.

Your post got me crying again.

No way, your mother? No. Just no. Oh God, Swamp Rat. My thoughts will be with your family.

[Lex]

36. There are no words to express my sympathy.

You and your circle of family and friends are in my thoughts and prayers.

I've been to New Orleans and it is a magical place.

[Pithlet]

38. Oh, God, Swamp Rat

I'm so sorry.

[Solly Mack]

40. ((((((((Swamp Rat)))))))))

Oh, Swamp Rat

[Bouncy Ball]

41. Seriously, are you ok?

Just tell me you are in a safe place.

[txindy]

48. I am so very sorry, Swamp Rat

:hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug: :hug:

[HEyHEY]

52. ..Edited for bad judgement

Trust me, I feel terrible that such things have happened to you. The point I'm trying to make is that the North and South have been so polarized that perhaps we don't care as much as we should.
My point is that it seems as though the powers that be have done such a good job at dividing the population that parts of the nation has become indifferent.

[Lars39]

57. You write a very poorly worded OP that is offensive and then chide

someone who is missing a relative there? You need to back off.

[HEyHEY]

64. I'm not attacking anyone

I'm trying to say that my OP was not to minimalize the losses of this poster. But to bring attention to that fact that left/right are so polarized these days that even a regular joe, who considers himself a liberal feels somehow distanced from this thing.
It's an obvious problem

[Lars39]

69. That is not what your OP stated.

[HEyHEY]

79. Sorry, I'll spell everything out from now on

I've revised ...read the OP again

[Lars39]

83. It's still offensive.

[melody]

don't back away

I think you wrote what you meant the first time. I think the fact others are calling you on it is the problem.

You have the right to express whatever you feel, but be prepared for others to take issue.

[HEyHEY]

117. Not at all

The event is terrible, I did a poor job of expressing what my post was about (The polarization of North America)
However, the kneejerk on this has been pathetic

[Bouncy Ball]

119. Oh come on HeyHey

people are dying right now, as I type this. The motherfucker excuse of a president we have right now is jacking off somewhere in a hotel bathroom in California and you DIDN'T expect such a reaction to your original post (before you edited it)?

Come on.

[HEyHEY]

126. I didn't, however, I overestimate humanity often

[Bouncy Ball]

129. Us Americans were obviously just too stupid to get your

totally enlightened point, I guess.

[melody]

134. yeah, you know us typical Americans

We're just ignurnt and stuff.

[HEyHEY]

187. It would appear so

[melody]

128. HeyHey, you said it yourself

>Eat it you fucking typical American.

Sorry, but I think you need to deal with your own issues of hatred toward us not what anyone else may/may not think.

[HEyHEY]

136. I don't hate Americans

Until they act like this

[Bouncy Ball]

140. LOL, until they act like what?

You posted here musing that you felt oddly disconnected and wondered if it wasn't the location that was causing you to "not care as much." Wondered if maybe it would bother you more if it happened in Seattle or something.

That was a gross thing to say and people said so.

And you accuse us of acting badly?

ooookay.

[melody]

150. HeyHey, aren't people in Seattle Americans?

So much for the intent of the original post.

[Name removed]

165. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bouncy Ball]

169. You're going too far.

Seriously, what the hell is wrong with you?

I'VE never bombed an innocent nation and I never voted for the fucker who did, so get the fuck off.

[melody]

173. And why don't you hide your humanity behind your nation?

Shall we discuss the myriad problems that Canada has? Or are you a nationalist Canadian who would suggest you have none?

I'm happy to embrace all of the problems in the US. We're aware of them. You should deal with your own.

I haven't bombed ANY nations anymore than you have, unless you've got a MIG in your garage or something.

[HEyHEY]

211. I've knocked my own nation just as much

[incapsulated]

186. lol

This has truly taken a turn for the bizarre.

So this is all about hating Americans, is it? I would think after all this time on DU, you would see the absurdity of hating us for the war of all people. Or you really are under the influence of some substance.

/out

[melody]

148. the problem is you only see us as Americans when we act like this

And you'd never notice a Canuck doing the same thing.

Lets face it - you hate Yanks. I mean, you have the right to say it, but own it and then be prepared to be disagreed with, if you state it outright.

[incapsulated]

152. Actually

I proud of Americans on this forum when "they act like this".

BTW, changing your OP was a cowardly cop-out. I normally like Canadians, until they act like this.

[HEyHEY]

208. It was a clarification

You think I like dead bodies? yeah, that was my intent...
Until theyu act like what? Critisizing the US? Don't worry, heard it before

[Bouncy Ball]

74. HeyHey

just read this post in this thread. The title line.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4521552#4521824

[melody]

84. I don't think the North and South have been

"Not taking his pain out on you", are you serious? Do you really dispense your concern based on the name of the damned real estate on which someone is born?

[nonconformist]

86. Clearly, this "issue" of yours is your own. nt

[incapsulated]

91. Excuse me???

"Don't take your pain out on me?" After you use this ongoing tragedy to "think out loud" about how you don't really "care" so much about people suffering because of where they happen to live, you have the nerve to object to someone here who's family is missing in this little abstract mind game of yours throwing your BS back in your face?

No, I don't see a disconnect based on geography or politics. I see you posting something incredibly insensitive and offensive and projecting that on others to justify it. Back it up or shut up. Real people are dying right now. Real people on this forum have family down there right now. This isn't the time or place for your personal observations on your own lack of empathy.

Jesus Fucking Christ, act like a human being. Some "deep thoughts" are better kept to yourself. Do you also make comments about how you don't care as much as you expected while attending funerals?

I can't believe I broke my self-imposed DU exile over this, but this takes the fucking cake.

[HEyHEY]

132. Done a damn thing for the peopel of Sudan lately?

People are dying right now...

And yes I'm taking a part of that down..

[melody]

143. yup, I have actually

So have a lot of Americans.

Is the pain in the Sudan somehow more important to you than what is happening in the south simply because the latter is happening to Americans?

There's also the good, old North American/Northern European tradition of helping one's neighbor before worrying about the world. (and therefore the neighbors of the Sudanese will help THEM...in the void, there are groups like AmeriReach, which is funding massive campaigns of outreach in South Sudan).

[Bouncy Ball]

147. Why is this turning into a who has a bigger dick contest?

People are dying.

I am not necessarily talking to you Melody. But this is ridiculous. Heyhey comes here saying he just doesn't care that much, wonders if it's because NO is in the south, then asks YOU what you've done for SUDAN lately?

Makes no fucking sense.

Leave it, I think he's drinking.

[melody]

174. yeah, I hear ya

I shouldn't have taken the bait.

Night, everyone (well, most of you) lol

[incapsulated]

145. Nice projection

You started this thread to tell the world how little you care, so let's make it about me and what I do or don't do, instead. (As if that means anything, I could make myself out to be Mother Teresa and it could all be a pack of lies, I don't play stupid "top this" games online)

[HEyHEY]

179. I started this thread

To talk about the division in the USA... not how little I care..fuck, are you dumb?

[Bouncy Ball]

181. No you didn't.

You heavily edited your OP later. In your original it was about your wondering if your feeling of disconnect, lack of caring was due to NO being in the south. Then you changed it later.

[HEyHEY]

I changed it because

I poorly expressed what I was trying to say.

Man...man

[Andromeda]

73. Here's a hug, Swamp Rat...

:hug: My thoughts and prayers are with you, your mother, friends and beloved pets. I can't imagine what you are going through.

Wish I could help. It's situations like this that make me feel so helpless.

This is deep and very personal and there's nothing abstract about that.

[melody]

77. hugs and hope

Is there anything any of us can do on this end? Words don't help a lot when you're faced with that kind of horror.

[nonconformist]

87. Swamp Rat, I'm so sorry. nt

[bliss_eternal]

89. ((((Swamp Rat)))))

Your mother (and you) are in my thoughts and prayers...

[AgadorSparticus]

96. oh swamprat, you're going to make me cry. hang in there!!!

you're in my prayers. :hug:

[ninkasi]

102. I am so very, very sorry

I can't even begin to imagine the pain and shock you must be feeling. I have never been to New Orleans, although I always wanted to go. It always seemed a mystical place, so much history, the brooding, moss draped oaks, some already there over a hundred years ago. The gracious homes, the courtyards, the whole place, magic, and different, like no other city in the United States.

You, brother, I only know from being here, but to think of not knowing where your mother is...and worrying sick about your dogs, and your friends...you are going through hell. I saw a man on t.v., who was trying to hold on to his wife, she said, "You can't hold me,take care of the kids and grandkids,", and she was lost to the waters. He stood there crying, saying that he had lost everything.

My husband and I have been sick all day about this.How can this country ever be the same, with one of it's most beautiful and unique cities wiped out this way? I have shed more tears these last few years than ever before in my life. I cried when I read about Falluja, and what is happening in Iraq, and I am crying now, thinking about all of you in Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama.

I pray for you all, I cry for you all. I wish I could help you share your burden, and carry it with me for awhile, to give you some rest.

[tsuki]

106. GG, where was your Mom? Is there something I can do to help?

Let me know.

I have been crying for close to three days. I am devastated by the destruction. I love NOLA. It is the only city in the US for me.

[Blue_In_AK]

107. Oh, dear, Swamp Rat...

I wish I could do or say something to console you. :cry:

[expatriate]

157. Swamp Rat, I'm late here

I had avoided looking at this thread, and wish I never had.

I am so, so sorry about your family and pets. Not knowing is agony. I'm in the same boat - my son, who is mentally ill and insulin dependent diabetic, is somewhere in New Orleans. I can get no information. I haven't slept in two days now.

My heart goes out to you, Swamp Rat. I hope that your mother and pets are okay. As for New Orleans, this city you and I love so much - I can't even let myself think about it any more. Because we know it well, we know what this disaster means.

[Swamp Rat]

209. .

:hug:

[MichaelHarris]

32. I was raised down there

and still have family on the Tx. La. border and I watch the news with a grain of salt. I don't mean to be insensitive but when you build casinos on barges and hotels next to them in a hurricane prone area well you've seen the news.

What bothers me most is the people who passed the laws putting casinos on barges, in the water, next to hotels didn't have the fore-site to see what would happen. They should really be asking themselves right now, "What is the difference between a casino on land and a casino on the shore?" I'll answer it for them, the casino on the land doesn't get caught up in a storm surge and wipe out half of the hotel.

So La. bowed to religious conservatives and put the casinos on a barge and now the barge sits in the lobby of the hotel anyway, where it should have been in the first place.

One other rant I have is the discussions here about looting. OK so the people need food, I get that, so why do I see people running around with clothing store racks of pants and big screen TVs? How long do you marinate a pair of slacks with sans-a-belt? Is a big screen Hitachi best cooked on a slow cooker? Did the looters think jewelry stores carried grape nuts?

I've been on the other side of looters and it's a place that will make you piss your pants. Thousands of people outside a store where you work while people bang on the door with a bicycle rack, these people weren't hungry, they just wanted shit. Before you give the looters sainthood you try standing a roof trying to flag down policemen who just pass you by. Better yet ask the next looter you see how is he or she going to cook that TIVO they just procured for their family.

It's not a black/white thing, it's not a red/blue thing, what it is is a have and have not thing. The lower class who needed those jobs the casino's offered will suffer while the money-men file claim after claim making millions. The poor will sit and wait for jobs that may never return. I have compassion for the people but not for the decision makers who decided "hey, lets make floating casinos in a hurricane area so the fundies will stay off our backs". As for looters, being poor doesn't give anyone the right to loot TVs with the excuse, "I need to feed my family".

Sorry for the long rant HeY but I was getting more pissed by the minute.

Michael

[madrchsod]

33. if you never been there there maybe a

disconnect but if you ever were there you`d understand what this all means. i went to new orleans with my folks in 58-9 when i was 10 or 11 and i still have vivid memories of the city and surrounding country. it`s the jewel of the south.

[HEyHEY]

39. Yeah, the disconnect is a good way to describe it

[melody]

97. I've never been to NO or Biloxi

But I am human. I think that's all you need to feel empathy/sympathy. Bigotry can dull the senses. I think when humans feel disdain for others, they tend to "disconnect" from them emotionally. Sad but true.

[Libby2]

43. No, not at all.

I care, I care very much.

[Rainscents]

53. Me too, I care very, very much!

I can't help but I hurt for everyone who lost love ones, friends, homes, etc.

[Stephist]

45. If Salt Lake City were hit by a catastrophe I would feel like shit over it

I don't care whether or not New Orleans, Mobile, or any of the towns that were effected are Liberal, this has been a horrible week regardless of how the victims choose to vote.

[txindy]

46. "Some?" No.

You.

Words fail me.

[HEyHEY]

58. You think I don't care?

Words fail me

[norml]

47. I remember saying after the last election that we should stop volunteering

and let the consequences of republican rule be felt, especially in the red states.

I don't recall ever reversing myself on that.

I know I'm feeling the consequences in my own red state.

This Winter there's going to be a lot of desperation to go around.

[Stephist]

54. The problem with that kind of thinking is

If a tornado rips through Nebraska, and they have before, and you and I needed emergency help, we would be left to die.

[Lex]

55. I can't let the republicans rule my humanity like that.

I *will* care about people, the world, tragedies, regardless of "red" or "blue" states or Democrats or Republicans.

[Endangered Specie]

49. well, if you look at those images, you might change...

maybe because they dont have hurricanes in Canada, but still... People all over the world cared alot about 9/11, and its quite possible this storm claimed as many lives. so perhaps because the destruction is not as sudden (several days) as it was on 9/11 (2 hours) that people have a harder time 'grasping' it? :shrug:

Having been through a small hurricane myself, and having been to New Orleans several times, its really quite saddening to think about it all :(

[wli]

50. NOLA is a very Democratic area, which is why it's getting screwed n/t

[earth mom]

51. You know what I think?

I think you need to SERIOUSLY re-think your thread. People are DEAD and this tragic event is being given the shaft by the U.S. government because so many of the people are poor. How would you feel if you had such misfortune rain down upon you and people didn't give a damn?! Maybe you are on the wrong website. :grr:

[Name removed]

56. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lars39]

60. It IS offensive.

[earth mom]

61. Nice language.

Did you think people would think your thread was cute or what? :eyes:

[HEyHEY]

67. yeah, I totally thought it was cute

[earth mom]

70. I said you needed to re think your post.

It sounded freeperish. Why post it? Don't you care about the DUers who have family there or who are from there?

[HEyHEY]

215. Do you care about you r country?

I care about anyone stuck in that situation and anyone stuck in similiar events worldwide...

[expatriot]

82. you put it that way, I'll tell you what I think too: you fuck off

I don't care how candid you were with your self-analytical bullshit. It would have been best for you not to say it all but what is so bad about it is that you actually THINK this and that it is even an ISSUE with you.

I am in double despair right now. As if the tragedy of New Orleans is not enough, I am faced with an ugly truth... that the demonization of aloof liberal elitists made by the rightwingers has some truth to it. It is attitudes like those expressed in the original post that will surely DAMN us to be a demonized minority for many years to come. This really makes me despair.

On September 11th, FreeRepublic.com had thread after thread expressing sentiments such as "We are all Manhattanners now" and "Say something good about liberals."


Now, after a major city lay in ruins we, on DU, are being candid about being disconnected to the tragedy because of it's geography, it's cultural demographic? WTF.

I am utterly ashamed. Even the more so because you WERE being candid.

[Bouncy Ball]

85. Don't say "we," he's ONE guy.

[expatriot]

115. I guess I am accepting a sort of group association thing.

DU is a community and therefore we are known as a collective singular.

[Name removed]

93. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Bouncy Ball]

95. Then go find the people who were making jokes about the

tsunami and smack them around a bit. Certainly they deserve it.

I doubt it was anyone on this thread, so what's up with your insults?

[JI7]

105. the majority of the posts were sympathetic and critical of American govt

specifically the Bush administration for not doing enough to help the victims.

there were posts on how to help the victims and where to send donations just as there are now.

[expatriot]

114. Did I ever ONCE say an American life is worth more than any other life?

If you knew my politics... and since this thread is not exactly part of Dean's 50 state strategy to begin with I will tell you.... I am fucking radical as hell at heart. I am anti-nationalist to the bone. A life is a life is a life no matter where their mother lived when they were birthed and I NEVER said anything to hint I thought otherwise.

YOU, however, said you felt that you'd care MORE if it was in Seattle or in Indonesia than in New Orleans. So how can you preach about how an American life is worth the same as an Indonesian life and then go onto say that you would be more affected if it were Seattle rather than New Orleans?

So, what you're saying is that while you are enlightened enough to think past the global north-south divide, your mind can't get over the U.S. north/south divide? T

[melody]

121. Bigotry exposed for what it is

>Eat it you fucking typical American.

That's the real problem here - you don't CARE AT ALL because it's American blood being spilled. I mean, just own it, admit it. I'd have less problem with you if you did.

Americans gave millions after the tsunami - we sent tons of rescue help. I'm sorry, I think this thread is a real sign of the bigotry exhibited toward American *people* which is quite apart from the very real issues of what our government does...primarily to US.

You're the one who doesn't care about someone because of their nationality - not the reverse.

[HEyHEY]

141. turn it around..go ahead

[earth mom]

98. Agreed-I too thought DUers were better than that....

[bling bling]

59. OMFG.

Just like Bush embarrasses me for America, posts like this embarrass me for DU.

[Jersey Devil]

62. I think you are misinterpreting HeyHey's post

He didn't say we shouldn't care. He was just commenting on why some may be disconnected from what is happening down there.

[earth mom]

68. Tell that to Swamp Rat.

I am NOT the only one to have this kind of reaction. I have never been to the N.O. or to the South-But I CARE. If the OP can't take the heat, he shouldn't have posted something so insensitive.

p.s. Swamp Rat-Sending you and your family good thoughts and prayers.

[Jersey Devil]

76. I don't see it that way

I thought his post was bemoaning the fact that so many people seem to be indifferent towards this tragedy, not encouraging such thoughts.

I thought he was saying we ought to care more.

[melody]

103. HeyHey said he/she "didn't care as much"

The poster said that him/herself in the original post.

[Jersey Devil]

112. yes, right, re-read it, but he/she also seemed to be

voicing guilt about it so I did not think the post was intended to be inflamatory or insensitive. But with the emotional nature of what has happened I can understand others reacting that way.

[melody]

125. sorry, he/she revealed himself in THIS post

When he said - and I quote -

>Eat it you fucking typical American.

[Jersey Devil]

137. Didn't see that one

Thanks.

[HEyHEY]

195. Oh, guess I'm an "enemy of the state"now

For pointing out Americans..not usually DUers, but Americans...couldn't care less about the rest of the world.

[Bouncy Ball]

197. A lot of us do care about the rest of the world.

And we aren't all selfish and shit.

But hey send me whatever you're having tonight. Send it first class shipment ok? For free. To me. LOL! Send a lot! LOL!

[expatriot]

92. First of all, the idea people who are awarecould be "disconnected"

going on is REPULSIVE!

Secondly, the idea that a DUer (progressives) are disconnected because perhaps New Orleans is in the "south" is doubly repulsive.

Thirdly, the idea that a DUer with such "disconnect" feels that they are not taking a nasty ass shit on the front porch of DU by entertaining such a discussion is TRIPLE repulsive.

[Behind the Aegis]

100. I agree.

With all the "South-bashing" that goes on here, it is a VERY sobering wake-up for some. It shouldn't matter if it is this disaster, an earthquake in San Fran, a tsunami in Japan, a famine in Dafur, there is always a human side to the story. There is also usually a disconnect. It shouldn't happen with progressives, but it does, as we are just as human.

We have one poster who has lost his home and G-d knows what else. He is not alone. Should it matter he is one of us? No. His pain and suffering is just as real as any other. All of their pains should be shared by us! All of our prayers, efforts, money, and love should know NO bounds in the wake of this tragedy!

Swamp Rat...may your mother be found safe and you see one another SOON! With no offense intended, may Artemis guide your dogs to safety!

[nonconformist]

183. He's the only one who appears to feel such "disconnect" nt

[Lex]

71. When you start to feel a disconnect with other people's suffering

I'd say that it is a sign that something is going wrong. It's a sign of Post Tramatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) or depression.

I say that in all seriousness.

[HEyHEY]

75. Okay, I made a revision

To further explain my point and clarify any misunderstandings.

[Change has come]

78. Bottom Line...This is an American Tragedy

Red and blue are simply colors. So is black and white. People are dying as we type. This isn't only New Orleans. This is America. This is North America. I think we ALL care.

[Bouncy Ball]

80. Stealing from Lex here---

don't let the repukes rob you of your humanity. I'll be damned if they're gonna take mine.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

81. I cried after the Chernobyl disaster

I cried when people died in OK after the bombing

I cried when people died in NY after the towers fell.

I cried when people died in the tsunami.

I've cried for people hit by this hurricane.

This just names a few. It seems my grief knows no borders.

[tsuki]

88. NOLA is in the south only because of geography. It is my favorite

city. Cosmopolitian. I love the people, the smells, the variety of life found there.

Last trip, son and I were on the balcony watching the street. Up the way, a doorman was letting musicians into a court. We caught his eye and asked what was going on. A wedding. Great, we yell. Then, in a very natural way, he gives us a courtly bow. We formally nodded our heads. Then he smiled and waved. We waved back.

This is NOLA. Where old world courtesy meets new world informality. I see people here that try to buy that ambiance with decorators, architects and courtyard designers. They just don't get it.

NOLA is very blue. The police at the demonstrations are in tune to our message. The cars honk. The workers flash peace symbols. Only the visiting Freepers give us grief.

Son said that the Jazz Funeral for Democracy was the most intense thing that he has ever done. It was, intense. It was fun. It was a different way of looking at things.

I love NOLA. I am at home there.

[IntravenousDemilo]

218. I was in NO exactly once, for one muggy August day when I was 21, and

that one day is one of my most vivid memories. It was 25 years ago and I recall almost everywhere I went and everything I did with perfect clarity, except for later on in the night and early morning, which is a bit blurrier. I think it was the best time I've ever had.

[donheld]

90. Smack!

:spank: snap out of it Heyhey

[Lilith Velkor]

94. No, I think a lot of people are just stunned.

[AgadorSparticus]

111. yep, i think some people are in shock. nt

[Blue_In_AK]

99. I will admit my own prejudice here against Florida...

For some reason, this disaster has hit me 10 times harder than any and all of the hurricanes that have hit Florida over the past few years, even thought I know they were terrible and caused much suffering. Maybe it's just the flooding and the sheer enormity of the devastation in Louisiana and Mississippi -- and the fact that so many of these people were poor to begin with -- that has me feeling so hopeless about this, but I feel crushed by it all -- even way up here in Alaska.

[lwin]

101. Get off your politically correct high horses and consider

The larger question that the OP is posing. We are an extremely divided/polarized nation, and indeed world, at this point.

I love NO. I used to have family in Gulfport. I think the situation is awful.

But you know what, NO aside, which I know to be a very blue city, I honestly thought to myself, just for a brief second about Mississippi...fuck 'em, let them call on their red state buddies and their beloved vacationing chimperor for help and dollars to bail them out.

Does that make me an evil person for having that private thought, even for just a moment? Maybe. Is it indicative of a bigger picture, about how polarizing this administration has been, that such a thought would even enter my mind? Yes.

So rather than go ballistic on a valid, if uncomfortable question posed by the OP, why don't some of you you step off and give it some thought?

[Lars39]

108. .

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=4521552&mesg_id=4521988

[JVS]

109. Hear hear! The OP makes people uncomfortable because it forces...

us to remember our sentiments towards Southerners that we voiced after last November's defeat.

[Bouncy Ball]

110. You're human.

But I hope your very next private thought was about the regular, real people who have been devastated. Regular real people who maybe don't vote at all. Children, the elderly, animals. The dead have no politics.

I just hope your next thought was one of humanity. I can understand negative private thoughts. I think everyone has them. But I try to overcome them and remember my humanity, you know?

[melody]

I NEVER thought that, not for a moment

I'm on no high horse, I'm just incensed by that kind of hard-heartedness - if HeyHey can express that he "doesn't care as much", why are you attacking others for disagreeing?

The people aren't hurting as a group, they are suffering and dying individually. This isn't agony being experienced by a region, but by individuals in their own private worlds.

[lwin]

154. I'm not attacking others for disagreeing

I was asking them to step off and consider the larger question. I guess you're just fucking superior to everyone else on the planet, and never had a negative or inappropriate thought in your life. Good for you, your moral highness.

[incapsulated]

113. Oh, give me a break

What you thought for a split second in your private thoughts is one thing, starting a thread about such thoughts while people are still dying is another.

If anyone here posted something like this during 9/11 because I have the misfortune of living in New York which they don't feel "connected" to, I would tear their fucking heads off. I'm not known for my PC attitude, either.

[hayu_lol]

131. Human tragedy is human tragedy...

and this is a major tragedy. No matter where this sort of thing takes place...you have to attempt to put yourself in the shoes of people who a week ago were living their lives in a normal manner...and now have nothing left...nothing.

Lived in Gulfport for a couple of years between 58 and 60...stationed at Keesler. Gulfport and Biloxi are destroyed. Have friends down there but no contact. Have other friends in NO...same thing.

Just think of having to try to go someplace other than home with nothing but the clothes on your back...your kids along with you...no job, no future in sight. Doesn't matter where this happens.

Several major posters here on DU live down there...havent heard from many of them either here on the boards.

Have to admit, I am surprised at some of the posts on this thread...looks like a similar one over at FR.

For those who have gotten a bit nasty here, try to imagine what it feels like for the GIs from the region who are in Iraq. Particularly those in the Nat'l Guard.

What an ugly face some of us show the world when others are virtually beaten to death by nature.

[expatriot]

133. jesus christ, we are fucking doomed.

Does that make me an evil person for having that private thought, even for just a moment? Maybe. Is it indicative of a bigger picture, about how polarizing this administration has been, that such a thought would even enter my mind? Yes.

First of all, yes, I guess I am just in utter shock that such a private thought could be possible.


I need to go to bed. I need to just stop.

[Bouncy Ball]

135. Oh people have all kinds of nasty private thoughts.

Tons of people do. That's fairly normal, actually.

It's acting on those thoughts, spelling them out or speaking them in public, where it gets a bit sticky.

Normally we have this "should I say this or should I not?" thing in our head and it stops most of us from saying what we shouldn't.

[Lars39]

151. What's...

semi-amusing in a :banghead: kind of way is that he thinks we don't remember the last flam-war he started. It's usually about this time of night, when there's not always a mod to be had. Posts crap, gets all indignant when folks call him on it.

[Bouncy Ball]

153. I've been on hiatus.

Didn't see it...lol, THIS thread broke my hiatus. Going back on it after I go to bed in a bit.

[Bouncy Ball]

104. Ok benefit of the doubt:

you are just stunned, in shock, or very tired. It happens, certainly.

OR this thread was some sort of weird punishment for some people you say were posting joke threads about the tsunami a while back, as you said in a post above?

I'll give you the benefit of the doubt, though. You are in shock. Or something. We can't feel shit every single second, we'd go crazy.

Maybe rest a bit.
Ok?

[Bouncy Ball]

116. Your original post said you wondered if you

would feel more if it happened in Seattle or something.

Well.

Sorry this didn't happen to Seattle so you could feel more.

:sarcasm:

[Kipepeo]

118. About this part

"I don't know if we are as concerned as something in Africa because we're so used to being told the other side is not like us."

Do you mean we are less concerned with this tragedy than with unnamed crises in any African country? I think we are MUCH more concerned than we are for situations in any country in Africa. How can you say otherwise? When has the US news played nonstop coverage on any crisis or humanitarian situation in Africa? Not that we shouldn't be concerned with this tragedy - of course not - but I think it's absurd to say we are less than concerned than with crises in Africa. Which ones exactly?

Take DU as an indication...these threads sink like stones:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1726156
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1735121
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=1736161

[HEyHEY]

122. Well, must be where I'm coming from

I'm up in the Great White North and all.

[Kipepeo]

138. Ah - ok

sorry to assume you were in the US reading and watching our "news."

[Qanisqineq]

120. No

In some ways it makes it harder to relate having never been to NO but I don't care any less. What sickens me is the posters saying "but New Orleans is a liberal city". Who the fuck cares if it is liberal or conservative? IMO, that's like the freepers saying they don't care about what is happening to Iraqis because they are Muslim, not Christians. Again this is my opinion, but IMO it doesn't make you any better than freepers if you say you don't care what happens to a city/state because it is "red".

But then I am really fucking sick of the whole "red state vs. blue state" thing. :puke:

[HEyHEY]

124. This poster got it too

So liek ,what's that...three people who've gotten my point?

[Bouncy Ball]

127. They're also reading your new and improved post.

It must be pointed out, a lot of the first responses to this thread were in response to your original post, before editing.

But then I'm just another typical fucking American. Nevermind me.

[melody]

144. Well said n/t

[Kipepeo]

207. I didn't see the

'typical fuckin american' post before it was deleted - but in fairness if it was after the stuff posted about Sudan I can understand the assumption he might have been making.

I agree that it's offbase to call out a poster you don't know and assume that shit about them, but as for America the country in general - I concur and I am from the US, not Canada.

We (as a nation - meaning our media and government and therefore our volunteer drives as well) respond to crises in the US with greater passion and more help than to hunger in Ethiopia or slavery in Sudan, for example. I don't see so many people here riled up about that - in fact if I asked most people at my work or people I passed in restaurants or on the street they wouldn't know shit about any news from Africa (not that they know much more about Hur. Katrina - but at least they know some b/c it's on the news in our country nonstop) - and I don't usually either unless I seek it out or run across a sinking post here at DU.

I don't think it's bad form to point this out when a US crisis emerges b/c perhaps it can draw attention to similar neglected crises elsewhere as well - just like I didn't think it was inappropriate to point out the lack of coverage on cases like those of Tamika Huston when Natalee Holloway's disappearance made constant news coverage.

my 2 cents - not necessarily directed at your post, but to this thread in general

[melody]

130. oh, we got your point

You're just backing away from it now.

[HEyHEY]

146. Ever seen a dead body?

Let alone, many of them? How about children crying ten feet from their parent's mangled corpse?
Think I would wish that upon anyone, let alone the people in the US?
My OP was poorly expressed, that's all there is to it.

[Bouncy Ball]

149. There you go, the HeyHey I know!

Whew, I knew you were in there somewhere.

Glad to see you!

[melody]

155. yes, I have, have you? If not, come to New Orleans!

Typical anti-American bigot accusing *US* of bigotry.

[HEyHEY]

156. Yeah, I fucking have..more times than I'd of liked to

"anti-american"

More like ANTI-STUPIDTY...we all know who you are now... anyone who suggest there may be an issue with US solidarity becomes anti-american... go watcht the O'Reilly factor, facist fuck

[Bouncy Ball]

160. Whoa.

HeyHey. Stop. Sleep it off or something. But stop.

[melody]

164. oh, please

Trying to bend the argument away from your obvious bias by accusing me of being a fascist fuck.

I'm solidly pro-American - which is why I despise George Bush and the whole right wing Bush crime family about which I've written for twenty years. I apologize in no way for my love of my country or its people. Your problem with it is your problem.

[HEyHEY]

171. For just a split second...let's pretend I'm anti-American

Why shouldn't I be?
The nation that has killed millions for profit, fucked my nation over and turned its back on a signed agreement, paraded around the world bullying people....
phhh..
The funny thing is on 911 I still cried and felt proud to see Canadian support of the USA>.

[JI7]

196. you are attacking people on this board

the people who love this country that we formed because we hate what people like Bush are doing to our country. we speak out against what they do all the time.

and what you say reminds me of the right wingers spewing shit about how they hate muslims because of 9/11. and how we had to attack iraq because "they" (meaning muslims) attacked us on 9/11.

[HEyHEY]

203. Buddy calling me "anti-american" should remind you of right wingers

[enigmatic]

163. He's not an anti-american

I'm a US citizen living in Canada; he's a friend of mine. He's never expressed any hatred for me in the least.

Both of you really need to calm down. Please. This is a bad night; this isn't helping.

[Bouncy Ball]

172. Well he just told me upthread to "go bomb an innocent nation"

as if I had anything to do with that.

Do you have his phone number? Maybe you can get him to stop drinking tonight? Get off the computer at least?

[enigmatic]

178. The thread needs to be locked

Everybody is getting out of hand here.

[Bouncy Ball]

180. Agreed.

I was trying to calm things down (read through the thread). Humanize stuff, lighten it up a bit.

It didn't work.

With that, I'm out of here.

Have a good night.

[expatriot]

142. I "get:" your point. I 'm just saddened by it. Saddened it is an issue. nt

[HEyHEY]

159. And it's ashame it is an issue n/t

[enigmatic]

123. I understand what you're trying to say

We had a poster start a thread last night here saying that they wanted to donate money to the cleanup, but they wanted to make sure it went to only "Democrats" or Democratic-based charities. That was a disgraceful thread, and one that a bunch of people rightly called foul on.

But I also know that some posters here have basically said "so what? Iraqis are dying/being killed in Iraq" when stories of soldiers families grieve for them here. And on FR the same thing goes on; doling out compassion by who voted for who, where they live, and if they are disposable or not.

Sometimes people's compassion only goes as far as their political ideology; we've seen that tonight here, too. To a degree, yeah, some have become desensitized in the abstract of disasters that either don't directly affect them or is incompatible w/ their political ideals.

We're all flawed human beings; every last one of us. But few, if any wants to admit it.

This is a disaster of historical proportions going on down NOLA and The Gulf Coast, one that won't be known fully for years. Many people's lives have been destroyed or lost, too many to count. People right here on DU are experiencing it first hand, and my heart goes out to them; I'm donating all I can to help them, though I know it's just a pittance.

But I know what you mean, because I've seen it just about everytime a disaster occurs. And like I saud, it knows no political ideology.

[melody]

162. imho

It's especially important for us to be most conscious of bias against "unpopular" people - be that an Iraqi/Iranian who lives in the US or one of us mere ignurnt Americans anywhere in the world. Some people need to feel superior to others, so they seek out external victims for their malice. That's what prejudice feeds off.

It's much easier for a problem with one Israeli/Arab person, for instance, to bloom into anti-Semitism. More important, imo, to call it on the carpet as soon as it happens.

We're all human, but I think keeping an eye on our own prejudices is very important. (Thank you former Justice Marshall for the poorly paraphrased quote)

[Behind the Aegis]

139. I understand what you are saying.

I can also see how some are not understanding. If a similar disaster had taken place in Idaho, for instance, I wouldn't 'care less,' I just wouldn't be as 'connected.' Also, considering the amount of Southern bashing that goes on, I was thinking something similar. Personally, I don't care if the state is 'red' or 'blue' because real people live there. I don't care who gets my money, as long as it helps.

So maybe it's not that you "care less," but rather aren't as connected.

[Qanisqineq]

158. that's the way I feel

less connected. I didn't quite know how to describe it but you did. Having lived in North Dakota when the 1997 flood happened, I feel connected in that way (though not nearly as many people were affected nor was it as bad), but it seems very distant because the south is not my "home". Just like I would feel even less connected if it were on the other side of the world. Doesn't mean I care less, it just doesn't seem as... REAL.

[Behind the Aegis]

168. Human response

What you are saying is very human and real. It was like the OR senator who was against the 'mental health bill' until his son killed himself. The ultimate for us, as humans, is to go beyond sympathy and into empathy. It is hard to feel the pain of others, when we have no compass in which to base those feelings. It doesn't mean that the person is any less shocked or horrified, but the emotional connectedness doesn't exist.

[Swamp Rat]

166. peace

[tsuki]

167. I understand what you are saying HEyHEY. After all the F*** the

Red South posts over the last few months, to an outlander, it might be seem that it would not matter.

Americans are a very simplistic people who happen to be complex. We bond, we split, we agree, we disagree. It is like a bad marriage that tragedy brings together.

As an outlander looking in, most cannot understand the volatility of Americans. Mouth before reason. Put two Americans in a room and you will have three separate political opinions, at minimum.

But tragedy bonds most of us. I supported Farm Aid, even though I know that they vote Red. I support NOLA and it's blue. Where people hurt, I don't care if they are Red or Blue.

But I see it changing. Fox News made a broadcast today saying that only 1/3 of the LA National Guard was in Iraq. Where were the other 2/3's. As I understand it, they are in reserve for military missions and the governor cannot call for them.

If this is true, the yang-yang of the Fox Network is changing the landscape of America. The old values may not hold true.

As a Canadian, understand. You have given Fox News a foothold in your country. You had best watch them, or they will Rupertize the Canadian Political landscape.

[HEyHEY]

175. The conservative party

has already begun trying to polarize this nation...gay Marraige gave them an perfect chance

[tsuki]

184. You must fight Fox News. That is the big one. Sound the alarm

before it is too late. They are a bunch of foreign agents trying to control Canada.

[K8-EEE]

170. This Is The First Time I've Ever Alerted On A Thread

But I think it's flame-bait....how on earth can you not care, in any context, whether this happened north, south, or on another continent or planet. The pictures reduce me to tears, and I'm a lifelong CA girl who has never even been there.

New Orleans was a cultural jewel for America and the world, it may never be the same, and we have to open our hearts to half a million United States refugees in their own country. This is one of the most devestating things I've ever seen in my life!!

[HEyHEY]

176. Yeah, heaven forbid we address the problem of a polarized USA

Or anything of importance

[Bouncy Ball]

177. Why the hell is it still here?

It's disgusting and he's all over the map. First it's "maybe if it happened to Seattle I'd care more" then it's "you're all American fucks" then it's "what have we done for Sudan lately" then we're being told that we individually bombed an innocent country.

Um, ok.

Weirdness. And just gross.

[HEyHEY]

182. DO YOU NOT FUCING GET THE MESSAGE?

If you've seen the other jabs, it's in self-defence... to people to dumb to get the point I'm making..


Once again... the point is: NORTH AMERICA HAS BECOME DIVIDED TO THE POINT WHERE A GUY IN NORTHWESTERN CANADA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND WHY HE ISN'T COMPLETELY IN GRIEF OVER WHAT'S HAPPENED WHEN HE FEELS HE SHOULD BE.

[Bouncy Ball]

185. WHY DO YOU ALLOW THEM TO DO THAT TO YOU?

Shit, I'm living right here in the thick of it, so to speak. Texas. Suburbs, no less.

But I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to allow some sick twisted fascist excuse of a political party take AWAY MY SENSE OF HUMANITY AND CARING ABOUT OTHERS.

I GET IT. What I don't get is why you've allowed that to happen. They can't do this to you unless you let them.

Try seeing PEOPLE again instead of red and blue.

[HEyHEY]

189. BECAUSE IT NEVER OCCURED TO ME THIS WAS A

NORTH AMERICAN PROBLEM UNTIL NOW....

I USED TO THINK IT WAS JUST A US ONE>>>BUT IT IS NOT..


DO YOU LIKE DOUGHNUTS?

[Bouncy Ball]

192. LOL, why yes I do, but I try to stay away from them.

Why? Got any?

Ok so your fellow Canadians also feel a sense of disconnect because it's a "red state" this is happening to? (states, plural, that is)

So tell them, too. Don't let those fuckers rob you of your sense of humanity.

It might be all we have left.

[Qanisqineq]

205. "try seeing PEOPLE instead of red and blue"

God, I wish others would listen to that. My biggest pet peeve is the constant barrage of "red state vs. blue state" threads. I've lived in both red and blue states and hate the animosity toward "red states". I swear people don't realize or choose to ignore the fact that a state may be blue by only 5 percentage points or red by 5 percentage points. Even if it is greater than that, there are some pretty blue states that have republican senators or governors or whatever. And then there are some really red states that have both senators and the one representative are democrats.

Honestly, there are times when I am having a bad day and can't help but think of these blue staters as stuck up jackasses when I read those threads.

[lwin]

206. Bouncy, I can't speak for Hey

But I can tell you where I'm coming from. I'm in an ultra red, ultra conservative part of California. (I know, hard to believe, but the areas do exist). The Dems/Liberals here are surrounded by very well funded, hateful, powerful Freepers. We fight the good fight here, day in and day out. We get no help from the State Party, because our county is considered a "lost cause".

I get hate email for my LTE, I had my car keyed and windshield broken during the last election cycle because of my Kerry/Edwards bumper stickers, and hate notes left on my car. We're surrounded by it here, and then in November, despite busting our asses, and California acting as the ATM for the DNC, see the blissful South dancing a jig over re-electing that psychopath Bush.

Do we let it get us down 99% of the time? No. Do I know that in Texas you are probably living a bigger nightmare than me? Yes. Does what happened in NO and the tsunami transcend all that? Yes. But all I was admitting, and saying that Hey was probably feeling, was the result of the absolute frustratition of watching a country self destruct over the past 4 1/2 years, and promote a culture of hate. Am I ashamed of that split second where I thought "fuck 'em"? You bet I am. Terribly. But I think that maybe people admitting it and then jumping back into the fight to defeat the very thing that fuels it, is a good thing.

Or maybe I'm just a nutty Californian who needs to STFU and sign off.

[Bouncy Ball]

210. You said it right here:

"...was the result of the absolute frustratition of watching a country self destruct over the past 4 1/2 years, and promote a culture of hate."

The thing is, it's really hard to overcome that, but we must. What else are we to do?

I hear you, and you wrote a good post. I think we all have thoughts that are not so...seemly from time to time. The point is you WERE ashamed of that thought and your next thought was of PEOPLE who were dying, not politics.

I'm trying to get HeyHey to see that we don't have to let that twisted party take away our humanity. Don't let them do that.

[JI7]

190. i'm from California and i am totally in grief over what has happened

many of us on here who feel horrible are outside of the south. so i don't really get what you are saying.

[HEyHEY]

193. I refuse to answer any post that isn't in all caps!

[Bouncy Ball]

194. LOL! LIKE MINE!

[HEyHEY]

199. YES, BUT TECHNICALLY YOU NEED A QUESTION MARK THERE

[Bouncy Ball]

200. NO I WAS TELLING HIM LIKE MINE!!!

So. Ever going to get it back from them?

[K8-EEE]

202. Attention Whoring IMO

Makes no sense. Answer: Yes the US is polarized, no it doesn't make me "care less" I think this person is the only one in that club. Something wrong there.

[HEyHEY]

213. If I want attention I'llpost about my woman problems in the lounge, okay?

[Lecky]

188. I alerted it as well n/t

[HEyHEY]

191. Yeah, stifle the debate

Keep your nation in denial, and prevent them from discussing the issues

[K8-EEE]

204. What "debate?"

Polarization of the US is something that is discussed here all the time -- you're just trying to be provocative here and have said a lot of things that seem to me utterly heartless.

[HEyHEY]

212. The debate that North America has become so divided

that people, who are basically the same, and live 4,000 miles apart can't connect due to politics

[Lecky]

216. Who the hell are you speaking for?

Sure this country has its fair share of hate-filled idiots (from both sides of the fence) who have issues with empathy in general, but for the most part people are not thinking about PETTY POLITICS when a tragedy strikes.

There are emotionally-stunted people all over the world, it's not just an American problem.

[devilgrrl]

198. NOLA is my favorite city in the USA. How can you say such a thing?

What a bummer of a thread. :evilfrown:

[Libby2]

214. I've never been there

and I wanted to go very badly.
I'm heartbroken for many reasons, that is one of them.

[IntravenousDemilo]

201. Dunno, I think you may get that impression because compared with

last winter's tsunami that hit with almost no warning, or something even more sudden, like 9-11, Katrina and her devastation unfolded in relative slow motion, over a number of days. We could see the hurricane coming, we could chart her progress -- some were even able to escape -- so there was no sudden WHAM! to leave an indelible image or feeling. I sure hope (and certainly expect) there'll be nowhere near the loss of life there was around the Indian Ocean.

But most of us can only watch in mounting horror as the full accounting of the devastation is revealed. And that's a whole different kind of feeling, but just as powerful as a WHAM! So you may feel different in a couple of days. Let us know.

[Frederik]

217. "Some"?

Why say "some" when you are clearly referring to yourself? Allow me to rephrase the title of your post:

The fact New Orleans is in the South has caused me not to care.

That is what you wanted to share, wasn't it?

But oh, the reason is of course that "we're so used to being told the other side is not like us". Used to being told? By whom? What you clearly mean here is "the other side is not like me", thus you don't have an initial "MY GOD" reaction.

I'm left utterly mystified about why you felt the need to share this at this moment. I detect a certain amount of hate both in your original post and in some of your replies. If you hate Americans, and Southerners in particular, then that's your right (as well as your problem), but I don't know if this was the right time and place to express it.

[Swamp Rat]

219. Ich glaube sehr taub aber soviel Schmerz gleichzeitig.

Ich kann nicht die Unempfindlichkeit dieses Geschöpfs verstehen. :cry:

[Frederik]

224. Mein Deutsch ist nicht so gut mehr

aber ich glaube ich verstehe. Denke nicht an diesen Arscloch das diesen Post geschrieben hat.

I'm so sorry to hear about the situation you're in. I can't even imagine how it is to watch the news from NO and not hearing from your loved ones. Hang in there, Swamp Rat, and hold on to hope. I'm looking forward to more of your excellent artistic commentary on our current predicaments, after this is over.

[darkism]

220. Of course not.

No matter how much anyone rails against the South, once they set foot in NOLA they can't help but fall in love. For example, me.

When this is all over and cleaned up (and it WILL BE, I guarantee it - no matter how hopeless and grim the situation seems now), I fully intend on heading back.

[Swamp Rat]

221. .

:hug:

[darkism]

222. Awww Swamp Rat, I'll keep you in my thoughts!

Keep the faith, friend; whatever that faith may be.

:hug::hug::hug::hug::grouphug:

[ngGale]

223. I've cried all day and never been to NO...

always wanted to go, I love the Blues. This has hit me about as bad as 9/11 because this time, I know my own government cut it's losses and shafted our people. I'm afraid it's only the beginning...as our security has been breached. Our homeland is not secure, we can't even protect ourselves from a natural disaster. And, as soon as the MSM picked up 'looting' it turned into a racial event. It's also too, as if it's okay if only the poor are effected. I have a lot of emotion's going at the same time. On top of all this sadness, pain and confusion - our leader is off 'eating cake.':grr: :mad:
Today America needs help.:cry:

[southlandshari]

225. Locking

While it is understood that the OP may be a genuine feeling held by some here, the timing and the content of the message is inflammatory and divisive. The thread has been overtaken by flamewars and does not appear to be improving. Emotions are raw, folks. Locking based on this DU Rule:

"Inflammatory or Flame-Bait Discussion Topics

Do not post "flame bait" discussion topics. While there is no clear line regarding what constitutes flame bait, the moderators have the authority to shut down threads which they consider too rhetorically hot, too divisive, too extreme, or too inflammatory. Please use good judgment when starting threads; inflammatory rhetoric does not normally lead to productive discussion."

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southlandshari
DU Moderator