Sunday, September 04, 2005
Racism
It really is too bad that accusations of racism had to rear its ugly head in the aftermath of Katrina's devastation. Unfortunately the media concentration was mainy in the heavily populated downtown areas of New Orleans which
is dominated by poor African Americans where the governments initially inept response was most obvious. In the more rural areas where whites predominated, the situation was just as bad. That is'nt to say there were no incidents of racist episodes, but I don't really believe there was any intentional acts of neglect aimed at any specific
group. It was a question of equal opportunity failure of prompt government response. I'll bet a lot of Americans were surprised to learn how many of our fellow citizens
live in such poverty in the land of milk and honey. They appeared to emerge like ants from every nook and cranny of the city. Andrew Young, when asked by a reporter if he thought that African Americans were targets of neglect in receiving aid, he pointed out the fact that whites in outlying areas of New Orleans and other affected areas did'nt seem to fare much better. I believe it would be better for all concerned to withhold too much finger pointing until the smoke clears and all the facts are in. The poor victims of this tragic event would be better served with positive reforms
and attitude changes than endless rounds of bitter recriminations.
George Morin
Auburn
is dominated by poor African Americans where the governments initially inept response was most obvious. In the more rural areas where whites predominated, the situation was just as bad. That is'nt to say there were no incidents of racist episodes, but I don't really believe there was any intentional acts of neglect aimed at any specific
group. It was a question of equal opportunity failure of prompt government response. I'll bet a lot of Americans were surprised to learn how many of our fellow citizens
live in such poverty in the land of milk and honey. They appeared to emerge like ants from every nook and cranny of the city. Andrew Young, when asked by a reporter if he thought that African Americans were targets of neglect in receiving aid, he pointed out the fact that whites in outlying areas of New Orleans and other affected areas did'nt seem to fare much better. I believe it would be better for all concerned to withhold too much finger pointing until the smoke clears and all the facts are in. The poor victims of this tragic event would be better served with positive reforms
and attitude changes than endless rounds of bitter recriminations.
George Morin
Auburn
