...but where is the "it's their own fault" rhetoric

...but where is the "it's their own fault" rhetoric


Oh...I'm sure it will come!  Brisbane has 4 or 5 floods of this magnitude (or greater) since 1890.  After the 1974 flood (which was larger than this present flood) they built Wivenhoe Dam. That was 37 years ago...and we were told that dam would stop this ever happening again. Well...now we know better!

The 1974 floods occurred because it rained heavily for 3 straight weeks. This time it rained for only half that time (and not as heavily). The water came from many hundreds of miles inland where it had rained very heavily. We had the surreal situation of our river flooding while we had blue skies and sunny days.

But...after the cleanup ... I'm sure that people will start looking at the State government and asking why measures are not put in place upriver to avoid this reoccurring in the future. And they are fair questions too.  Hey...we are only now coming into our cyclone/hurricane season. It could occur again next month!

It is not an option to leave those affected areas uninhabited. They are prime real estate (on a good day)...and the Brisbane river winds through the heart of this city...

As with any attempt to control mother nature, you lose, just look at southern cal and wild fires

The people in both cities were victims of government incompetence, but it didn't take more than a day or two before the howls of derision for the people of New Orleans.  There are many who still blame them for staying through the hurricane even though the hurricane had been well over.  It wasn't the hurricane, it was the breaking of the levees that was responsible for the floods.  It seems the same for the people of Queensland. 

The people in both cities were victims of government incompetence, but it didn't take more than a day or two before the howls of derision for the people of New Orleans.  There are many who still blame them for staying through the hurricane even though the hurricane had been well over.  It wasn't the hurricane, it was the breaking of the levees that was responsible for the floods.  It seems the same for the people of Queensland. 


The biggest difference would be that the river flood drained away much more quickly than the trapped water in New Orleans. Within two days most were back into their homes and were cleaning up. It is truly inspirational to see total strangers turning up at flood victims homes and making the cleanup quicker. Some homes, however, are still submerged.  The organizing authorities had to send many people home as they have too many volunteers to coordinate.

The people in both cities were victims of government incompetence, but it didn't take more than a day or two before the howls of derision for the people of New Orleans.  There are many who still blame them for staying through the hurricane even though the hurricane had been well over.  It wasn't the hurricane, it was the breaking of the levees that was responsible for the floods.  It seems the same for the people of Queensland. 


Cultural differences and differences in poverty levels explain most of this.

If the vast majority of America's population was one race or culture and wealth disparity was considerably lower (like Australia), then it would be harder for people to distance themselves from the fate of flood victims.  Diversity has many advantages, but one of its major disadvantages is how it leads to infighting and a focus on individualism rather than community.

The biggest difference would be that the river flood drained away much more quickly than the trapped water in New Orleans. Within two days most were back into their homes and were cleaning up. It is truly inspirational to see total strangers turning up at flood victims homes and making the cleanup quicker. Some homes, however, are still submerged.  The organizing authorities had to send many people home as they have too many volunteers to coordinate.


I saw in the news some Spanish being interviewed before joining the cleaning Army  :)

I's good to see how desaster turns up the worse and the best we have.

In New Orleans besides volunteers to clean, there was mean gangs to steal and rape around.
I guess you didn't have any vandals making a profit out of desaster.

I saw in the news some Spanish being interviewed before joining the cleaning Army  :)

I's good to see how desaster turns up the worse and the best we have.

In New Orleans besides volunteers to clean, there was mean gangs to steal and rape around.
I guess you didn't have any vandals making a profit out of desaster.


This is what I mean about the rhetoric.  The rumors about rape were just that, rumors.  There was looting, but it wasn't widespread, and some who walked into stores for things like diapers, water, and food, while waiting for the government response that didn't come for days were lumped in with the fools who thought for whatever reason getting a television was a good idea.

This is what I mean about the rhetoric.  The rumors about rape were just that, rumors.  There was looting, but it wasn't widespread, and some who walked into stores for things like diapers, water, and food, while waiting for the government response that didn't come for days were lumped in with the fools who thought for whatever reason getting a television was a good idea.


http://www.wdsu.com/r/5627087/detail.html

That looks legit to me.

http://www.wdsu.com/r/5627087/detail.html

That looks legit to me.




Exactly, it looked legit, but the follow-up was a different story.

http://dir.salon.com/news/feature/2005/10/24/katrina_horror/index.html

But according to members of the Louisiana National Guard who were present at the Superdome throughout the crisis, none of these atrocities was verified to have taken place. The guardsmen checked evacuees into the Superdome starting Sunday, Aug. 28, and patrolled the facility until the last evacuees were bused out on Sept. 4. Though isolated cases of assault or rape could remain difficult to verify, there was no pervasive lawlessness. According to Maj. Ed Bush, a Guard public affairs officer who was there from start to finish, no gang members were running around with guns, and no shots were ever fired, except for one instance in which a guardsman accidentally shot himself during a scuffle in a darkened locker room. Of the six people that died there, according to Maj. Bush and other reports, none were murder victims

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/weather/july-dec05/media_9-29.html

They finally had something in which they could appear quasi heroic, and they tried very hard to appear quasi heroic, and in so doing they botched the story. And I just have to object to my fellow guest here, it wasn't that they missed things; there were sins of omission, it's that they reported panic inducing, fear inducing, hysteria inducing mass sort of casualty events, looting, pillaging, murder sprees, sort of the most squalid journalism you could imagine, and I have to ask them and ask the media generally, don't we have to go back and find out how to guard against this sort of thing, because we've had mass disasters in the past, we're going to have them in the future -- if media becomes addicted it to -- they told me it was so I'll put it out there -- that's terrible for democracy to have a media that is willing to suspend their disbelief and report urban myth.

And I think one other thing, Jeff, people have to ask: Why was the media so eager and willing to circulate these stories? Is it because we were dealing with the urban under class, largely black, and largely a community with which the elite media does not often deal? And as a result they were willing to believe stories about this community that they might not have given any credence to in a different situation.

Danoota, you referenced two sources that are older than the one I posted.  I'm sure they're valid as well, but more evidence seems to be arising showing that there is some truth to the rape claims.