Is Katrina Racist?

Opinion Journal /Wall Street Journal ^ | 2 September 2005 | James Tarantino

[NavySEAL F-16]

Al Sharpton showed up on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC last night, and the pair sounded a theme that's becoming depressingly familiar in the effort to demagogue hurricane Katrina:

Olbermann: I actually heard a commentator this afternoon--it was that Limbaugh--suggest that the issue of class and race in those who were left behind in New Orleans was irrelevant, because, as he put it, those people were not forced to live there and they weren't bused into New Orleans.

And I was thinking, A, this guy is even more clueless than I thought he was, which is saying something. But, B, there are people who actually believe that. How do you respond to them? How do you explain to them what the truth is? . . .

[Jewelsetter]

"My understanding is that Katrina sounds like an African-American woman's name."

I thought that it was Latrina. :-)

[Pete]

Anyone who would have Al Sharpton on their show, should be fired. That professional RACE-BAITER is totally disgusting and I am sure that he in no way represents the American black community.

Jesse Jackson has been on CNN and MSNBC all day. Those two networks have slipped into madness. They are promoting the notion that federal response has been slow because of race. The Congressional Black Caucus openly advocates that position and CNN and MSNBC are more than willing to carry their water.

It is more than an outrage. They selling these lies to victims of the disaster. So much so, that the people at the convention center are now convinced that they are being punished by the government because they are poor and black.

It should not even be necessary to say that these accusations are not only absurd but they defy reality. Here are some numbers:

40,000+ moved through NO airport - 800 per hour
98,000 people from NO are in shelters outside NO and that does not include the 18,000 at the superdome.
The Coast Guard has rescued more than 7,000 people from NO, mostly by helicopter.

Clearly, help is already there.

And another thing. Everyone keeps saying it has taken 5 days. Wrong. On Monday night, every network was reporting that NO had dodged a bullet. The levee broke sometime Monday night/Tuesday morning. By noon on Tuesday, it was clear to local media that there was a big problem. But the national news was unaware. So much so, that the anchorwoman on the local WDSU was literal screaming at CNN to stop reporting that everything was OK. It wasn't until late Tuesday that first real reports of the scope of the devastation hit the national networks. The Governor of LA didn't even ask for troops until Wednesday AM.

Within 24 hours, the military was staged outside NO and ready to enter. Within 24 hours!! That is an amazing accomplishment. However, there was a problem - actually three. First, the local and state officials had completely dropped the ball. When the military asked them where they were needed, the mayor and the Governor not only didn't know, they had no plan. Second, communication was completely down. The locals had no plan for that either. Third, NO was a war zone. Again, the locals had failed to enforce any laws early on and by Thursday, things were out of control. Red Cross and Salvation Army were ready even before the military but could not go in because they could not guarantee the safety of their volunteers. Boats were being high-jacked. Ambulance and helicopters were being shot at.

But, by Friday, the Feds had mustered the resources to handled those problems as well. They did develop a plan and entered the city on Friday morning - a mere 72 hours after the levee break and 48 hours after being requested - even with all the failures at the local level.

Now, having said all that, go back to the numbers. An incredible amount of work done in the first days after the levee break even with all those obstacles.

I am so proud of all the men and women who have worked so hard to help their fellow Americans. For liberal leaders to use this tragedy for political gain by race baiting is not only outrageous, it is extremely offensive and I believe the networks promoting this idea will suffer in ratings. It is sickening. Worse than that, to suggest that the victims of the storm and flooding in NO were neglected because of economic status or race is to SPIT in the faces of the brave souls who risked their very lives to pluck them from the deadly waters.

[EagleUSA]

The Congressional Black Caucus openly advocates that position and CNN and MSNBC are more than willing to carry their water.
-----
Good post! Thanks! Yes, the MSM is disgusting. Their blind liberal hate and bias does our country great injustice and is really criminal in its intent. The Congressional Black Caucus is about as useful as the Progressive Caucus in the Congress -- they are both trouble-making radical leftist groups that this country could do VERY WELL without.

[vger]

"Al Sharpton showed up on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC last night..."

[vger]

"Al Sharpton showed up on Keith Olbermann's "Countdown" on MSNBC last night..."

Hmmmm? Al must a got a ride back to the studio after his driver was arrested for doing 100+ in Texas after schmoozing with Cindy?!

[patriciamary]

They interviewed a women on Fox's today who shouted loudly for George Bush to look at her and that she would NEVER vote for him ! I would like to ask her if she could spell George Bush.

[sydbas]

They interviewed a women on Fox's today who shouted loudly for George Bush to look at her and that she would NEVER vote for him!

Actually no one will ever vote for President Bush again.

[popdonnelly]

That's funny, I've seen a number of black people from New Orleans saying that they can't stand Nagin.

[patriciamary]

Good point!

[RedMonqey]

"
Actually no one will ever vote for President Bush again."

HaHaHa.. Bet she was a Dimocrat and a Liberal to boot.

[Reactionary]

"Well, as usual, women and minorities are hardest hit."

We could add scumbag liberals, but that would be insensitive to the reigning egalitarian sensibilities of television swine.

[An American In Dairyland]

My understanding is it's a German name.

Katrina (or Katrin) is a Nordic (Sweden, Norway, Finland) name. Katherina - pronounced Katerina (as in figure skater, Katherina Witt) is the German variation. Ekaterina is the Russian variation. In Spanish the name is Catalina. In English all of these names translate to Katherine and it's various spellings, however, Katrina has also been commonly used to name American girls for a long time.

[Jorge]

They interviewed a women on Fox's today who shouted loudly for George Bush to look at her and that she would NEVER vote for him ! I would like to ask her if she could spell George Bush.

The Bush haters are just so bitter these days. It really is pathetic to hear their rants.

I any case I saw clips of Bush visiting the disaster zones, people were coming up to him and crying and hugging him..George Bush is clearly one of the MOST loved Presidents I have ever seen in my life.

[IrishRainy]

I heard Geraldo yelling tonight that it had been "6 days since the hurricane..." He said it a number of times, and I was screaming at the TV that it had only been 4 days, and only 3 since the flooding started.

I recently heard that he went to Princeton. Hard to believe.

[combat_boots]

"A few stats to offset the lib whine that we should bring the troops home to help in the gulf area:"

Look, too, to the dead by race in the ME theater. It's hard to find, but there brookings.edu's iraq index and cnn do post stats.

So, the Whites are dying in Iraq and Afghanistan in large measure, the wealthy (white or not) of this country are going to have to pony up for buiding skyscrapers on sand without supporting dikes like the Netherlands, and the combination of the 2 are somehow responsible for the poor in NO not leaving ahead of a cat 4/5 hurricane when ordered to do so by the mayor, and requested by the President? Somehow this is racist? On what planet?

[jordan8]

The pictures from New Orleans have not been an advertisement for the value of multi-racialism and multiculturalism. This current campaign, started by Slate's Jack Shafer, is just an attempt to misdirect attention from those pictures. The real agenda of this campaign is to prevent whites from openly questioning the value of multi-racialism and multiculturalism that is at the heart of liberal power.

[bonfire]

Almost everything Geraldo EVER says is exageration. It's his "schtick"

[Dr.Deth]

Only if it's spelled 'KKKatrina'

[april15Bendovr]

I was just getting ready to respond to this post before it was pulled last evening.

What do you say to your kids about looting? Posted by KingNo155 to -=[_Super_Secret_Agent_]=- On 09/01/2005 8:47:37 PM PDT · 70 of 69

The post was about how hard it is to explain to children how wrong the looters actions are without sounding like a racist.

My reply was going to be using a line from the movie A Time To Kill.

Say to your child "close your eyes and listen."

"Vision all the people in the act of crime such as larceny, shooting at rescue workers and women being raped at the superdome."

"Think about how the actions of these individuals obstruct and become obstacle to saving peoples lives during a national tragedy."

Now "Imagine all those people were white."