Replies

I think it's important to realize, that the people evactuated include a lot more than just those on welfare before the storm, but will be now.

There are many working people who would not have the cash or credit to just evacuate out to a hotel indefinately. Especially because they haven't just lost their house... their job too - gone. This level of damage is unprecidented in our history. As yet invisible are all those who ~did~ leave on their own and stayed in a hotel somewhere... who are also now without a job. We haven't seen them yet but I know there's got to be a lot of them out there too, quietly running out of money. How scary that would be.

It's going to be really expensive, but I don't really see as we have much choice. This is a huge and urgent need. Some of it will be wasted, but some of it won't. Not much we can do about that.

I went to the cleaners yesterday and met there five delightful people. They were black and had evacuated New Orleans before the hurricane. They were staying with friends in Dallas and picking up clothes that were given to them which had been newly laundered.

We had a long, pleasant conversation about the situation in New Orleans, carefully avoiding politics but heavy on history. They lost everything and did not seem to be welfare recipients as they were careful to point out where they lived and it was not in the projects area. As a matter of fact, when writers describe the old gentry of the South these folks seemed to share that personality type, showing lots of grace and intelligence, but not of the same economic background.They may be the typical evacuee though never receiving publicity nor recognition.

As yet invisible are all those who ~did~ leave on their own and stayed in a hotel somewhere... who are also now without a job. We haven't seen them yet but I know there's got to be a lot of them out there too, quietly running out of money. How scary that would be.

I know some of these people. I am an evacuee who has recently returned home. Some of my relatives left when they were told to, stayed in a hotel, and have come back to their homes with no job. It is scary. There are good people down here and I have been very personally hurt by the things I've read on Free Republic. To many, we just don't seem to be worth saving or helping.

Thank God for all the wonderful people in this country who take a different view and are digging deep to help. New Orleans is a wonderful city, and at the same time it's not. I read in a quote today in the paper: "Anybody who knows New Orleans has a love-hate relationship with New Orleans." That's true. While I had stopped going into the city very much because of crime, I was thrilled, just a few months back, to be able to take my kids to Mass at the St. Louis Cathedral for my father's Confirmation. There's nothing like Mass at the Cathedral and beignets at Cafe du Monde. My heart is broken to see my city this way. I guess people can't understand that if they haven't visited here or lived here.

Anyway, thank you for this thread. Earlier this week, I decided to change my home page from Free Republic to something else. My husband, who reads FR daily, won't even look at it. I'm glad to see the people who disagree with the tone of the last couple weeks speaking up on this thread. God bless.