"George Bush Doesn't Care About Black People; Of Course I Have No Proof, Look At What I Do For A Living"

Race viewed as reason for slow relief effort - News

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"Black leaders on the USF campus have said that the federal government's relief efforts came slowly because the majority of the Katrina victims were African American."

-It is not the government's duty to provide relief to anyone. There is such a thing as insurance; but I suppose it's the governments fault (again) that the homeowners of New Orleans didn't have that either, right? As Dr. Michael J. Hurd puts it:

"Most will disagree with me that government insurance for natural disasters--popularly known as FEMA--should be discontinued. Many will say it's lacking in compassion to even think such a thing. Yet if there were no FEMA, and disaster insurance were left to the private market, people would be required to plan ahead. If the risk of living in an area like New Orleans--a known flood risk for nearly a century--were too expensive, then people would move to safer ground long before disaster hits. Instead, tens of thousands die."

Sounds good, except that people hate the free market for some reason. I'm in favor of saving lives, so therefore we can further conclude...

"Kanye West, a popular hip-hop artist, raised a swell of nationwide discussion when he said during a telethon on NBC that "George Bush doesn't care about black people." Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice commented, saying that it is ridiculous to think this is a race issue. According to a Wall Street Journal poll, West's opinion is a reflection of the opinions of many black Americans. Seventy percent of blacks and 27 percent of whites said that the federal government's response was slow because of the race of the majority of the victims. The poll also showed that 67 percent of white Americans and 27 percent of black Americans said race was not a factor. According to student body President Maxon Victor, there is no excuse for the slow response."

-Those numbers don't mean anything. How they "feel" has no bearing on the situation at all. There was once a time in American history when the government wasn't expected to step in; the more we lean towards socialism (welfare, eminent domain, Medicare, Social Security, Medicaid, etc.) the more we will realize that it actually hurts America more than it helps. Everyone knows the condition of New Orleans before the hurricane. The sight of political leaders and rappers whining that people have a right to be taken care of, signifies that the people have no responsibility whatsoever for themselves. Kanye West also said that "I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they're looting. See a white family, it says they're looking for food." However, the last time I checked, you don't need six pairs of shoes or 25 t-shirts, footballs, heineken or miller-lite to survive.

"The government and everyone knows where the impoverished neighborhoods are," he said. According to Crystel Dawson, president of Black Student Union, it should have never taken five days for the government to respond.

"They're Americans," she said.

Even after the first week, Victor said the government still has not dealt with the major issues.

"Think socially what is going to happen to these impoverished neighborhoods," he said.

These areas were social disasters before Katrina devastated them, said Victor, who believes Bush never cared about these areas before."

-I don't care about those neighborhoods either; no one who thinks rationally should. Look at all the crimes that were committed before and after the hurricane struck; "...mass looting in New Orleans, assaults on people in shelters, the raping of girls, and shots being fired at helicopters that are trying to rescue people." Why should anyone care about vicious criminals? I would like to hear "what should have happened", please be sure to contact me with the action plan that should have been executed. After all of that settles, stealing and committing crimes is not a racial problem. It's purely psychological. Because your white does not guarantee that you will become successful; on the same token, being black does not guarantee living in a welfare state either.

"I am not a Bush hater; maybe a basher," he said.

While he said that he feels this was a race issue, Victor does not want anyone to think that he is against white people.

"I am against a system, not a people," he said.

"I'm not surprised," said Dawson. "It seems that we are always the last ones to get a response to social and economic issues.

"I'm from Miami, Florida. I lost my house during Hurricane Andrew. FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) was in Miami the very next day to help," she said.

The difference between the two hurricanes was that the majority of the areas hit by Andrew were white, middle-class areas, and the majority of areas hit by Katrina were black, lower-class areas, Dawson said.

Blacks are not high on the priority list of the federal government, according to Dawson."

-How can the government be against black people if you were helped during hurricane Andrew? Because white people were the "majority"? I could have sworn that there were more hispanics in Miami than "whites"...hmm...Let's check the facts. According to Miami Population and Demographics, the total population of Miami for the year 2000 was 362470 citizens. A total of 238351 of those citizens (65.76%) were from all the Hispanic backgrounds; Cuban (123763 or 34.14%), Mexican (3669 or 1.01%), Puerto Rican (10257 or 2.83%) and any "other" Hispanic or Latino country (100662 or 27.77%). As for any non-Hispanic, non-white citizen, the statistic is 124119 or 34.24% of the entire population. The numbers for being a caucasian citizen were 42897 or 11.83% of the entire population of Miami. A total of 65.76% of Miami's population was Hispanic and only 11.83% of the population was white; how is this favorable to whites, if they only make up a little over one-tenth of the entire population of Miami? I do realize that hurricane Andrew did strike in 1992 and not in 2000, but the relevance of this article to those numbers is still a solid one. Besides that, everytime a hurricane develops and strikes the country, different procedures and action plans must be drawn up. You cannot expect to approach every natural disaster in the same manner. On another note, Dr. Michael J. Hurd states (again):

"Katrina is a genuine tragedy. It's fine for private cirtizens to help the victims of a tragedy, although I never read in the Constitution that it was a guaranteed right to be provided by tax dollars. Even so, what virtue is there in pretending that the aftermath of this hurricane is all the fault of the federal government for not "doing enough"? The federal government has encouraged, for decades now, a mindset of helplessness and government dependence by the very population hardest hit by this storm (poor, mostly black and welfare-dependent people, of which, we have sadly learned, there are many in the New Orleans area)."

-Self-reliance?! In America, the country founded on freedom?! We can't handle that kind of responsibility!

-I advise all who have read this article to also read: The Real Injustice in New Orleans: The Welfare State's Assault on the Productive Individual, Ammunition for Poverty Pimps, Despair in Disaster, Rebuilding New Orleans, and Rebuilding New Orleans -- and America.