Qualcomm vs. Superdome

You can stop rubbing your eyes in an attempt to clarify what you think you are seeing now because yes, you are looking at an image of a woman getting a MASSAGE at Qualcomm Stadium in San Diego where evacuees of California's wildfires have been staying.

In addition to free massages, they have been treated to free acupuncture, yoga lessons, happy clowns to entertain the kiddies and gourmet buffet tables.....

Do I live in the farking Twilight Zone or something???

Let's assume for a moment that San Diego was just more prepared for a disaster than New Orleans was. Let's also assume that the handling of the funds they are given for disaster relief were better handled. The question that still remains in my mind is, "Where were all of these volunteers back then?" These caring, loving, generous souls...

I'm reading the comments left by people on the major news sites in response to the comparison to Katrina and I can't even count how many people claim they are not racist and in the same breath dare say something like, "What percentage of the people at Quaalcom stadium have ever had a close member of their family convicted of a felony, and what percentage of the people of the people at the Superdome had a family member convicted of a felony? My guess is that FAR more of the people in New Orleans had family members who were cons."

Ummm..... huh?

Are we saying that because some of the people in the Superdome might or might not have been related to someone who was in jail, they somehow.... deserved it?

Or are we trying to say that poor, black, crime ridden areas of the country are not important enough to care about if they are wiped out?

These labels we put on each other and use as excuses to do harm or not do anything at all are going to be the downfall of mankind. Does anyone just look at another human being as another human being anymore?

In sharp contrast here is a picture of two corpses left outside of the Superdome to rot while it took DAYS for anyone at all to respond. When people tried to leave, they were stopped by police and military and forced to stay put. The conditions inside were the stuff of nightmares. Water filling the floor of the dome that was laden with feces, trash and yes, more corpses. "Stay put!"

Katrina is and should forever remain the proverbial 400lb gorilla in the room. And while we can be glad that the same fate did not befall the victims of the wildfires, we should also bow our heads in shame that we have to make this comparison at all.

"The President said an hour ago that the Gulf Coast looks like it has been
obliterated by a weapon. It has. Indifference is a weapon of mass destruction."
- Dennis Kucinich