Red Cross workers turned away

But let's blame the feds, right?

from JoeUser Forums
According to a news item I heard this morning (and I wish I had a link to support this, but I don't---if anyone can locate one, please post it), the Red Cross reports that workers were ready and in position to deliver water, food, supplies and other amenities to the Superdome, but were disallowed and turned away by representatives of the Louisiana Dept. of Homeland Security (in other words, the LA branch of FEMA), who feared that bringing more supplies might draw more people to the "shelter", worsening an already deteriorating situation. Where are all the fingers pointing, though?

As an aside:

I heard another report, a little later, about a comment from an overworked aid worker distributing MREs to Displaced Persons (I'll drag out this old, WW2-era phrase, so as to refrain from referring to them as either "evacuees" or "refugees", terms that, for some odd reason, seem to cause some tension along racial lines, and are often hotly resented). It seems that one of them, a black man, angrily demanded him/her that they should "go and get me something from mcDonald's, whitely."

I'll allow the above comment to stand on its own, to be chewed over by those here who feel that the "entitlement mentality" among minorities in this country is a myth of the Right.
politics
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Reply #1 from JoeUser Forums Top
That should have been "whitey"...my bad.
Reply #2 from JoeUser Forums Top
I heard another report, a little later, about a comment from an overworked aid worker distributing MREs to Displaced Persons (I'll drag out this old, WW2-era phrase, so as to refrain from referring to them as either "evacuees" or "refugees", terms that, for some odd reason, seem to cause some tension along racial lines, and are often hotly resented). It seems that one of them, a black man, angrily demanded him/her that they should "go and get me something from mcDonald's, whitely."


Can you give me some kind of idea as to where you might have heard this? I don't mind doing some leg work to try and validate it, but I need you to point me in the right direction (if you can).

I read an interview with an elderly black man on MSNBC last week. he said that the hurricane had taught him that not all white folks were bad because some of them had come along to rescue him in a boat and had shared their water with him. he said that before the disaster he wouldn't have given these people the time of day....

...so yes, i can totally believe that what you reported was actually said. Racism isn't just a white on black gig, it works both ways.
Sins of a Solar Empire II
Reply #3 from JoeUser Forums Top
Can you give me some kind of idea as to where you might have heard this?


I heard it on "Quinn and Rose in the Morning", a talk/news radio show. I checked their site, www.warroom.com, but of course, it isn't there. At least not yet. Thanks for the effort.
Reply #4 from JoeUser Forums Top
I read an interview with an elderly black man on MSNBC last week. he said that the hurricane had taught him that not all white folks were bad because some of them had come along to rescue him in a boat and had shared their water with him. he said that before the disaster he wouldn't have given these people the time of day....


And you know what's really sad? Older black folks are usually the most tolerant, having lived through Jim Crow and the whole segregation thing. They usually are the ones who can most appreciate the changes of the last five decades. At least in my experience.
Reply #5 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't think there's a pervasive sense of entitlement among the black in our nation any more than there is within the rest of society.

Do I think the McDonald's guy was a jerk? Sure. But you can find jerks like that scattered throughout the US.
Reply #6 from JoeUser Forums Top
I heard it on "Quinn and Rose in the Morning", a talk/news radio show. I checked their site, www.warroom.com, but of course, it isn't there. At least not yet. Thanks for the effort.


Welcome...I'll keep looking to see what I can find.

They usually are the ones who can most appreciate the changes of the last five decades. At least in my experience.



Mine too.
Reply #7 from JoeUser Forums Top
Heh, I'd rather have McD's than an MRE any day!
---LW

Well, duh!

I don't think there's a pervasive sense of entitlement among the black in our nation any more than there is within the rest of society.
--TexW

I'm sorry, Tex...where did you say you got the bubble you live in? I'd like to make airplanes out of whatever its made of, so they'd be more sturdy and less likely to come apart in a crash.
Reply #8 from JoeUser Forums Top
I don't think there's a pervasive sense of entitlement among the black in our nation any more than there is within the rest of society.

Do I think the McDonald's guy was a jerk? Sure. But you can find jerks like that scattered throughout the US.


I can agree about the mcDonalds dude. jerk-ism knows no color boundaries. jerks come in all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds.
Reply #9 from JoeUser Forums Top
I found a pretty decent article (wrtten by an African American) about the feeling of entitlement and being 'owed' within the black community:
Link
Reply #10 from JoeUser Forums Top
I'm sorry, Tex...where did you say you got the bubble you live in? I'd like to make airplanes out of whatever its made of, so they'd be more sturdy and less likely to come apart in a crash.


I live on an US Army base. I live in a neighborhood filled with all types, including many black service members.

They work hard, just like my husband. They care for their children. They support themselves. They have discipline and integrity. They aren't out in the street late at night drinking while their kids roam the neighborhood like some of the people around here.

Do you consider the military, which is a cross-section of the US population, a "bubble"?
Reply #11 from JoeUser Forums Top
live on an US Army base. I live in a neighborhood filled with all types, including many black service members.

They work hard, just like my husband. They care for their children. They support themselves. They have discipline and integrity.


I live on an Air Force base. Our neighborhood is a plethora of races and nationalities. I see all kinds of people working hard and caring for their children.

I also see children being raised with attitudes such as this: Link


and this: Link


and this:Link
Reply #12 from JoeUser Forums Top
I can agree about the mcDonalds dude. jerk-ism knows no color boundaries. jerks come in all shapes, sizes, colors and creeds.


True, but when you're used to getting most everything handed to you on a government-funded silver platter, it geometrically increases the jerk-ism.
When you're in what is already a life-and-death suituation, and that fact has been made even more urgent by a gigantic bureaucratic cluster-f**k that's getting worse, you just shut your freakin' pie-hole and take what they give you. Save the comments for your homies.



They work hard, just like my husband. They care for their children. They support themselves. They have discipline and integrity. They aren't out in the street late at night drinking while their kids roam the neighborhood like some of the people around here.

Do you consider the military, which is a cross-section of the US population, a "bubble"?
---TexW

Not at all----I greatly respect and admire all members of the military, Tex, regardless of race or creed. You're right, they have integrity and discipline, and I honor them for wearing their uniforms and subjecting themselves to the rigors of military life and for willingly defending me and mine.
It's not them I was referring to, Tex, it's the people in general, the blacks themselves, the civilians, who are so used to taking what the government offers (be it welfare, Affirmative Action, HUD, racially biased scholarships, whatever---and no, that's not ALL blacks...so before you skewer me for stereotyping all blacks...there you go) without the bother of uniforms, Basic Training and military discipline.
A lot of what you've written in the past year leads me to believe that you live a self-created bubble of self-generating naivete.
Reply #13 from JoeUser Forums Top
PS - Rightwinger...before you discount my anectodal evidence, remember that you're on the record as saying we should believe our own eyes and experience about statistics and the claims of others.
Reply #14 from JoeUser Forums Top
A lot of what you've written in the past year leads me to believe that you live a self-created bubble of self-generating naivete.


Yeah, and damn it sucks, expecting the best of people and giving them the benefit of the doubt. What a pathetic way to live, eh?
Reply #15 from JoeUser Forums Top
Yeah, and damn it sucks, expecting the best of people and giving them the benefit of the doubt. What a pathetic way to live, eh?
---TexW

When you're willing to overlook the negative actions and motives of a people, just becuase you're sympathetic to their "plight", and to confer on them a kind of immunity to all accountability, and responsibility to themselves and the community, yes, it does suck. Out loud, it sucks.
Reply #16 from JoeUser Forums Top
You've already said that not ALL blacks live the way you've described and yet you want to label them as a "people".

Holding INDIVIDUALS accountable for their actions is the way to go. Instead of going after some imagined homogeneous group of "people", why not hold each person accountable for him or herself?

Trust me, it doesn't suck. It may baffle you to learn that I am quite happy with my life and my views. I don't get my panties twisted much. It's nice.
Reply #17 from JoeUser Forums Top
Thanks for the links, dharma....but, according to some here, you're not supposed to believe that blacks and whites are any different from each other, even if you do happen to see, with your very own two eyes, more blacks than whites, shall we say "misbehaving". We're all equal.
Reply #18 from JoeUser Forums Top
Holding INDIVIDUALS accountable for their actions is the way to go. Instead of going after some imagined homogeneous group of "people", why not hold each person accountable for him or herself?


Well, when you and yours are actually willing to hold blacks accountable for their actions, perhaps we will. But when we see a large majority of blacks sucking for so long off the government teat, so much so that it becomes fodder for humor even to blacks themselves, as it has, it's hard to point a finger in specifics, rather than to wave a hand in generality.
Reply #19 from JoeUser Forums Top
Rightwinger: Ok, so please enlighten me on these differences you percieve...

In what ways are we not all equal?
Reply #20 from JoeUser Forums Top
Well, when you and yours are actually willing to hold blacks accountable for their actions, perhaps we will.


Me and mine? What the fuck? What is that you wish for me to do? Shall I join a law enforcement agency?

And here you are saying that if someone else doesn't do what's right (what you perceive as right), then you yourself aren't responsible for doing what's right. Interesting.

But when we see a large majority of blacks sucking for so long off the government teat, so much so that it becomes fodder for humor even to blacks themselves, as it has, it's hard to point a finger in specifics, rather than to wave a hand in generality.


Please PROVE that a MAJORITY of blacks are dependent on welfare.
Reply #21 from JoeUser Forums Top
Rightwinger: Ok, so please enlighten me on these differences you percieve...

In what ways are we not all equal?


Tex, please....tell me you're just stroking me, here, and are really not this blind to the world. Several months ago, when I first came to JU, we got into a discussion about the inherent, if unofficial, race bias in welfare benefits. You didn't believe me when I said there was a definite bias (something I can't believe to this very day...you must be the only person in America not to know about it), and said you would look into it. I thought that doing so might open your eyes to some of the realities of modern life, but because you persist in your naivte, I can infer two things:

1. You did not "look into it" as you said you would, or
2. You looked into it and, not liking what you found since it didn't hold with your worldview, you used your bubble of naivte as a shield to explain it away and deny it.

I'd think either is a likely possibility.

Government programs, instituted by weepy-eyed liberals like "you and yours", and yes, Tex, in cases such as this you do lean decidedly to the left, have given blacks exclusive accesss to certain things, programs that whites do not have available to them, and, If you don't know that, that's your problem.
As George Orwell said in "Animal Farm"---"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."----blacks, by the virtue of government programs instituted under Great Society policies, have been granted the status of "more equal" than whites.
Reply #22 from JoeUser Forums Top
Please PROVE that a MAJORITY of blacks are dependent on welfare.


Okay, perhaps "majority" is to broad a term....how about "so large a portion"? Better?

You know, the actual point of my article was that it is becoming increasingly clear that the LA government is the responsible party in the post-Katrina disaster, but it's the comment about the black jerk in the MRE line that's seeming to have touched the biggest nerve. Why is that?
Reply #23 from JoeUser Forums Top
Rightwinger:
Tex, please....tell me you're just stroking me, here, and are really not this blind to the world.


What I see in you is a fundamental, down to the bone, prejudice against black people. You take advantage of every opportunity to lump blacks together into one entity and disparage them.

I can't change that. Nothing I have to say will penetrate your preconceived notions about black people.

I am not blind to the world. I simply view personal responsibility as just that...PERSONAL. I will not use an entire race as scapegoats for the actions of a few. I will not blame individuals for the actions of a few...or even for the actions of a majority.

Had Kerry been elected, how would you have felt being blamed for it? Even though you didn't vote for him, since the majority of the US did, it would be your fault as well. All the failed policies...all the scandals...everything...YOUR FAULT.

I could carry this into about a million different scenarios. The point is, individuals are not defined by the actions of those who share traits or skin color or last name or occupation, etc. with them. Individuals are defined by their own thoughts, words, and actions.

1. You did not "look into it" as you said you would, or
2. You looked into it and, not liking what you found since it didn't hold with your worldview, you used your bubble of naivte as a shield to explain it away and deny it.

I'd think either is a likely possibility.


Actually, we've been over this once before. You made a claim based on anecdotal evidence. I did not believe your experience applied across the board. I DID NOT go calling the welfare office to ask them whether they are biased toward blacks. Your claim cannot be verified by me without a lot of time, effort, and access on my part.

You have not proven your claim. As it stands, it is your anecdotal observation and nothing more. Forgive me if I don't take your word for it. And forgive me for assigning the burden of proof to you...the person who made the claim.

Government programs, instituted by weepy-eyed liberals like "you and yours", and yes, Tex, in cases such as this you do lean decidedly to the left, have given blacks exclusive access to certain things, programs that whites do not have available to them, and, If you don't know that, that's your problem.


You and yours has no bearing on this. I am not involved in policy making. Your attempt to pin some perceived great ill in American government on me (and my family?) is hollow.

I would really LOVE to see some proof that black Americans have EXCLUSIVE ACCESS to welfare and other programs. Don't claim something you can't prove.

As George Orwell said in "Animal Farm"---"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."----blacks, by the virtue of government programs instituted under Great Society policies, have been granted the status of "more equal" than whites.


Please elaborate on this. Have you been turned down for a job because a less-skilled black person was hired instead? Have your welfare benefits been denied and instead given to a black person? Has a college refused to admit you or give you a scholarship in favor of a black person?

Why do you have such a chip on your shoulder?

You know, the actual point of my article was that it is becoming increasingly clear that the LA government is the responsible party in the post-Katrina disaster, but it's the comment about the black jerk in the MRE line that's seeming to have touched the biggest nerve. Why is that?


Probably because the first comment (a bump) belonged to you, and it was bemoaning the MRE anecdote. You put the focus on that portion of your article.

PS - You may find me naive, but I can tell you this much...I've been through some very tragic and damaging circumstances in my life. I've also managed to overcome everything that's been thrown at me. I have a safe, healthy family, a comfortable lifestyle and a college degree. I've worked my ass off (in many different ways) for these things. I'd appreciate a little bit of respect.
Reply #24 from JoeUser Forums Top
Do you consider the military, which is a cross-section of the US population, a "bubble"?


Actually Tex I believe it is. That's because of the required mind set to be in the military in the first place. We (military) do not think like the greater portion of the populace.
Reply #25 from JoeUser Forums Top
As George Orwell said in "Animal Farm"---"All animals are equal, but some are more equal than others."----blacks, by the virtue of government programs instituted under Great Society policies, have been granted the status of "more equal" than whites.


Please elaborate on this. Have you been turned down for a job because a less-skilled black person was hired instead? Have your welfare benefits been denied and instead given to a black person? Has a college refused to admit you or give you a scholarship in favor of a black person?


Hey Tex....RW is sort of right. Start by looking at "government" programs. You will find that to be even considered for the majority of them you need to be in a "minority". Which Afro-Americans "still" are considered as such. Look at the book on government give aways by Matthew Lesko and you see "exactly" what he's talking about.