From Gulf to Gulf

[JULIA EVANS]

you might add that when the media was describing white people breaking into stores for food etc. they used 
the turn borrowing.....

looting seems to be saved for minority populations, sadly
-J

----- Original Message -----
From: Christian Nelson <cnelson at COMM.UMASS.EDU>
Date: Saturday, September 3, 2005 10:14 am
Subject: Re: From Gulf to Gulf

> An analysis of the discourse related to this event could really 
> serve 
> to cast a light on race/class relations in this country. Like the 
> others who've posted on this thread, I've been struck by the 
> class/race 
> disparities in the government's (non)response to this disaster. (As 
> another example, I learned that all the hospitals were quickly 
> evacuated EXCEPT for the public ones, which serve the local poor, 
> and 
> which were only evacuated when their situation had gotten so dire 
> that 
> the administrators gave up begging the Louisiana Governor, etc. for 
> help and called a radio station to air their grievances.) Those 
> disparities are clearly reflected in the media's discourse about 
> the 
> people trapped in New Orleans--for instance, many of the reports of 
> "looting" I've heard turn out to be about people breaking into 
> cafeterias, etc. to find food. I find it hard to call this looting 
> when 
> engaged in by people who are running out of water and have gone 
> without 
> food for days, and when the food and drink involved will be 
> uselessly 
> spoiled LONG before anyone can retrieve it in order to sell it (a 
> process that would take weeks if not months by all accounts). I 
> hope 
> someone has the time and inclination to analyze this discourse in 
> order 
> to expose the depths of racism and classism in America. Having said 
> that, I think some historical perspective might focus light on 
> where 
> that racism and classism is deepest. In that regard, I think I'm 
> remembering correctly that Bush Sr.'s loss to Clinton was in some 
> part 
> attributable to the poor performance of his FEMA director in 
> response 
> to another but smaller disaster (in fact, I think it was another 
> hurricane--Hugo in '89, but I could be misremembering). Further, I 
> recall that Clinton was hailed for appointing James Lee Witt to 
> head 
> FEMA, as he was only the first FEMA director who had any 
> professional 
> disaster relief experience. (Witt proved his worth by reforming 
> FEMA, 
> and the Clinton administration went on to distinguish itself for 
> its 
> responsiveness to natural disasters.) On the other hand, it might 
> also 
> be useful to recall the words of Marilyn Quail (the wife of Bush 
> Sr.'s 
> Vice President), who had chosen disaster relief as her pet project. 
> If 
> memory serves, when asked about her experience with disasters she 
> said 
> she didn't have any because she hadn't been "invited" to one--as 
> though 
> these were cotillions.
> --Christian Nelson
>