We are all on drugs (yeah)
What we have yet to see in the news:
During 9/11, various publications and media outlets ran "Profiles in Courage" specials that detailed heroic actions of ordinary citizens. At the time of writing this, there have been -1 specials in such a vein. Apparently, in order to become a hero, one has to have proper grammar. Or not be Black.
On the other hand, we can thank the Associated Press for its courageous coverage of the racial aspects of the Katrina disaster fallout. What's the difference between a looter and a resource gatherer? Now you know.
And while we're on the topic of kicking people when they're already down, it appears the only people who have no concept of this term are Democrats. I suppose that's what we love and hate about them.
For those of you that say I shouldn't be complaining at a "time like this," all I'll say is, "I don't know about you, but I voted for Nader. Twice."
Now on a completely different but related note, it's extremely scary how much the Katrina disaster resembles 9/11, but in so many ways is a different animal. I think it's undeniable that this time, we simply don't care about the surviving and the fallen even a fraction of the care we exhibited for those that perished in 9/11. Let's stop and reflect for a moment the casualties of 9/11. Aside from the brave souls of the FDNY and NYPD, who we stiff in salary on a regular basis, the 9/11 deaths were largely composed of WTC employees, which basically means they're college-educated professionals, and probably either White or pretty damn Anglicized. And for those that were on the planes that crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon, the fact that they were flying on a plane speaks for itself. Just for good measure, let's also assume an unborn fetus was on board the plane that crashed into the second tower. Now we take a look at the Katrina survivors. That didn't take too long, now did it? Predominantly Black and poor, and they probably talk funny, too. If one were to go back and take a look at the detailed profiles of the 9/11 victims, they would be frustratingly hard-pressed to find someone who was any of these. Basically, these people simply are not newsworthy. Don't even try to tell me that the WTC didn't have Puerto Rican janitors.
If anything, the only outrage that's been expressed up to this point is more of what Jon Stewart calls "noise." Sympathy and outreach is shelved as an afterthought as the left and the right clash over issues of accountability and party legitimacy, as fact-check after fact-check devolves into a series of chaotic non sequiturs that then melts into one big cluster-fuck. Democrats would love to harness this opportunity to blame Bush for everything, while Republicans will continue to justify Bush's role as commander-and-chief and not-that-big-of-a-douchebag. To Bush's defense, it's not fair to blame him for everything. I mean, at least we can all agree that Bush wasn't responsible for making the hurricane. I'll be here all night.
It's simply human nature. Wait, let me correct that. I think that since the advent of mass communication, human nature eventually grew into completely mutability entity, the extent of its change completely dependent on media. A person, no matter the circumstances, will latch onto whatever feels right at the moment. If this means bashing the political shit out of Bush's ass, then by all means do so. Politics for everyone but those in politics has become one big shouting match; people will yell at each other over their beliefs that they feel so strongly about, go home, take a shit, and go to sleep. In other words, despite their best (mediocre and ineffectual) efforts, millions will irrevocably continue to live below the poverty line in America.
Then there's the consumer side of it all. You've no doubt seen it everywhere you turn in your waking hours. I want to hit every single musician who claims to be "helping" the suffering with a tack hammer. The forced disingenuity of their actions is something I find utterly offensive as a human being. The last time I checked, you guys were all millionaires. Why in the hell would you need a benefit concert, of all things, to raise money? It's bullshit. We've found a way to spin every single tragedy into a profitably endeavor, all things considered. When I see these awful, superficially hollow benefit concerts, all I see is a cockamamie of inflated egos engaged in a congratulatory circle-jerk. They've done their part to help by appearing on national syndicated television? Who the fuck is you? If these musicians truly cared as much as they say they do, they'd be down there at the superdome handing out bottled water and administering care or simply moral support to those that need it the most. I don't know who's worse; the musicians who recycle their songs in the name of charity, or the people that actually give into this contrived saccharinity. When I actually stop and think about it, it makes me nothing less than sick. Buying a CD, even for charity, supposedly, still amounts to buying a CD when all has been said and done. I find it hard to believe that no one ever stops to think about how ridiculous such a scheme is, and how much more ridiculous it is that it actually works. Yeah, it's all for a good cause, not because Clapton plays a pretty mean lick in the live rendition of "Layla."
Our ability to care has become limited to our attention span and the size of our wallets. And yeah, I realize I'm directing all my energies here towards the racial fallout of Katrina, inevitably contributing to the "noise." What can I say, I'm just a little upset. And yes, it concerns me too that I'm more concerned with the political and social side of Katrina as opposed to actually giving a damn about the 100,000 that are going through Hell in America as I type this while sitting in my leather chair with the A/C at full blast. In a minute, I'm going to go outside, smoke a cigarette, take a nap, and when I've woken up I'll have forgotten all of my current anger and rage. I suppose that's just me being human like everyone else.
During 9/11, various publications and media outlets ran "Profiles in Courage" specials that detailed heroic actions of ordinary citizens. At the time of writing this, there have been -1 specials in such a vein. Apparently, in order to become a hero, one has to have proper grammar. Or not be Black.
On the other hand, we can thank the Associated Press for its courageous coverage of the racial aspects of the Katrina disaster fallout. What's the difference between a looter and a resource gatherer? Now you know.
And while we're on the topic of kicking people when they're already down, it appears the only people who have no concept of this term are Democrats. I suppose that's what we love and hate about them.
For those of you that say I shouldn't be complaining at a "time like this," all I'll say is, "I don't know about you, but I voted for Nader. Twice."
Now on a completely different but related note, it's extremely scary how much the Katrina disaster resembles 9/11, but in so many ways is a different animal. I think it's undeniable that this time, we simply don't care about the surviving and the fallen even a fraction of the care we exhibited for those that perished in 9/11. Let's stop and reflect for a moment the casualties of 9/11. Aside from the brave souls of the FDNY and NYPD, who we stiff in salary on a regular basis, the 9/11 deaths were largely composed of WTC employees, which basically means they're college-educated professionals, and probably either White or pretty damn Anglicized. And for those that were on the planes that crashed into the WTC and the Pentagon, the fact that they were flying on a plane speaks for itself. Just for good measure, let's also assume an unborn fetus was on board the plane that crashed into the second tower. Now we take a look at the Katrina survivors. That didn't take too long, now did it? Predominantly Black and poor, and they probably talk funny, too. If one were to go back and take a look at the detailed profiles of the 9/11 victims, they would be frustratingly hard-pressed to find someone who was any of these. Basically, these people simply are not newsworthy. Don't even try to tell me that the WTC didn't have Puerto Rican janitors.
If anything, the only outrage that's been expressed up to this point is more of what Jon Stewart calls "noise." Sympathy and outreach is shelved as an afterthought as the left and the right clash over issues of accountability and party legitimacy, as fact-check after fact-check devolves into a series of chaotic non sequiturs that then melts into one big cluster-fuck. Democrats would love to harness this opportunity to blame Bush for everything, while Republicans will continue to justify Bush's role as commander-and-chief and not-that-big-of-a-douchebag. To Bush's defense, it's not fair to blame him for everything. I mean, at least we can all agree that Bush wasn't responsible for making the hurricane. I'll be here all night.
It's simply human nature. Wait, let me correct that. I think that since the advent of mass communication, human nature eventually grew into completely mutability entity, the extent of its change completely dependent on media. A person, no matter the circumstances, will latch onto whatever feels right at the moment. If this means bashing the political shit out of Bush's ass, then by all means do so. Politics for everyone but those in politics has become one big shouting match; people will yell at each other over their beliefs that they feel so strongly about, go home, take a shit, and go to sleep. In other words, despite their best (mediocre and ineffectual) efforts, millions will irrevocably continue to live below the poverty line in America.
Then there's the consumer side of it all. You've no doubt seen it everywhere you turn in your waking hours. I want to hit every single musician who claims to be "helping" the suffering with a tack hammer. The forced disingenuity of their actions is something I find utterly offensive as a human being. The last time I checked, you guys were all millionaires. Why in the hell would you need a benefit concert, of all things, to raise money? It's bullshit. We've found a way to spin every single tragedy into a profitably endeavor, all things considered. When I see these awful, superficially hollow benefit concerts, all I see is a cockamamie of inflated egos engaged in a congratulatory circle-jerk. They've done their part to help by appearing on national syndicated television? Who the fuck is you? If these musicians truly cared as much as they say they do, they'd be down there at the superdome handing out bottled water and administering care or simply moral support to those that need it the most. I don't know who's worse; the musicians who recycle their songs in the name of charity, or the people that actually give into this contrived saccharinity. When I actually stop and think about it, it makes me nothing less than sick. Buying a CD, even for charity, supposedly, still amounts to buying a CD when all has been said and done. I find it hard to believe that no one ever stops to think about how ridiculous such a scheme is, and how much more ridiculous it is that it actually works. Yeah, it's all for a good cause, not because Clapton plays a pretty mean lick in the live rendition of "Layla."
Our ability to care has become limited to our attention span and the size of our wallets. And yeah, I realize I'm directing all my energies here towards the racial fallout of Katrina, inevitably contributing to the "noise." What can I say, I'm just a little upset. And yes, it concerns me too that I'm more concerned with the political and social side of Katrina as opposed to actually giving a damn about the 100,000 that are going through Hell in America as I type this while sitting in my leather chair with the A/C at full blast. In a minute, I'm going to go outside, smoke a cigarette, take a nap, and when I've woken up I'll have forgotten all of my current anger and rage. I suppose that's just me being human like everyone else.
posted by 99thdream at 2:12 PM
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