a note about Louisiana
James and I played some crazy frisbee golf and I anhilated his all-time high by raking in a hot 12 over par. You want some of this? Bring it on, I can do worse now that I'm past the beginner's luck!
I know people are getting tired of the media's interpretation of the mess in Louisiana, so I'll drop in my joe-on-the-street perspective. I have overheard a lot of conversations from people who are criticizing the survivors for the chaos that is occurring right now in New Orleans. I have been frustrated with these comments for several reasons, not the least of which being my experience at MSU, when the riots were started and sustained by outsiders who saw the student unrest as an opportunity for them to destroy property and loot stores. I have no doubt that this same behavior is occurring in the midst of the tragedy in Louisiana. Additionally, a great number of the people who are left in the damaged areas are still there because they had no other viable alternative as the hurricane was approaching. As we all know, the price of gas makes travel very costly and not everyone owns a car or has relatives in a safer area where they can stay.
With all that said, I do hope that the situation there improves soon and that everyone who can contribute does so (not just money, but ideas--Scientists, Engineers? Infectious disease/sanitation experts?). I would like to point out, however, that the location of New Orleans (and all the Gulf States, for that matter) puts it in the path of dangerous weather every year and it would be prudent of those states and our federal government to make detailed disaster plans and begin to improve the infrastructure, both man-made and natural, to withstand these occurrences. The unfortunate reality is that with global climate change impacting our weather, we can no longer be sure that weather events will follow their historic cycles or levels of severity. I hope that we will be more diligent in our plans and that we will never need to use them.
Ok, ok I'll get off my soapbox. I feel very strongly about the need for better management of our environment and planning of our cities and I am shocked by the lack of concern among some people for the plight of others. We need to start thinking more about things that are good for our country and our world and less about what things are good for ourselves alone!
I don't have any big plans for the holiday weekend. It's Dana's birthday tomorrow, yeah! I know so many people with September birthdays--I guess it means that I also know how some people like to ring in the New Year! :) I guess I should get to bed so I can go dress shopping (yuck) and running (fun) tomorrow morning. I'll report on the variations of hideous dresses available for women in my next post.
I know people are getting tired of the media's interpretation of the mess in Louisiana, so I'll drop in my joe-on-the-street perspective. I have overheard a lot of conversations from people who are criticizing the survivors for the chaos that is occurring right now in New Orleans. I have been frustrated with these comments for several reasons, not the least of which being my experience at MSU, when the riots were started and sustained by outsiders who saw the student unrest as an opportunity for them to destroy property and loot stores. I have no doubt that this same behavior is occurring in the midst of the tragedy in Louisiana. Additionally, a great number of the people who are left in the damaged areas are still there because they had no other viable alternative as the hurricane was approaching. As we all know, the price of gas makes travel very costly and not everyone owns a car or has relatives in a safer area where they can stay.
With all that said, I do hope that the situation there improves soon and that everyone who can contribute does so (not just money, but ideas--Scientists, Engineers? Infectious disease/sanitation experts?). I would like to point out, however, that the location of New Orleans (and all the Gulf States, for that matter) puts it in the path of dangerous weather every year and it would be prudent of those states and our federal government to make detailed disaster plans and begin to improve the infrastructure, both man-made and natural, to withstand these occurrences. The unfortunate reality is that with global climate change impacting our weather, we can no longer be sure that weather events will follow their historic cycles or levels of severity. I hope that we will be more diligent in our plans and that we will never need to use them.
Ok, ok I'll get off my soapbox. I feel very strongly about the need for better management of our environment and planning of our cities and I am shocked by the lack of concern among some people for the plight of others. We need to start thinking more about things that are good for our country and our world and less about what things are good for ourselves alone!
I don't have any big plans for the holiday weekend. It's Dana's birthday tomorrow, yeah! I know so many people with September birthdays--I guess it means that I also know how some people like to ring in the New Year! :) I guess I should get to bed so I can go dress shopping (yuck) and running (fun) tomorrow morning. I'll report on the variations of hideous dresses available for women in my next post.
posted by sara at
11:07 PM
|
1 comments
