CNN reports that 10 bodies were found in the now-empty Superdome.
This is wildly at odds with what the news organizations told us.
After all, there was, at one point, nearly 23,000 refugees at the Superdome. Put another way, the Superdome held a population the size of a small city. Worse, that population was disproportionately old, poor, sick and disabled - the people who could not leave New Orleans. That is, the Superdome population was that remnant of the greater New Orleans population most likely to be killed by adverse circumstances.
But despite the most adverse circumstances imaginable, only ten people were found dead over the course of five days. We know at least one of these dead was a suicide, and two more were the result of a rape - a young girl raped and killed, her murderer himself killed shortly afterwards by the enraged crowd.
Before CNN's report, it seemed distinctly odd that news reports kept telling us of the corpses strewn around the Dome, but their photos and descriptions were always of the same three bodies: a disabled grandmother in a wheelchair, a man on a chaise lounge and a man on a blanket in the median.
Now we know why.
Ten deaths in five days in an old, disabled population of 23,000?
All things considered, that's pretty darned good.
What??? Are you trying to imply that there has been some kind of BIAS in the mainstream media's coverage of the aftermath of Katrina????
ReplyDeleteSo far, Bush has been blamed for allowing global warming that caused this hurricane (just a little science, please!); the military is being blamed for daring to continue a war during this crisis (huh?); FEMA, the Red Cross and Catholic Charities are being blamed for not dispatching funds PRIOR to the crisis; and the New Orleans police for not enforcing the mandatory evacuation by gunpoint (imagine the field day the media would have had with that one). Talk about a city that lacks personal responsibility - it does show, however, that "mandatory" is a word that should be followed. Mississippi, an area seriously affected by the actual hurricane (and not just by poor water management) is crying fowl because they are, for the most part, ignored by the media concerning the devastation in their area. This is how the media treats a state that manages their crisis too well. Hmmm, I spilled my soda, to whom should I point my finger at first?
ReplyDeleteThank-you for pointing that out! I was actually letting the media get to me. Having a new baby must have adled my brain. The destruction that this storm caused in general is terrible, though. I have family in Metairie who were displaced by the storm. They got out of town on Saturday. Wasn't that smart. :-)
ReplyDeleteYou still have it wrong. There is no raped and murdered teenager. Instead, there was a report of an attempted rape and an arrest of the alleged perp. I don't know why some folks keep exaggerating what occurred, but I think it has to do with perpetuating racism.
ReplyDeleteNor does your conclusion about the number of deaths of the ill and elderly make much sense. A signficant number of ill and elderly may have died after being evacuated, but as a result of conditions in the Superdome and Convention Center. I've read a morgue for such cases at the airport, which served as a field hospital.
Most people are rightly convinced that all levels of government, including federal, failed the poor of New Orleans. The continuing efforts of Right Wingers to minimize the tragedy will not work, despite poorly reasoned attempts like yours.
People wishing to learn more about what an investigation of the situation at the Superdome and Convention Center revealed should read the lead article in today's New Orleans Times-Picayune.
The report of the raped and murdered teen came in on CNN. I agree that liberal media are racist - if you want to argue the report, take it up with the people who originated the report: the MSM.
ReplyDeleteCertainly people died after being removed from the Superdome. But the issue at hand is the number of deaths per day per thousand. That's how the level of tragedy is assessed. So, saying another group of people died after receiving rescue and proper treatment is not statistically relevant to the count of people who died during the tragedy itself.
After all, a certain number of people were going to die from natural causes even if Katrina never hit New Orleans. You have to look at what happened in the time period, not before or after.
The article you point us to merely re-confirms what I said: what happened at both the Dome and the Convent Center was not as bad as the MSM was pretending.
I don't see how you can use the referenced article to argue the situation was actually worse than I've portrayed it when the article you point to for evidence shows a LOWER body count than the article I point to gives.
I find my position a lot more logically coherent than yours.
Your position is driven by ideology. As a Right Winger, you want to deny the responsibility of the Bush administration in this tragedy. To do so, you dismiss the suffering of millions of people. It boggles the mind that you somehow imagine that is a 'Christian' position to take.
ReplyDeleteWhen we see a final death count, it will include people who died as a result of conditions in the Superdome and Convention Center, whether they expired there or not. Your effort to ignore this reality will prove futile much as the 'blame the governor and mayor' talking point failed. Bush and his administration polled the lowest they ever have despite the concerted efforts of persons like yourself to shift blame. Many a Rpublican has found his or her heart because of this revealing tragedy. I guess you are not one of them.
ReplyDeleteWell, June, one of us is certainly driven by ideology. I point you to the very article you bring forward. It indicates the levels of death and violence in the Superdome and the Convention Center were extraordinarily exaggerated.
ReplyDeleteYou apparently either didn't read the article you referenced or you didn't comprehend it.
I know that Bush declared the coast line a disaster area 24 hours BEFORE Katrina hit. I know that federal law forbids him from sending aid until the local authorities request it. I know that the reports of violence and death from the Superdome and the Convention Center were largely fabricated. These are facts.
What facts can you point to?
As for polls, sure Bush polls low. Half the nation is still not connected to the Internet, so they rely on MSM for their news.
ReplyDeleteThe MSM lies.
So half the nation buys into lies because they only get half the story. I have never given a hot damn for poll numbers.