"Our Katrina"

An article in our local paper about the recent snow and ice storms in western Kansas quoted a livestock producer as saying " ... this is a disaster. This is our Katrina, I guess." An editorial in the same issue said this was an apt description of the storms. But I find this reference offensive, and not an apt description at all.
I know what the producer and the editorialist meant -- that the storms took people by surprise and was far more devastating than anyone anticipated. But their comments show that most people still don't fully realize how devastating Katrina was to those who have been -- and are STILL -- affected by it. Katrina has been, and continues to be, a national disgrace. It's hard to believe that, in a country like the United States of America, people who were hurt, displaced and similarly adversly affected by Katrina are still waiting for help from our government. But, then, it's hard to believe how slow all areas of government were to initially respond to those in the path of the storm. We've responded to disasters across the world faster than we responded to Katrina.
It's a stretch of the imagination to compare the recent snowstorm in western Kansas to Hurricane Katrina. Yes, some people still don't have power, but crews are working on that and power will be restored in days. There are still people waiting for power, and for homes, to be restored in the Gulf Coast area, and it's been over a year since the hurricane. Yes, some lives were lost in the snowstorm, but not the hundreds that were lost in the hurricane. People who were victims of the Kansas stormstorm never had to worry whether or not help was on the way. Some of the people who were victims of Katrina are still waiting for help that should have come immediately.
I've missed out on two opportunities within the last year to visit New Orleans and do some small part to help the area out financially and/or physically. The first was when the American Library Association held its conference there last summer. I love New Orleans -- the restaurants, the French Quarter, and all the other sites -- and would love to have been there for the conference, but also as a tourist, contributing my few dollars to the economy. And there were opportunities (though not enough) for conference-goers to help with repairs. The second was when a group from our church went there for a mission trip at the end of October to work on some houses. Initially, I was going to miss it because I had tickets to a Linda Ronstadt concert then, but she had to reschedule. But by that time, I knew my first grandchild was due at that same time. So I missed that opportunity to help, too.
I'd hazard to say that most people would never think of comparing anything to 9/11. Yet, in some ways, Hurricane Katrina was more of a national tragedy than that horrific event -- because of our lack of response. Hopefully recent episodes of a couple of primetime series that have focused on the plight of New Orleanians will help the rest of the country begin to understand the whole situation a bit better. First was the Christmas episode of new series "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," which featured misplaced musicians from New Orleans. The part with musicians playing a Christmas carol while still shots of the devastation ran in the background was really moving. Second was January 9th's "Boston Legal" (which I can write about in my January 7th post, because I saved this earlier as a draft). It featured a doctor on trial for murdering five patients who'd been left to face almost excruciating death in the wake of the hurricane. The doctor claimed she was just doing what she could do keep them comfortable. Lawyer Alan Shore had some great lines; and actor James Spader, who portrays Shore, brought tears to my eyes -- and to his -- in his closing. (Kudos to "BL" for boosting New Orleans' economy by filming there, too.)