Who's to blame

New Orleans, who is to blame?

Up until now I’ve hesitated to enter the blame game fray. Why, because People were dying, and mainly because Monday morning quarterbacking don’t mean shit. That plus at one time in my life I was involved in emergency rapid response work. It was difficult, mentally, physically, and emotionally. The Substance abuse rate among the men and women that respond to our emergencies, large and small, are fuckin’ unbelievable. Let’s not even discuss the divorce rates, the spousal abuse rate, etc… Also the logistics of crisis management is not an exact science, contrary to what everybody is saying these days.

Folks sometimes people fail, Okay. In this case there were failures from the local level all way up to the White house. These failures range from not following pre-Katrina evacuations plans fully to showing up on the scene of a historic disaster 24 hrs. late. But I guarantee you none of these failures were intentional or without concern for the victims. I believe Mayor Nagin wants the best for his citizens. I believe Governor Blanco wants the best for her citizens. I believe President Bush wishes he had gotten better information in the beginning.

Let’s back up and examine the things that are amazing about what happened in New Orleans. The Coast Guard launched a unprecedented rescue effort, saving over 10,000 lives. For every story about looting and violence there were 10 about people helping each other. The fact of the matter is if this disaster was anywhere else in the world the loss of life would be nowhere near what it is in New Orleans- it would be greater. The city itself would be doomed, we plan to rebuild bigger and better.

These partisan bitch sessions are getting old and at best are got-damned childish. This disaster will set the standard. We will do better next time. We have to do better.

Take Care