It is obvious now that the vast major of those hit worst by Hurricane Katrina were poor and black. Yes, I’m sure that even Ann Rice’s house in the ritzy area was severely damaged, but those who are penniless, jobless, and being housed in foul stadiums are poor.
How much does this explain the lag tag in recognizing the scope of the problem? How much is this going to explain the relief effort’s success? Maybe nothing at all, but these questions must be entertained.
There was a huge lag time before the major media and even the major bloggers understood how bad things are down there. Without the media, the politicians didn’t know. Relief agencies didn’t know. There was a lost day.
Was there this lost day, because so many of the people and areas hit by the storm were extremely poor and socially isolated? There was no one there with connections in government or journalism. No key people making phone calls to find out what happened to Aunt Mabel.
I’m not arguing that anyone purposely ignored their plight, but that the social isolation of those communities meant that elites were left in the dark.
I am also concerned about the image of large groups of poor people yelling at the TV cameras that they want water and housing now. Lots of people already assume that poor, black, urban people are freeloaders. Are they going to want to help the “Welfare Queens?” Are people more likely to want to help Sri Lankans than the poor in their own country?
I don’t know. Just things I am worrying about as I pack up the kids for the park.
Apt. 11d 
I’m an American living in Canada, and I was filled with pride Tuesday when my adoptive country offered personnel, helicopters, supplies, whatever was needed. The US had only to ask, and Canada was ready at a moment’s notice.
They’re still ready, far as I know. Canada can’t come in until they’re invited.
It’s not like the help’s not needed, so I don’t quite understand the delay. I guess there isn’t even enough organization that the Canadian help could be utilized? Rescue workers need food, water, instructions, a place to land. I HOPE it’s not national pride, stubbornly insisting that the US can do this alone. And it’s not like I, personally, am being prevented from helping… but my nearest proxies ARE, and it’s frustrating to me.
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The short answer to your question is, “No”.
We lost a day not because most of the victims were poor, but because there was no telephone, electric, or cellphone service. Try posting to your blog after unplugging your computer.
With no communication, the only way we could have learned of their plight was to go into the disaster zone — no easy task in itself.
There’s no reason to assign evil intent here.
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I think you mean Ann Rice. I’m pretty sure that Amy Tan lives in San Francisco.
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JC confuses matters by bringing in “evil intent.” The marginalized are not marginalized *by* evil intent; but they are marginalized nonetheless. Call it benign neglect if that makes you feel better. But the fact remains: this happened to the marginalized because of their social position.
I recommend Eric Klineberg’s terrific book Heat Wave: A Social Autopsy of Disaster in Chicago (Chicago 2002). He finds that the same kind of marginalized and isolated citizens hit worst by Katrina were the most prone to die during the famous heat wave.
That there are sociological phenomenon at work seems obvious. It’s all the more obvious, I think, when people try so hard to deny it.
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11D, I want to know whether Joan Walsh’s piece
http://www.salon.com/opinion/feature/2005/09/01/katrina_race/index.html
jibes with your sensibilities.
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oops, catie. Thanks for that.
Thanks, Sumana, for the link to the Salon article. I also have asked why people weren’t bussed out of the city before the hurricane. What she said about the hurricane exposing our hidden poor was really interesting.
DP — I’ve heard that Klineberg book is excellent; I must read it now. I think there is no doubt that the poor have been hit most seriously by the storm and that relief efforts have been delayed and even stymied by their poverty. I am worried about more conscious acts of racism coming to play. I worried that there will be refusals to take the refugees into other cities and towns or resentment for their demands for help.
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