Did Bush Administration treat victims of hurricane Katrina in a poor way?

Question

do you think the response would be different if the majority of the people living in that area were white?

Answer 1

yea i agree with u
they didnt prepare themselfs well for it so it happened with a huge destructions of lifes and properities

Answer 2

I went down to do disaster relief assesments on a volunteer basis. The damage was extremely overwhelming. I can say this... it was more than I could comprehend. It will take years and years to get everything back in order.

The people we met were not at all bitter about the assistance they got ..99% were most greatful. I was shocked how the media spun this whole ordeal to make our President look bad and how one or two racists yelling into a camera on TV could influence so many. I found black people and white people working together to rebuild.
They were meeting together in churches (damaged) and coming from all denominations- taking turns having services, sharing the buildings etc. sharing meals. I saw equal damage on all parts.
The Governer and mayor in LA were not as on the ball and organized as the ones in MS.

There were so many FEMA trailers they had to store them because they were not being used. It took massive amounts of work just to clean up the area in order to even start rebuilding. I went there a year after the hurricane and there were still workers going at it hard every day. I saw umpteen church groups working every day as well.
I am offended after seeing the devistation when people who have no clue want to complain! When you have that amount of damage, what the heck do you expect?? Everyone wants instant fixes and they do not realize the work involved.
Part of our assesment was to determine how much physical labor each person needed us to send to get things finished. EVERY person I spoke with had received equal amounts of aid. Then more came from different services. They were also very overwhelmed with how many faith-based groups poured in to give the physical labor needed to build once the money was sent. So the money would go farther for these people since they did not have to pay for labor-- hence better homes than they began with for some
. You have to understand... people were spread everywhere...tell me...do you have a better plan to find out who and where everyone is to get the money to them??? How would you decide who really was from the area and who was scamming? we were given maps- HA!- you could not locate what street was what if they had not put up a few wooden signs The water had gotten so high all the signs were gone and some of the streets too.
I was told by the people that there was national guardsmen on the spot asap to help with the cleanup. MOST people were greatful...the rest were just plain mad that things were not moving fast enough for them. A lot were still waiting for insurance money (that has absolutely nothing to do with the government- insurance does whatever the policy puchased allows)
I AM SICK OF PEOPLE TRYING TO TURN THIS INTO A RACE ISSUE AFTER BEING THERE MYSELF AND SEEING SUCH LOVE AND HARMONY BETWEEN THE RACES THAT CAME FROM ALL THIS!

Answer 3

Living in Florida, we have learned to clean up our own hurricanes whether we like it or not. The federal govt. FEMA is a generous way to receive help.
With Katrina flooding New Orleans, the US was faced with several problems besides just major hurricane damage. They had severe flooding that would not go down and people who were trapped in a city with no way out.
The flooding and entrapment are not problems that had been faced by FL, at least not on that grand scale.
The government moved fast, however, were overwhelmed as they got in there and saw the massiveness of multiple problems.
Live and learn. I don't think the govt. will make the same mistakes if it ever occurred again.
TAKE IT FROM A FLORIDIAN -- Next time when they tell people to evacuate, then do it and take any neighbor or elderly persons nearby with you.

Answer 4

No, I think the response would have been different if their governor and mayor had evacuated them in a timely manner instead of treating a category FIVE hurricane like it wasn't that big of a deal.
I think that FEMA dropped the ball initially, but that once the president stepped in, it got taken care of.
BTW, the president shouldn't have had to have stepped in, the people working for FEMA screwed up. It wasn't like Bush didn't care or was cavalier about it.

And if you saw pictures of anything besides the 9th ward, you would know that many more white people were affected than black. Plus there are black people living in all expense paid apartments in Houston right now, while a lot of white people are still in tents that are set up on the foundations of their old houses, they can't even get a FEMA trailer.
So, keep race out of it.

Answer 5

The majority of the people that died in New Orleans were white,Bush called the govenor of LA 3 times,FIrst time he asked her if she needed the coast guard and help,she said she would get back to him,2nd time she didnt respond,3rd time she responded.Fema has never gone into any disaster until after it has occured.The residents can rip off tax paying hard working americans with the debit card fraud and abuse and they want to blame that on Bush as well??I used to live in Corpus Christi,Tx.I have lost everything to a hurricane and guess what:

1.I made the choice to live in a hurricane prone area
2.I had enough sense to get the hell out when a hurricane was coming and I had no car and 2 small children.
3.I never asked the govt much less blamed the govt for my losses as it was I that chose to live there.
4.I am responsible for myself and my children,not the govt under ANY circumstances.

After the fine people of chocolate town [I thought white people lived in New Orleans but I guess not according to Mayor Nagan]screwed America, America will tire of helping people.

Answer 6

The federal response could have been a lot better, but these things begin at the local level and work their way up, so the shortcomings were more at the local and state level than the federal. And big government programs are, by their very nature, unwieldy. I came south as an individual. The most effective groups early were small private groups (churches were especially visible). Race wasn't an issue, bureaucracy was, and continues to be.

Answer 7

it's good to see there's still some intelligent people left in this country that know the truth about Katrina even while the media does it's darndest to push anti Bush propoganda.

the main parties to blame for Katrina are the mayor, the governor, and of course, mother nature. I'd go further to blame liberals in general who have created such a state of dependency among the poor that they don't know how to help themselves anymore. Liberal policies hurt the poor, they don't help them.

Answer 8

I think if the majority of the people in the area were white, they would have been treated much worse, and I do not think it has anything to do with Bush.

Lynn, I agree with you, as a fellow Floridian. I also think that if you or I would have been stuck in a hurricane in Florida, after repeatedly being told to evacuate, we would have gotten sympathy from no one.

Answer 9

No, I don't think President Bush treated victims of Katrina in a poor way.

Just as many whites were victims as blacks.

Answer 10

No, they werent treated poorly. In fact, they were given more than they've had in years, the thing is, they still want to be supported, when they should be off their a-sses and earning their own way for a change......

And NO, race isnt an issue as to how they were tended too, however it could be the issue as to why they still want to be catered to.

Answer 11

I have yet to figure out what response the President can make.These matters are handled by the state and FEMA.