Over the holidays, people in Nebraska and Colorado were hit with back-to-back ice storms in which the destruction equalled that of a category 5 hurricane. Thousands of people were and still are w/o heat, running water, etc., and are stranded inside and outside of their homes. Not to mention the deaths. This storm has caused millions of dollars of damage. My question is why hasn't the media covered this story as extesnsively as they covered (and still are covering) Katrina? Why weren't the people of these states out there demanding FEMA come and help them. Where was the robbing, raping and looting, and murdering? Why weren't the people out there blaming the gov't for this disaster?
Appreciate intelligent answers from all you ladies and gentlemen across the USA...
2007-01-15 02:33:52 · 12 answers · asked by Truth B. Told ITS THE ECONOMY STUPID 6 in Politics & Government ➔ Politics
Reminds me of this rant that was passed around over here in Oregon...
"Up here in the Northwest, we just recovered from a "Weather Event" with rain, and winds up to 90 MPH that broke trees in half, knocked down utility poles, stranded hundreds of motorists, closed roads, isolated scores of communities and cut power to over a million people for as much as two or more weeks - over the Christmas Holidays.
FYI:
George Bush did not come.
FEMA did nothing.
No one howled for the government.
No one blamed the government.
No one even uttered an expletive on TV.
Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton did not visit.
Our Mayor's did not blame Bush or anyone else.
Our Governor did not blame Bush or anyone else either.
Nobody demanded $2,000 debit cards.
No one asked for a FEMA Trailer House.
No one looted.
Nobody - I mean Nobody demanded the government do something.
Nobody expected the government to do anything either.
No Larry King, No Bill O'Rielly, No Oprah, No Chris Mathews and No Geraldo Rivera. No Shaun Penn, No Barbara Streisand, No Hollywood types to be found.
And Nope, we just weathered it out, and helped each other.
Local restaurants made food, and the police (when not doing traffic control at intersections due to traffic lights being out...) and fire departments delivered it to people in need.
The Red Cross was more than accommodating, as were numerous shelters.
Families took in the stranded people - total strangers.
We fired up wood stoves, broke out kerosene heaters and Coleman lanterns.
We put on an extra layer of clothes because that is the logical thing to do.
We did not wait for some affirmative action government to get us out of a mess created by being immobilized by a welfare program that trades votes for sitt'in at home' checks.
We pretty much were determined to clean the mess up ourselves with a "have Chainsaw, will help clean up," attitude.
Why is it that once one gets north of about 48 degrees North Latitude, 90% of the world's social problems evaporate."
It does seem that way. I hope this gets passed on. Maybe ... SOME people will get the message. The world does not owe you a living."
2007-01-15 03:03:36 · answer #1 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 1⤋
You have no idea what you are talking about. An ice storm is bad, no doubt about it. But you can stockpile food, blankets, firewood and water to carry you through a few days. The Gulf Coast looked like Hiroshima after Katrina. Miles of homes were destroyed. Even though we stockpiled food and water it was all GONE. Our houses were leveled to the slab....and I'm not talking New Orleans. There was No communication, electricity, water or homes to live in. And until you are out in 98 degrees weather with 100% humidity with No shelter, food or water...no telephone to call relatives and say "Im alive" no cars because they have all been flooded and only the clothes on your back....thats disaster. And you don't know fear until you live in a three story condo and have fifteen feet of water swirling around you, homes floating towards you while you pray they don't hit your home and knock it into the water, the wind blowing off the roof and collapsing part of your home thinking you are going to die...thats the difference. And I feel lucky because I survived. Thats what happened on the Gulf Coast. Thank God we had a governor and mayor that didn't just sit around moaning and whining. And though what happened with the ice storm is indeed tragic. Its like comparing apples and oranges.
2007-01-15 03:11:00 · answer #2 · answered by JESSIE James 3 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Because it didn't kill over a 1,000 people/minorities like Katrina. Ice storms are bad but they happen all the time. Plus Category 4 hurricanes that hit major US cities (& may be caused by Global Warming) are stories of the century for US media.
2007-01-15 02:42:26 · answer #3 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 1⤋
People who live in the Midwest (I live in NW Iowa) know that when winter comes, there may be a storm to deal with. We don't call our Senators and say, "Feel sorry for us because we are too stupid to prepare." We stock pile food and water in our basements and plan ahead. Sure, there are several people without power but most have been able to get to a home or shelter that has a generator.
Those storms were exceptionally bad though and I know of one nursing home that is still out of power. But the local FD and PD have installed gas generators to keep medical equipment operational.
It must not be trendy to help people in the midwest. I have not seen a benefit concert put on by Brad Pitt helping the victims of Snow Storm Ralph (I made that up) yet. When that happens, it might be time to move.
2007-01-15 02:44:01 · answer #4 · answered by Culture Warrior 4 · 2⤊ 2⤋
I really appreciate your question because it really tells it like it is. I can't get into New Orleans and Katrina to much cause it casuses me to really go off into a ranting rage but it was the most outragous behavior I've ever witnessed in America. And while I am not a racist I crossed my own lines on this one. These people in the midwest have my upmost sympathy for their situation and I'm proud of them for how well they are handling it UNLIKE those in New Orleans were able to.
2007-01-15 02:51:58 · answer #5 · answered by Brianne 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well there is a myriad of reasons, they had no way to blame Bush on this one.
Difficult to blame global warming and make it sound believable
These states are not run by incompetents democrats so that's a plus.
The overwhelming majority of people hit were white and the are not suffering from the victim mentality like in Louisiana.
The white fluffy stuff snow is not as dramatic as flood waters which makes better TV.
2007-01-15 02:56:39 · answer #6 · answered by Ynot! 6 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Well, because the US wasn't responsible for the ice storm, the way they ( the army corps of engineers) were responsible for the poor engineering of the levees (what ACTUALLY caused the damage, not the hurricane) And I still receive faxes everyday about the costs of beef due to the starvation of over 30 000 heads of steer from those regions. So yeah, it is still being reported.
And if the ice and snow is still hanging around in 6 weeks, like the water from the levees was, it will get more coverage
2007-01-15 02:40:30 · answer #7 · answered by hichefheidi 6 · 1⤊ 3⤋
Because the Midwest States do their job.
They & the people don't set around, draw welfare, and wait for the Feds to come and take care of them.
Midwest people don't whine.
And the News Media doesn't care about the Midwest.
2007-01-15 02:40:05 · answer #8 · answered by Anonymous · 1⤊ 2⤋
one reason it's not being covered; no major landmarks were destroyed. i'm not trying to be mean, but i guess noone really cares about the midwest. they should be demanding FEMA and declaring a state of emergency, which they've done in a few states. but FEMA is so inept, they'll send supplies sometime in August.
no robbing, raping, looting or murder? too damn cold!
2007-01-15 02:41:04 · answer #9 · answered by arwen1081 2 · 0⤊ 3⤋
A lot of people through out the area know how to survive.......I keep a wood burining stove for emergencies, along with some way to hunt for food if needed
2007-01-15 02:40:23 · answer #10 · answered by AD 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋