Iowa Versus Louisiana (New Orleans)

[John81]

(Something I found in my email today)


Iowa Versus Louisiana


When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a 'vanilla' Iowa , because that's the way God wants it?

Just a personal observation. ..as I watched the news coverage of the massive flooding in the Midwest with over 100 blocks of the city of Cedar Rapids, Iowa under water, levees breaking, and the attention now turned downstream for when this massive amount of water hits the Mississippi, what amazed me is not what we saw, but what we didn't see...

1. We don't see looting.
2. We don't see street violence.
3. We don't see people sitting on their rooftops waiting for the government to come and save them.
4. We don't see people waiting on the government to do anything.
5. We don't see Hollywood organizing benefits to raise money for people to rebuild.
6. We don't see people blaming President Bush.
7. We don't see people ignoring evacuation orders.
8. We don't see people blaming a government conspiracy to blow up the levees as the reason some have not held.
9. We don't see the US Senators or the Governor of Iowa crying on TV.
10. We don't see the Mayors of any of these cities complaining about the lack of state or federal response.
11. We don't see or hear reports of the police going around confiscating personal firearms so only the criminal will be armed.
12. We don't see gangs of people going around and randomly shooting at the rescue workers.
13. You don't see some leaders in this country blaming the bad behavior of the Iowa flood victims on 'society' (of course there is no wide spread reports of lawlessness to require excuses).




Where are all of the Hollywood celebrities holding telethons asking for
help in restoring Iowa and helping the folks affected by the floods?

Where is all the media asking the tough questions about why the federal
government hasn't solved the problem? Asking where the FEMA trucks (and
trailers) are?

Why isn't the Federal Government relocating Iowa people to free hotels
in Chicago ?

When will Spike Lee say that the Federal Government blew up the levees
that failed in Des Moines ?

Where are Sean Penn and the Dixie Chicks?

Where are all the looters stealing high-end tennis shoes and big screen
television sets?

When will we hear Governor Chet Culver say that he wants to rebuild a
'vanilla' Iowa , because that's the way God wants it?

Where is the hysterical 24/7 media coverage complete with reports of
cannibalism?

Where are the people declaring that George Bush hates white, rural
people?

How come in 2 weeks, you will never hear about the Iowa flooding ever
again?

[Kayla]

:wink

[OLD fashioned preacher]

Superb post!!!!!!!!!! :clap:

[Pastorj]

And you don't see the devastation in Iowa that you saw in southern MS, and Lousianna.

[John81]

And you don't see the devastation in Iowa that you saw in southern MS' date=' and Lousianna.[/quote']

Not sure what you mean...

[Pastorj]

The devastation along the MS and LA coastline was far greater than the floods in Iowa. Over 70,000 homes were destroyed in MS and LA. We are nowhere near that yet in Iowa.

[John81]

The sad fact is that Mississippi and most of the rest of Louisianna were lost in the shadow of New Orleans. The devestation in Iowa (and parts of Illinois and Missouri as well) is far worse than what New Orleans suffered and will impact the nation on a larger scale.

Those in New Orleans had plenty of warning and plenty of time to leave. Many chose to ignore the warnings and then to go into criminal and/or complaint mode when New Orleans flooded.

The fact is, the people if Iowa have handled this disaster in a far better manner, even though the "stars" and government have not been touting their problems and promising extra assistance.

It's also true that those in Mississippi (where the hurricane actually landed) and Alabama dealt with the disaster well. They didn't receive the attention or offers of extra help that New Orleans garnered.

It's also true the major media virtually ignored the great works of the many Christian churches and individuals who helped those in Mississippi and elsewhere after the disaster.

[OLD fashioned preacher]

Considering I was on the Gulf Coast and did electrical work after the hurricanes (Opal, Erin, Ivan, and Katrina - btw I also was in Biloxi after Camile) I know the above observations concerning the general attitudes to be true. Port Christian (pronounced kristie-ann) was wiped slap off the map, got almost no notice from media and just knuckled down to trying to rebuild instead of whining for handouts and sympathy.

[John81]

Very true!

And the point here isn't the size or scope of the devastation, it's the difference in the way those effected have chosen to respond as well as how the "elites" have chosen to respond (or NOT respond).

[ptwild]

The devastation to NOLA was far worse than in Iowa. Also, the populations aren't really comparable at all, with NOLA being much bigger. Katrina got a lot of attention because it was the worst natural disaster to ever befall the continental U.S. There is also a socioeconomic gap between the two cities, with NOLA having a much lower per capita income. Not that being poor is any excuse, but it's just a fact of life that the poor committ more crimes, especially when faced with stressfull situations. I also think that, having observed Katrina, the state and local govenments of Iowa (and probably mose U.S. cities) had an appropriate plan in place. You've also got to remember that if you live in NOLA and you are expected to evacuate every time a hurricane approaches, you might as well move. Only in hindsight does it look foolish for people not to leave, when they have waited out so many hurricanes in the past. NOLA is also a cultural treasure for this country, not to take anything away from Iowa. There is no NOLA anywhere else on the planet, it is instantly recognizable and people value that and have an interest in seeing it preserved. I don't know, maybe only southerners understand it this way.

[Pastorj]

The point is they are different situations. On the Gulf Coast, 70k homes were destroyed. Entire towns were wiped out. Most of the people I met while there were not looking for handouts, they were hard at work trying to recover. Unfortunately the people of New Orleans give the entire gulf coast a bad view. The majority of the those effected jumped right into helping everyone around them.

[John81]

Actually, the point is, those who remained in New Orleans when it became flooded because the levee broke decided to conduct themselves like criminals and crybabies while those who were actually hit directly by Katrina didn't and neither did those who were flooded out in Iowa and Missouri.

[Pastorj]

I would agree with you about New Orleans, but the rest of the gulf coast did not behave that way.

[John81]

I would agree with you about New Orleans' date=' but the rest of the gulf coast did not behave that way.[/quote']

That's all that I've been saying. The areas where Katrina actually hit, areas devastated in Mississippi and Alabama, the folks there conducted themselves well as have the folks in Iowa and Missouri.

Sadly, those in New Orleans acted like criminals and/or crybabies and the media, "elites" and the government focused their attention on them.

[JerryNumbers]

Yes, that one city, but why didn't the mayor and the governor get them out? But them many of them may have feared to leave their homes because they feared being robbed of everything.

But they loved that mayor enough to elected him again. And the governor had enough sense not to run again, she knew what woudl happen.