Hurricane Katrina has become an educator to all. It has illustrated that inasmuch as one would like to elevate the political discussion beyond party politics or race it is simply impossible unless the problems are viewed as human problems.
The media with its reacquired ability to challenge the president did a great job in showing the despair in New Orleans that affected mostly African Americans. In its lack of coverage in many poor rural areas that incurred its share of suffering it has given many in the Right Wing the moral cover to disavow what was really the most despicable condition any human could live in. Adding insult to injury the media played right into the stereotypes that many hold of black citizens by applying very little context to the entire ordeal. Not mentioned in any detail was that
- Most people (specifically black people) successfully and independently vacated the city with no governmental assistance.
- A large percentage of the evacuees in Houston simply needed time to contact families and friends requiring no further government assistance.
- Most people looting were doing so for sustenance.
Many disavow affirmative action programs. Many believe it is irrelevant whether the workplace reflects the melting pot that America is supposed to be. The lessons that Hurricane Katrina revealed both overtly and covertly is that unless all are represented in the media government and everywhere else then both innocent and sinister mistakes due to the lack of culture specific sensitivities will frequently occur creating unnecessary alienation between peoples. classic example can be seen below with the description of identical events.
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