DIARY - When the levee breaks
Date: 2005-09-08 13:29:43
Author: Pat Kent
Well,
The spirit of Bono's hat seems to live on.
Can things get more ludicrous in this world? I'm sure they can and no doubt will.
Today I read that a gang of kids here in the UK tied another kid to a tree, then set their "prisoner" alight.
Some of the gang were caught, but the CPS [Crown Prosecution Service] decided that they couldn't press charges as the Police didn't catch the whole gang, and so the three that they had caught would have to be let off as otherwise it would be "seen to be singling them out". Tell that to the poor kid they singled out!
Let's extrapolate that up a level or two. If they were terrorists and we only caught three of a gang of six would we let them go? Don't answer that, of course we would. What was I thinking even asking the question?
Then there are the shameful goings on over in the Mississippi delta area. Here we have three authorities, local, State and Federal going through the ritual of finger pointing while tens of thousands either die, rot, or have no sense of future.
Why is it that no-one can take a risk these days, and try to do something even if it fails, and be able to say "we tried, we gave it our best go" without suffering a haranguing.
Pictures of empty school buses lying under several feet of water graced the pages of newspapers, while the politicos bemoaned the fact that they couldn't transport people out of the area. Why didn't someone think about using these buses, or at least getting them out of the area, so they might be used in any recovery programme.
At this point politics takes over and the the fingers start to get pointed at others rather than sorting the mess out.
Where was the emergency planning for this disaster? Well, more to the point, how did it fall between two or three government stalls to the point where food and supplies were blocked, transport was denied and to the outside world it appears so incompetent that we only end up hearing one politico slagging off another politico, while the population are either bullied or ignored into submission.
Instead of someone taking a risk and trying to secure the levees as soon as possible, or establishing what should have been no more than short-term martial law, the sorrowful human suffering as well as the shameful actions of looters/snipers/agencies on display just seemed to roll on and on.
I presume that once again, the fear of litigation, criticism or political shenanigans stifled any half decent action that might have been tried to shore up the cities and communities that were in desperate need of someone brave enough to stick their neck out for them.
The spirit of human ingenuity, endeavour and compassion seems to wash away in the stinking waters of the Mississippi.
Madness.
Pat Kent
© Pat Kent 2005 - All rights reserved. Pat Kent exercises his right to be identified as the author.