Katrina ten years on.

[Brianwarnock]

I wonder if there have been many more Americans than you realize, as only the loud and arrogant ones would stand out. The quiet and respectful ones may never be noticed. I've traveled a fair amount, and I'm one of the latter. If we were in the same restaurant, you'd never know I was American unless you were close enough to hear my lack of accent.

I agree and that is a comment I have made in a previous thread, it also applies to the Brits in the med area, and does not effect peoples perceptions.

Brian

 

[The_Doc_Man]

Frothingslosh:

You'd think all of America lined up and took turns shooting his dog or something.

This reminds me of a quote from the USA author Mark Twain, who was speaking of someone he did not like: "I would trade him for a dog and shoot the dog." I wonder if someone said something like that to Col?

Perhaps Col feels that people treat him as though he had more than minimal canine attributes. I know from observation on this forum that (at least figuratively) he is noted for wandering around and p|ss|ng on any sedentary or unsuspecting target. I guess with this post, my fair city was the next fire hydrant he found to offer a hind-leg salute.

I do not claim that New Orleans deserves any special treatment vs. any other city that has been devastated by war or disaster. ALL such cities deserve consideration for the difficulty of trying to rebuild under difficult circumstances. Resources normally used for repair or renovation now have to be shared with the citizens who are just trying to survive long enough to return to something resembling normalcy. When you work with less money than it takes to get the job done, it takes you longer to finish because you have to stretch things out a bit more.

Also, just for the record, and I was there to see these headlines: After the flood waters receded, after the fires were extinguished, after the bodies were buried, and after recovery officials had the chance to actually look around and evaluate the situation, their estimate was that it would take between 10 and 25 years for the city to rebuild. We are mostly rebuilt after 10 years, but give us a break! We are working as fast as we can with the resources we've got. Don't hold our feet to the fire because we haven't quite got the job finished by the earliest possible date anyone projected.

As to whether New Orleanians are kinder, harsher, more forgiving, or less forgiving than the residents of any other city, the answer is "YES."

 

[Frothingslosh]

Hey, I'm with you on this one! I always thought that the ten year estimates were pipe dreams. Modern cities are too big, with too much infrastructure and just plain too much STUFF to rebuild even somewhat quickly, even overlooking all the economic issues you pointed out. Hell, I think even 25 years would be amazing. Rebuilding homes costs quite a bit of money, and people are less likely to shell out that money to improve poverty-stricken areas. As someone who grew up not far from Detroit and currently lives in Flint, I've seen enough of that even in cities that were NOT flattened by a hurricane.

As to Collin, I could explain fairly accurately why he does what he does, but past events have shown that that will simply result in my post getting deleted.