I haven’t really said much about the hurricane so far, mostly because I tend to avoid serious topics here. But I have to admit, I’ve been mesmerized by the coverage of the destruction.
There’s very little to say that hasn’t already been said. It’s a phenomenally sad situation, and it just feels completely unreal.
This article is the one that I think probably gives the best idea of the longer-term scope of what’s happened here, at least in terms of the refugees.
The first sentence is an attention-grabber: The largest mass displacement of people since the fucking Civil War.
When the hurricane hit Florida as a much smaller hurricane, people were joking about it, referring to it as Katrina and the Waves, and making lame jokes about that band’s one hit (“Walking on Sunshine,” an association that now drips with irony).
But now…This isn’t just going to be Hurricane Katrina. This is simply going to be known as The Hurricane for a long time to come.
New Orleans as anybody knew it is gone, potentially doomed by broken levees to be this era’s version of Atlantis. The anarchic situation I’ve been reading about there is horrifying.
Half-forgotten in the riveting images of an entire city slowly succumbing to the waters are the coasts of Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama, which took a far more direct hit from the hurricane itself.
The initial confirmed numbers of dead are tiny compared to the numbers that are sure to come out in a few months, when there’s something resembling a full count.
It’s difficult to know what to do when you’re watching from 1500 miles away. Giving money helps, but you’re consistently struck by the feeling that you could and should do more. But you don’t know how.
I don’t even know what else to write here. Like I said, pretty much anything there is to say has already been said. Help however you can.
And I promise I will help contribute to the morale by going back to mocking people and things tomorrow.