Friday, September 02, 2005
Hardened hearts
God, please don't let my heart harden against the victims of hurricane Katrina. I started thinking "you knew it was coming and didn't do anything to get out of the way!" Then, I realized that if I were a woman with 8 children and no husband in sight and I was underemployed (or unemployed), could I heed the warnings to leave with no car and pay for hotel rooms for a few days? The people hit hardest are among the poorest of the poor in America (think 3rd world poor). They're angry now because there isn't enough help, or the help is slow in coming. I could judge. I could criticize. I could belittle. Or worse, I could dismiss and ignore their crys altogether, and it's been a struggle to not do that. Regardless of their lifestyle choices or circumstances or net wealth before the hurricane, they're people.
I've had the pleasure of meeting a few people from Walker, Louisiana a few years back. Walker is a few miles north and west of New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain. We actually drove over the lake to get to/from the airport. The townspeople we met were among the friendliest and wholesome Christians we'd met. Without hesitation or reservation, we were folded into their lives for a weekend.
There was one distinct difference between all the wonderful people we met and the images I see on the television screen lately. Everyone** was 100% white. The racial divide was overwhelmingly apparent in invisible lines. It was wierd for me to see this since I live in California - one of the major stew pots of America.
Hmmm, stew pot? No. Melting pot? No. Pressure cooker? Perhaps. Perhaps if we were all striken blind, we wouldn't be able to judge by color.
** Exception to the 100% white comment was the black waiter we met in a restaurant in Denham Springs. Us: "We're going to Walker for vacation." Him: "Walker? You don't want to go to Walker. There's nothing there for you. Don't go there after dark, etc. etc. etc"
I've had the pleasure of meeting a few people from Walker, Louisiana a few years back. Walker is a few miles north and west of New Orleans across Lake Pontchartrain. We actually drove over the lake to get to/from the airport. The townspeople we met were among the friendliest and wholesome Christians we'd met. Without hesitation or reservation, we were folded into their lives for a weekend.
There was one distinct difference between all the wonderful people we met and the images I see on the television screen lately. Everyone** was 100% white. The racial divide was overwhelmingly apparent in invisible lines. It was wierd for me to see this since I live in California - one of the major stew pots of America.
Hmmm, stew pot? No. Melting pot? No. Pressure cooker? Perhaps. Perhaps if we were all striken blind, we wouldn't be able to judge by color.
** Exception to the 100% white comment was the black waiter we met in a restaurant in Denham Springs. Us: "We're going to Walker for vacation." Him: "Walker? You don't want to go to Walker. There's nothing there for you. Don't go there after dark, etc. etc. etc"
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Four things.
One: There's a difference between doing it to yourself and deserving it.
Two: This goes to show you how fast society breaks down among humans, RICH OR POOR. The same things would happen here or worse.
Three: Just because you're poor and/or black doesn't mean you have to rape and murder and loot and make things worse.
Four: The days of slavery and segregation are over and have been over for a long time. It seems to me that the only reason that race is still and issue is because certain members of the black community (the ones with the smallest ears and the biggest mouths) still continue to make it an issue. (Not everyone, just the ones who everyone listens to.) If black people didn't keep reminding us that they're so different from white people, we'd likely have forgotten all about it. But since they're the people telling us how poor they are and how uneducated they are and how unwilling they are to mainstream themselves into the rest of society, then what else are we to do than keep that in mind?! If that's the way wanted it, they certainly have it now. Does it make sense? No. Do we have to agree with them? No. Do we help them anyway? Yes. Will it help things get better in the long run? Probably not.
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One: There's a difference between doing it to yourself and deserving it.
Two: This goes to show you how fast society breaks down among humans, RICH OR POOR. The same things would happen here or worse.
Three: Just because you're poor and/or black doesn't mean you have to rape and murder and loot and make things worse.
Four: The days of slavery and segregation are over and have been over for a long time. It seems to me that the only reason that race is still and issue is because certain members of the black community (the ones with the smallest ears and the biggest mouths) still continue to make it an issue. (Not everyone, just the ones who everyone listens to.) If black people didn't keep reminding us that they're so different from white people, we'd likely have forgotten all about it. But since they're the people telling us how poor they are and how uneducated they are and how unwilling they are to mainstream themselves into the rest of society, then what else are we to do than keep that in mind?! If that's the way wanted it, they certainly have it now. Does it make sense? No. Do we have to agree with them? No. Do we help them anyway? Yes. Will it help things get better in the long run? Probably not.
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