Dean: Racism played a role in Katrina death toll

[madfloridian]

http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050907/APN/509071189

"Racism was a factor in the rising death toll from Hurricane Katrina, Howard Dean told members of the National Baptist Convention of America on Wednesday at the group's annual meeting.

Dean, Democratic party chairman, made the comments to the Baptists' Political and Social Justice Commission. The Baptist Convention has an estimated 3.5 million members representing 3,000 churches and is one of the largest black religious groups in the country.

"We must ... come to terms with the ugly truth that skin color, age and economics played a deadly role in who survived and who did not," Dean said.

Dean said Americans have a moral responsibility to not ignore the devastating effects of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina when it struck the Gulf Coast. The former presidential candidate said the government will be judged on how it treats the old, the young and the poor."

"People are poor in different parts of the country. They are not refugees. They are Americans," he said."

[Neocondriac]

1. THANKYOU.......

Dr. Dean , Keep it up!

[henslee]

2. He walks the walk... and talks the talk.

[Totally Committed]

3. Tell it like it is, Howard!

Thanks for posting this... LOVE IT!

Recommended.

TC

[sniffa]

4. no, that's not true

it was cLassism, not racism. :sarcasm:

[Mairead]

33. Racism is a form of classism. Skin-color is a class. Age is a class

Socioeconomic stratum is a class. Sex-membership is a class.

It's all classism, every bit of it.

[SemperEadem]

41. It's like the Titanic all over again

the poor were locked down in the belly of the ship and went down with it... the wealthier people got in lifeboats and didn't even have to brush up against one another, there was so much room. They'd rather see and hear people dying than to have them sit next to them on a lifeboat.

The same is true about NOLA--repukes would rather watch these people die in disease infested water and filth than to go in and save them--because to the repukes, these aren't humans--they're animals who are on welfare and government handouts, so their lives aren't worth a good gotdamn.

It's about class/caste and denying it doesn't mean that it doesn't exist.

[AirAmFan]

50. GREAT insight. Your post makes me wonder whether there is a sociological

literature on social stratification in disaster relief.

Getting hundreds of heavily-armed troops and police into the Superdome seemed to have a much higher priority for government than providing medical care, food, clean water, or sanitation. I guess in this society whenever you have thousands of poor African-Americans in one place, you've created a prison, whether or not you intended to.

[faithnotgreed]

5. i cannot believe that he has to say this

Dean said Americans have a moral responsibility to not ignore the devastating effects of damage caused by Hurricane Katrina when it struck the Gulf Coast. The former presidential candidate said the government will be judged on how it treats the old, the young and the poor."


we have to beg people to care

its been building for some time but now its just out and out horrific truth
people dont even try to hide their contempt for those who need help (unless its "patriotic" like 9/11 victims)

edit: on the off chance someone may misread my 9/11 comment
that was strictly juxtaposing the very different govt/public responses to the tragedies

[xxqqqzme]

40. except U have 2 factor

in that 9/11 happened less than a year after taking office - FEMA & other government entities had not yet been dismantled or underfunded. We were still under the 'protection' of the Clinton presidency. There were still civil servants working in those agencies that were dedicated to the policies of Clinton's administration - EPA, FEMA, Forest Service - all those policies are now reversed, those civil servants R retiring or leaving in disgust. We're getting bob jones university, or worse, educated employees more than happy to carry out the end days policies of the neo-kon korporate kriminals.

[madfloridian]

6. Picture from the convention.

Democratic national party Chairman Howard Dean speaks Wednesday, Sept. 7, 2005, to the National Baptist Convention of America, in Miami. (AP Photo/J. Pat Carter)

[rodeodance]

7. the issue of race got squashed by the Repugs.

[madfloridian]

8. Well, the good doctor is unsquashing the issue. It is now out in the open

:hi:

[saigon68]

32. Roves first plan was to Demonize the Black Citizens of NO

By getting his media puppet FAUX, to show pictures of Greedy Fat lazy "Welfare Queens" demanding money and 50 cent look alike gang members looting televisions.
At the bar of a eating and drinking establishment in my town, the general tone among the patrons was they should shoot the "N------s"

Although we saw through Rove's plan, there are a lot of rustics who had their racial prejudices affirmed by this gang of FAUX lowlifes and Repuke criminals.

[Andromeda]

9. Bless you, Howard Dean.

This is so apparent that I don't know how anybody couldn't see it.

The "Let them eat cake" attitude pervaded the government at the highest levels and they are still reluctant to take any responsibility for their inaction to this monumental crisis.

If this event had occurred in a mostly white, affluent area I don't believe FEMA et al would have been so slow in responding.

I am so disgusted at this administration and the incompetence they have displayed. It borders on the criminal as far as I'm concerned and the sad part is that they will never have to answer for it.

[alarcojon]

10. Go Dean!

Keep this story in the news! Bush fucked up ROYALLY!

[420inTN]

31. Check out what Snopes has to say about the 2 photos

http://www.snopes.com/photos/katrina/looters.asp

A Salon article on the photographs by Aaron Kinney suggests the captions were a result of a combination of contexual and stylistic differences:

Jack Stokes, AP's director of media relations, confirmed today that Martin says he witnessed the people in his images looting a grocery store. "He saw the person go into the shop and take the goods," Stokes said, "and that's why he wrote 'looting' in the caption."

The photographer who took the Getty/AFP picture, Chris Graythen, also posted the reasons behind his caption:

I wrote the caption about the two people who 'found' the items. I believed in my opinion, that they did simply find them, and not 'looted' them in the definition of the word. The people were swimming in chest deep water, and there were other people in the water, both white and black. I looked for the best picture. there were a million items floating in the water — we were right near a grocery store that had 5+ feet of water in it. it had no doors. the water was moving, and the stuff was floating away. These people were not ducking into a store and busting down windows to get electronics. They picked up bread and cokes that were floating in the water. They would have floated away anyhow.

[Love Bug]

38. Ah, I see... so if a TV floats out of the store it's not looting? Gotcha.

Their explanation of the captions is just splitting hairs. The white people still didn't pay for the food, therefore it is theft (not that I blame them).

[madfloridian]

11. Clueless, ugly response from Mehlman...Ken, shut up.

"I hope Chairman Dean will match his rhetoric with his support for reforms that replace bureaucracy and entitlement with hope and opportunity," said Ken Mehlman, Dean's counterpart in the Republican National Committee.

How dare you talk about "hope and opportunity"? Just shut up.

[BuelahWitch]

13. "Opportunity" for Republicans

means you got the "opportunity" to be born into a rich family. "Hope" means you hope you'll marry into a rich family...

[Zodiak]

14. yup

Even though they have gutted the welfare system and effectively removed the safety net, these scumbags want to use the deaths of these people to take away whatever assistance they have left. Bloodsuckers all!!

[jaysunb]

16. What I don't understand is

why should Mehlman be ask or given an opportunity to respond to any and every thing Dean has to say.
I never hear of Dean quotes being given on the speeches Mehlman or any other repukes give to audiences they've been invited to address. I wonder who decides to run over to the other side to report what they've said.

I seem to remember that kind of " schoolyard " behavior kids used to get people into a fight. It was called agitating. And it was usually the assholes and their clueless minions doing the agitating.

MSM + Republicans = AGITATORS :evilfrown:

[Mabus]

21. From a guy who "apologized" for the non-existent but on-going So. Strategy

WTF, Mehlman can't have it both ways. Why hasn't Mehlman asked his own party to step up and do what he's suggested Dean do especially after he "apologized" for the GOP's Southern Strategy? They're the impediment, they're the ones in control who could get some reforms started. Oops, make that reforms for people who need help, not the super rich that don't need or appreciate it. The super rich are the ones who act as if they are entitled, not those that are suffering the most.

I wish Mary would think about slapping Mehlman too.

[mzmolly]

26. Whatever the f**k that means Ken.

:eyes:

"...replace bureaucracy and entitlement with hope and opportunity"

Do share Mr. Mehlman what hope and opportunity this pResident has presented? Gutting the FEMA "bureaucracy and entitlement" program has done wonders for hope and opportunity huh? Like "I hope I die" because my government is ill prepared ... or "I hope I have the opportunity to lose family members under tragic circumstances?"

!#*$#@

[xxqqqzme]

42. that f*cker said that!!!!

replace - REPLACE??? does he mean replace his rich white male 'entitlement'? w/ opportunity? but I thought he wants - demands the estate tax be repealed? or R they excluding THAT entitlement?

[TahitiNut]

12. Well, he gets a KSOTO Award for this week.

KSOTO - Keen Sense Of The Obvious

[JNelson6563]

17. Everybody knows it, that's true

let us see how many of them, our Dem leadership, will say it aloud. ;-)

Julie

On edit: Even more telling will be who distances themselves from Dean's statement first....

[madfloridian]

18. "Howard Dean does not speak for me"

The ones who said that a few months ago had better not say it now.
:hi:

[psychopomp]

22. The silence is DEAFENING

Why is it only the party so-called "firebrand" who says this? Why don't people in leadership positions state the ordinary, reasonable position that race was likely the main factor in the negligence that lead to unneccessary deaths?

[SemperEadem]

44. Because no one wants to admit the ugliness of that truth

because it would be calling an awful lot of ugly people out on it. A dem leader would rather keep quiet than to stand up and be a witness to the truth... they'd rather go along with the lie than get along by the truth.

[TahitiNut]

24. Tragically, very few have a KSOTO that functions reliably.

:shrug: Very few ever admit the emperor is naked.

[donco6]

49. It's so obvious.

That's one point even my more RW (moderatish) friends agree on. If it had struck the Hamptons, they'd have been in there in minutes.

'Course the real RWers probably agree, too - they just don't give a shit.

[bliss_eternal]

15. I hope I can say this and truly be heard here...

Not long after the elections, Dean stated that he knew bush, and that the man was NOT a racist. I was disheartened that he wasn't seeing, what I saw when I looked at, and listened to gb.

I hate that it took something like this to open people's eyes to the truth of what gb really is, and the depth of his intolerance. I know that this realization is an ugly one. No one wants to look at their alleged leader, and see someone that doesn't see a significant part of their population. But if it is the truth, I would rather people see that than deny it as a reality.

I am hopeful, after reading these remarks by Dean. While it must be awful for Dean to see this, after he attempted to defend gb in the past, and to give him the benefit of the doubt as a human being. I'm just glad we are now on the same page.

Thank you for posting Dean's thoughts...

[madfloridian]

19. Here is what you are talking about...I remember that.

It is from the book he wrote, "You Have the Power."

"I ran for president because I was angry about where our country was going
and I thought we could do better."

"I was horrified by the way George W. Bush was governing our country.
Mortgaging our future with irresponsible tax cuts for his friends.
Despoiling our environment with huge giveaways to industry. Dividing us in
the worst possible ways. Endangering our children with air pollution and
draconian cuts in health-care services. Turning America into a monster in
the eyes of the rest of the world.

I hadn't started out a Bush-basher. In fact, I'd been predisposed to like
George Bush. I knew him personally and had dealt with him professionally
when we were both governors. He'd always been charming and hospitable to me
and my family, both in the Governor's Mansion in Texas and at the White
House. He'd always been more than upright in the business dealings between
our states, keeping his word when he had no legal obligation to do so. What
I knew of his record in Texas bespoke a moderate man who was willing to put
pragmatism before ideology, to raise taxes when necessary to equalize state
education spending, and to take some heat from the right wing of his party
for doing so. ("I hate those people," he'd once snarled at me when I ribbed
him at a White House governors' gathering about some trouble he was having
in Texas with the Christian Coalition.)

I'd approached his presidency with an open mind. 'I hadn't voted for Bush,
but I didn't expect the worst of him, either. After all, I'd always been in
the moderate middle of my own party — a staunch advocate of fiscal
discipline, a devotee of balanced budgets, pro-choice but also pro-gun
owners' rights, and in favor of the death penalty in some instances.'

From the MSNBC review of the book in 2004.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6088976/

[bliss_eternal]

27. That was a great read! Thanks so much for the link...

..I'm not sure if this was what I recall seeing before. I did read it in DU--a link to an article/interview where Dean was saying he didn't believe gb was a racist. I didn't see the specific remarks I recall seeing before--but my memory could be failing me also--(:P). Wouldn't be the first time (lol)

Either way, I really appreciate and admire that Dean is standing up NOW and calling this incident for what it is. It's a refreshing change to have someone in politics standing up for the rights of those that aren't able to do so themselves. So many seem more interested in the big guys, their friends, etc. :eyes:

I do hope that he is able to help in some sort of change for the better for the US...

[lateo]

20. Oh yes!

Is Howard the only white Democrat saying this?

[nolabels]

35. One of the few that can't be cut off at the knees by corporate henchmen...

like it's only logical. Alas, I fear he is only using this position for a springboard. If he truly had helping in his heart he would stay in that position and forgo other aspirations. He could do well driving stakes and building a pillar that others could be inspired with.

[lateo]

36. I agree. Terry Mcauliffe would have already...

have his kneepads on dutifully sucking Bush's member by now.

Dean is the man.

[Endangered Specie]

23. Telling it like it is...

dont mince words, now is not the time to sugar coat the hard ugly truth

[mzmolly]

25. And there it is - "skin color, age and economics"

Dr. Dean speaks the truth - again.

[madfloridian]

28. Here is more on what he said...

..."Dean, in remarks interrupted several times by applause, charged that Republicans in Congress and the Bush administration have not done enough to combat poverty. The pictures of primarily black storm evacuees huddled at the dank Superdome and stranded on rooftops, Dean charged, showed "the ugly truth that skin color, age and economics played a significant role in who survived and who did not."

"The question, 40 and 50 years after Martin Luther King and the civil rights movement, is: `How could this still be happening in America?' " Dean said, later adding: "We have not swept poverty away in this nation. We have simply swept it under the rug."

"Dean, an anti-war presidential candidate in 2004, suggested that the $200 billion the U.S. has spent on the war in Iraq "could have saved lives in New Orleans" by shoring up levees along swollen Lake Pontchartrain."

Dean, who refused to take questions from reporters, told the Baptist group meeting at a downtown hotel that he was speaking "not as chairman of the Democratic party, but as an American."

Yet he repeatedly sought to lay claim to the so-called "morals" issue that some pollsters suggested cost Democrats the presidency in 2000. Moral issues, the new Democratic chief said, should apply to poverty and universal health insurance - not abortion and gay marriage - two issues with which some conservative black clergy side with the GOP.

Another comment...about moral choices

"Moral choices are about making sure that folks don't drown at a nursing home before they can get evacuated."

He defends Nagin:

Saying that he wasn't in Miami to wag "the finger of blame," Dean nevertheless defended embattled New Orleans mayor, Ray Nagin, a black Democrat whom some Republicans have singled out for criticism.

"He's an extraordinary man, he deserves our thanks," Dean said. "What he doesn't deserve is spin doctors in the Republican party attacking him. The president doesn't want to have fights about who to blame, then let's not blame the local people."
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/nation/12584462.htm

[madfloridian]

29. It is up at MSNBC, and we need to help mark it up.

Some group is at it already, marking it down to 2.4. Go for it.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/9247380/

[Oreegone]

30. Bless you Howard !!

You are the man. You put it so eloquently but got right to the heart of it. Our prejudice and lack of care for our least is right out there for rest of the world to look on in horror at.

Keep sayin' it:applause: :woohoo: :applause: :woohoo: O8)

[Kolesar]

34. The US must look like a third world country to the rest of the world

We will allow an underclass to be drowned in polluted water and then just shrug it off and act like it is only history. I recall the government of Mexico wanted to "get beyond" the Mexico City earthquake so that it was not a lingering issue to dog the autocrats who ran Mexico. That is what I see the republicans doing.

The only differences is we will loot our taxpayers to fund $billions in unneeded bridges and the bloated weapons budget.

[Just Me]

37. Dean is such a unique politician: confronting our problems and,...

,...weakness rather than denying they exist in order to maintain the profitteering status quo. The social and economic inequities in this country are undeniable and are growing fast.

[slackmaster]

39. Thank you, Obviousman

:eyes:

[cranston36]

43. Starvation and Loss Follow Katrina

The American harvest season for wheat, soybeans, cotton, corn and other major commodities begins shortly. The farmers that will be pulling in this year’s harvest in the central states rely on barges to carry their corn, soybeans and wheat down the Mississippi River to the Port of New Orleans.

New Orleans is a crucial link to export markets but was badly damaged by Hurricane Katrina. Local officials are hopping mad from Minnesota all the way down to Mississippi.

The Midwest has experienced the worst drought in 20 years.

The storm destroyed sugar cane and rice fields across the southeast.

As a result of the damage to pipelines, oil platforms and refineries in the Gulf Coast farmers are forced to pay more for fuel to harvest and transport crops. This has impacted their profits and the financial markets.

Commodity exports and imports are slowed. Bananas, orange juice, apple juice and other materials imported from Central and South America are delayed in pick up or delivery. The ships are turned away because the secondary ports cannot accommodate the ships. Prices are already rising in supermarkets.

Midwestern farms have been shipping stored corn and soybeans to make room for this year's harvest but damaged waterways and grain handling facilities have left the barges stuck on the river.

Secondary markets and aid shipments of grains and beans will not be moving any time soon and will worsen the hunger crisis in Africa and southeast Asia.

There has been no response from the White House.

[Name removed]

45. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[madfloridian]

46. Falling for lies again? Such a shame.

Some Republicans just can't handle the truth.

[Hosnon]

47. I'd draw the line economically before racially - correct me if I'm wrong

but I did see quite a few white faces in that crowd.

And by the way, when Kanye West called those suffering "his people" I was extremely offended.

[madfloridian]

48. They were all our people....sorry that offends you.

No, there were not many white faces there at all. Even Europe noticed. The whole world saw it.

They were Kanye's people, they were my people. They should be your people as well.

[madfloridian]

51. Kick, for his appearance on CNN coming up.

Wolf is supposed to ask him about this.

[Megahurtz]

52. Well, since Bush&Corp.

participate in the yearly Bohemian Grove rituals
where they wear pointed hoods and similar attire, this sure makes me wonder.:shrug: