There's a better comparative disaster than Triangle Shirtwaist

[jmowreader]

I've seen a few threads naming the Triangle Shirtwaist fire as the Big Disaster we should compare Katrina to.

I like the Cocoanut Grove fire as a Katrina-comparative disaster better.

The Cocoanut Grove was a massive nightclub in Boston, Mass. On November 10, 1942, a busboy used a lit match to help him change a burned-out light bulb; the ensuing fire killed nearly 500 people--the worst fire tragedy in America's history.

Like New Orleans, the Cocoanut Grove was a playground for the rich and famous.

Like New Orleans, the Cocoanut Grove had almost no escape routes. In New Orleans there's only one major road leading to town; the only functioning exit at the Cocoanut Grove that night was a revolving door with no outswing doors beside it.

Like New Orleans, the Cocoanut Grove was festooned with unforeseen hazards--the delicate levee system in New Orleans contrasted with the flammable plastic decor at the Cocoanut Grove.

[Mikimouse]

1. In terms of Social Darwinism, though, Triangle Shirtwaist id still

the better comparison to what has happened in NO.

[jmowreader]

3. Triangle Shirtwaist is better for evaluating the aftermath

The hurricane itself? Cocoanut Grove all the way.

[fudge stripe cookays]

5. No, the fire itself is also a good parallel.

Full of poor foreign immigrants, whose safety was also disregarded by the rich and powerful factory owners.

FSC

[Skittles]

8. as I recall from reading about it

the facotry owners responsible for locking the girls into the building while they worked got off scot-free, but public outrage changed working conditions

[fudge stripe cookays]

12. Yep;

there's a relatively recent book that's come out that I still want to read, but need to wait until I can find a used copy!

FSC

[Skittles]

13. Half-Priced Books is one of my favorite stores

:thumbsup:

[fudge stripe cookays]

14. Us too....

Specially the flagship on NW Hwy. We used to be in there every weekend, but we've been busy lately.

I'm having withdrawal!
FSC

[jmowreader]

15. Welansky also disregarded the safety of his patrons

Barney Welansky, the owner of the Cocoanut Grove, was so paranoid about people skipping out on their checks he welded the fire doors shut.

I thought it was slightly humorous, in a black sort of way, that one of Welansky's men stood in front of the door demanding people pay their bills before they could escape the fire. He got squashed.

[Mikimouse]

6. Ahhh, now I see what you were saying...

Sorry about that, my mind is a bit weary, and it only operates on a single functioning brain cell anyway. Yes, I am in complete agreement with you on the sequence comparison!

[StClone]

2. I think a little Johnstown Flood, too

"There was no larger news story in the latter nineteenth century after the assassination of Abraham Lincoln. The story of the Johnstown Flood has everything to interest the modern mind: a wealthy resort, an intense storm, an unfortunate failure of a dam, the destruction of a working class city, and an inspiring relief effort..."

http://www.nps.gov/jofl/

[bklyncowgirl]

10. Beat me too it.

Working class people in the city died because the rich folks on the hill couldn't be bothered to maintain their dam properly.

[Jade Fox]

4. I'd say it was "Isaac's Storm", the 1900 hurricane that hit Galveston...

Somewhere between 8000 to 10,000 people died, again as part of the
Federal Government screw-ups. Among those screw-ups was ignoring
the weather experts in Cuba who were trying desparately to get the
US to take the storm seriously, and evacuate Galveston. The city was
never the same, although not entirely due to the hurricane. If you read
the book "Isaac's Storm" you will get an idea what things are going to
be like when they pump the water out of NOLA.

[mcscajun]

7. Each of them are watershed events with far-reaching implications.

We don't need to pick and choose.

In the aftermath of the Triangle Shirtwaist Fire, progress was made in the areas of womens' unionization, job safety for workers generally, and it had impacts on both local and national politics. In New York and in places around the county, tougher building codes were enacted and more stringent factory inspections were mandated.

The Cocoanut Grove Fire resulted in major efforts in the areas of fire prevention, control and evacuation for nightclubs and other areas of public assembly throughout the nation.

We'll only know in retrospect if the disaster that was the Bush response to Katrina had a similar outcome.

[Postman]

9. Bush thinks nothing went wrong....

And he's going to "investigate" what happened.

I don't think this country has ever seen a worse president.

[mcscajun]

11. Nope...we certainly haven't seen a worse President.

Warren G. Harding held the title for a long time, despite challenges from Coolidge, Hoover, and Nixon, but historians are already moving Harding aside to make room for Bush.

"Bush Is No Reagan; He's a Harding"
http://www.alternet.org/story/11181/

They were doing this BEFORE Katrina, BEFORE 9/11. It's anyone's guess what they'll be saying a few years from now.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

16. Johnstown Flood 1889

http://www.jaha.org/FloodMuseum/history.html

2,209 dead for the sake of protecting the expensive fish in the billionaire's private lake.

The aftermath became part of the backlash against robber barron capitalism.