To Conservatives Who Blame the Victims

[bluedawg12]

Conservative pundits and activist groups have been busy, on the air and via e-mail lists, laying blame on the poor, on welfare recipients, and on those who had little before they lost everything as a result of the great national emergency following Katrina, we, on the reasonable progressive side, have some answers to offer.

Now swallow hard, hard head conservatives, because the following won’t be pretty.

The world has eyes. Hundreds of lenses aimed at the US-gulf, national emergency, showed us the ugly truth. A few powerful white men failed to rescue many poor black people.

And as a result babies died, young women died, the elderly died. Due to heat and dehydration. Due to neglect.

We saw the flagrant hypocrisy. When a young white couple was spotted with food and soda they were foraging, when a similar photo of a black couple was shown it was called looting.

No, the failure to respond was not all due to racism, it was also due to plain old fashioned incompetence and stupidity.

And , there was also classism. You know classism. Not the type Karl Marx spoke of, because that makes us sound like crazy lefties, but the kind you understand. Poor blacks and poor southern whites from Mississippi to Louisiana who live pay check to pay check and have lost everything. People who had one chance at ever owning a home and would rather die than leave it. You understand the importance of a home ownership society, don’t you?

Those are the people that waited for days for water and food and help...Federal help.
The help came five days late and a leader short.

So here are some patriotic progressive concepts*. You may find them radical. Many have.

Bless the poor and help them. Don’t call them looters. Send helicopters.
Be generous to those who have little and save their pets, that may be all they have left.
Honor those who mourn the dead and grieve with the survivors. The survivors earned our respect.
Right the iniquities and level the playing filed in society to give a hand up not a shove down.
Mercy is charity with out judgement, mercy is a prompt command and control center, security and water.
Keep your motives pure give the big contracts to help the little feller get back up on his/her feet.
Try negotiations first and fully. Shoot only if shot at, and then shoot straight.
Respect those who speak the truth and stand up against injustice, for they are patriotic Americans.

...........

* Source. The Gospels of St. Mathew
Blessed are the poor in spirit: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 3)
Blessed are the meek: for they shall posses the land. (Verse 4)
Blessed are they who mourn: for they shall be comforted. (Verse 5)
Blessed are they that hunger and thirst after justice: for they shall have their fill. (Verse 6)
Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy. (Verse 7)
Blessed are the clean of heart: for they shall see God. (Verse 8)
Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God. (Verse 9)
Blessed are they that suffer persecution for justice' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (Verse 10) -Gospel of St. Matthew (v, 3-10).

[Beware the Beast Man]

1. What, are you nuts?

How dare you quote the parts of the Scriptures that don't benefit the Religious Right! :sarcasm:

Excellent post. Nominated. :thumbsup:

[napi21]

2. That should be posted on the Freeper site!

Probably wouldn't stay up long, but maybe SOME would see it!

[Why Syzygy]

3. Neat / nt

[dogday]

4. Bill Mahr made a comment last night

The Right wants to always post the 10 commandments, but never the Blessed B's, in fact they never want to post anything about Jesus. I don't see them pushing for a cross, etc.

[ixion]

5. worse than 'failure to rescue', they didn't allow them to leave

they closed the only bridge out of town and wouldn't allow people who were trying to evac to do so, and they did so at gun point.

It's beyond failure. It's criminal negligence, or even Crimes Against Humanity, IMO.

[Joe Chi Minh]

21. A double whammy. The Bible

- and I mean the Old Testament, not just the New - explicitly condemns both oppression of the poor and murder, as sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance.

I hope the number of dead children is published. We'll never know how many directly from dehydration and starvation.

Bush and Cheney could do worse than read and meditate on Habakkuk 2:1-14.

[CrispyQ]

6. Very nice!!

I especially liked this line: The help came five days late and a leader short. ;)

I'll tell you what I tell everyone who writes something good -- send it to your local paper's editorial page!

[Joe Chi Minh]

22. A great idea, CrispyQGirl.

[ayeshahaqqiqa]

7. AAR aired a segnment from Rush Limpaw

where some woman was bemoaning the fact that "THEY" were now in Houston, and were sure to bring crime, etc. Rush mentioned the fact that "THEY" were getting $2000- and that FEMA was distributing designer clothes (that had been confiscated by the US government) and how horrible it was that "THEY" were getting these wonderful benefits. The woman said they'd use the money and the clothes to get crack.

I almost threw up at the blatant racism and classism. Bet the woman hadn't donated a dime to the Katrina survivors, and obviously hadn't gone to the Astrodome to volunteer.

[Nay]

14. Did anyone correct Rush and tell him that those "designer" clothes

were COUNTERFEIT knockoff designer clothes seized by various federal agencies as they were illegally imported into the US??

[pitohui]

8. you can't change a heart that hates

you're not jesus, i'm not, we can't change the ppl who are going to make this abt how they don't wanna pitch in & fix this mess because a black person might be helped

these ppl always have excuses

if the images were coming from the coast or from white rural areas, instead of from new orleans, we'd be hearing the same trailer park trash jokes we heard abt florida w/r/t andrew & other storms

there is always a reason the freeper can't reach in his pocket or pick up a hammer & help out, it may be because of race, it may be class, it may be because it happened in indonesia, it may be because it happened in new york, it may be because it happened on the coast, but you notice there is always a reason they have no heart & can't give anything but negativity?

to hell w. them

they are useless & they are not gonna change

as far as i'm concerned, i'm just gonna tell 'em they're crap when they get in my face & then i'm gonna move on

the freeper & the wingnut is simply not worth my time, the fascist pundit who wants to get on the air & spread hate while ppl are still dying will have to answer to god because i'm not listening to their garbage

take away their audience, laugh in their face, don't give them any power over yr spirit

[blossomstar]

9. Beautifully stated! Thank you... where are the real christians?

most of them (including me) have stopped going to church because of the warped self-righteous politics that is all mixed in with our religion... trying to and succeeding at preaching politics, intermingling religion in our schools... it's also time we took our houses of worship back, along with our government! We are no better than the crazy terrorists in Iraq that are blowing themselves up! That is what religion in our politics will lead to! It does not belong in our government... period. One Nation, Many faiths. That is what has made us strong in times past and will again. We are tired of being dictated to.

[Viva_La_Revolution]

13. Well said!

and welcome to DU
:toast:

[bluedawg12]

10. Maher was correct X-tians avoid Christ's words

because he was for the poor and the disenfranchised.

He said he came to save sinners not self righteous, judgmental, blow hards, who have not one ounce of human decency and revel in self aggrandizing self righteousness.

He said is it s easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle ( a gate in the walls surrounding Jerusalem at the time that was very narrow and used to control in flow) than for a rich man to get to heaven.

Now I am not saying we should all be poor, I am saying people of real compassion would quickly agree that a rising tide should lift all boats. They should be horrified to be reminded of the poor- who indeed have always been with us.


Is it fair that Dickeyburton contractors make $120,000/year in Iraq and our own troops make $25,000 and cannot support their families, for instance?


We all know the drill- time to get the red states and blue states to work together on real issues and not straw man cultural wars.

No one ever starved because gays got married in Massachusetts.

[rodeodance]

12. I put the Source from the gospel in the subject line and sent it around.

[bluedawg12]

15. There are more things that unite us than divide us.

The few, the extremely wealthy few, have played Americans against each other.

It's time we pulled together and fought against the real threat to our nation.

There are hard issues: National security and a strong military we can all agree on.

But there are the so called soft issues:
Are you happy with you health insurance bills?
Can you afford health insurance?
Is your child Yale bound or lucky to make it out of K-12?
Is your job secure? Or headed over seas to Communist China?
Do you make a decent wage or living pay check to pay check?

Our leadership in Washington has had 4 years since 9-11-01 to make us safer and to prepare for any national emergency. Do you feel safer?

[cynatnite]

17. Your last sentence is my favorite

Should be a bumper sticker.

[DinahMoeHum]

11. ". . .never ask for whom the bell tolls, it tolls for thee. . ."

n/t

[cynatnite]

16. When I read stuff like this, I think:

The RW and neocons want to abolish welfare.

[bluedawg12]

18. They do want to abolish social safety nets here is

an interesting read. There is actually a name for this, Anarcho-
Capitolism.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anarcho-capitalism


Read more here:
http://bkmarcus.com/blog/

"Anarcho-capitalism is a philosophy based on the idea of individual sovereignty (or "self-ownership"), an unlimited right to private property, and a prohibition against initiatory coercion and fraud, with contracts between sovereign individuals being the basis of law. From this is derived a rejection of the state (an entity claiming a territorial monopoly on the use of force) and the embrace of absolute laissez-faire capitalism."

[I Have A Dream]

19. Thank you for this, bluedawg12!

I'm bookmarking it. Recommended.

[Joe Chi Minh]

20. One of the most powerful pieces I've ever read, not just on the

Internet, bluedawg. Anywhere; and very moving.

I believe you will be doing them all a great service, some perhaps being moved to genuine remorse, self-recrimination and a new and better life.

[DarkTirade]

23. The real question is...

How do we get this message to the people who need to hear it? 'cause right now, it doesn't matter how great your message is, you're preaching to the choir. (no pun intended with the christian references in your post. :) )

[texpatriot2004]

24. Incredible Post. Thanks. n/t

[bluedawg12]

25. The internet is powerful. That makes us powerful.

We can e-mail this to friends, CNN Wolf Blitzer, post it on other forums.

Grass roots action from the internet can be amazing.


Thanks for the kind words and the welcome.

[bluedawg12]

26. Give these people jobs rebuilding their lives

their communities.

Give back their dignity.

Start Federally funded jobs to the people, not big corporations, or at least share the pie.

Fair wages for honest work.

Bring them home and let them work and give them a stake in their future.

Then, well will never have to hear about the wastage of welfare.