From Hurricane Katrina to Matthew to Helene
When disasters turn political, people die--fight back!
Some of you may be too young to remember Hurricane Katrina, but I was around back in the day *cough, cough* OLD! I was a musician back then and was trying to organize a show to raise money for recovery efforts.
I invited a woman who had narrowly escaped with her life to talk about what was happening in Louisiana to speak on the stage before the small cafe-housed event and was astounded by what she recounted.
Due to the hyper-political divide created by racist smears against impacted Louisiana residents who were primarily POC, many people, mostly elderly, needlessly died.
There is an infamous picture of an old woman that is welded into my brain, who died seated upright in a wheelchair because help never arrived.
It grew so toxic that people were responding to my charity effort emails with racist images and gifs; one I remember was of a Black man jacking off with the caption "Fuck Dem Lazy Ni--ers"... Lazy? One man stole a bus and began rescuing people trapped in their homes. He was arrested and charged for his troubles--oh on and on it went, because people made the disaster political when it was a humanitarian issue.
Kanye West famously said at the time, "Bush does not care about Black People," because of the tepid initial responses. Oh, how the mighty have fallen, eh?
When people make a disaster political, people die.
Enter Donald J. Trump
That Donald Trump even fixed his mouth to claim that President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris have been ignoring the states impacted by Hurricane Helene indicates how full of… hubris… the man truly is.
Does he truly believe this is the case? Likely, as it is a page from his playbook.
Look at Trump’s Disaster responses and priorities when he was in office.
Trump delayed disaster aid for hurricane-devastated Puerto Rico and diverted money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency in order to finance an effort to return undocumented migrants to Mexico. And Project 2025, backed by Trump supporters, would restructure FEMA to limit aid to states and says that the National Weather Service, which provides crucial data on hurricanes and other storms, “should be broken up and downsized.” ASSOCIATED PRESS
Something, something about stones and glass houses.
At least some Republican Governors like Brian Kemp have the decency not to play into MAGA BS. Democratic Governor Roy Cooper also stepped up to smack Trump about the face with a halibut:
North Carolina Governor Roy Cooper denied reports that former President Donald Trump made about disaster relief in the state, saying it’s time to “put politics aside.”
Trump said in a post on Truth Social that there were reports of “the Federal Government, and the Democrat Governor of the State, going out of their way to not help people in Republican areas.” Trump didn’t provide evidence when asked by a reporter.
Speaking with CNN’s Anderson Cooper, the governor said, “It makes no difference who you are. If you need help, we are going to provide it. And if there is ever a time where we all need to come together and put politics aside, it is now.”
But come to think of it, Trump snubbed Roy Cooper after Hurricane Matthew only providing 1 % of his ask after his state was devastated, so this could be a bit of “turnabout is fair play” at work here. If so, good on him!
What we can do to fight back:
I implore you not to let Donald Trump weaponize what happened with Hurricane Helene for his political gain. I may vehemently oppose you or your ideas but for the sake of all that is holy, we are all Americans and when we need help, it shouldn't be about who gets what and how or why--we should help! Period!
As much as the media tries to both sides stuff, Biden isn't Trump. While Trump is shamelessly trying to milk this disaster for clicks and headlines, Biden has already sent significant aid to North Carolina, Florida, GA, and Tennessee, and is set to visit Raleigh.
Meanwhile, Politico writes crap like this:
"Biden, responding to what has become the familiar politics of natural disasters — supercharged in an election year — also defended his decision to work for part of the weekend from his Delaware beach house.
“It’s 90 miles from here,” Biden said when asked if he regretted going to Delaware from Washington. “And I was on the phone the whole time.”--
Uhm, ONLY ONE SIDE has politicized natural disasters you asshats! Makes me wanna tear a phonebook in half.
They also write:
"Trump on Monday traveled to Georgia to receive a briefing on the damage and distribute relief supplies." — POLITICO
The hell are these folks smoking?
If anyone truly thinks Trump is traveling to Georgia to do little more than help himself, I got a bridge in Brooklyn I want to sell you.
At least The Guardian is hammering into Trump’s lies and false claims like any good news resource should:
Trump traveled to the area with evangelist Franklin Graham, CEO of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association, and truckloads of relief supplies in tow.
“We brought many, many wagons of resources,” he said, without really describing what those resources were beyond a tanker of gasoline and some water. The Billy Graham Evangelistic Association did not respond to a request for comment, though its website notes that it has sent chaplains to the affected areas. THE GUARDIAN
That is how you do it MSM—take note!
Fight, fight, fight!
Moving ahead, I implore you, DO NOT TO FORGET HISTORY, but use it instead as a template to improve the present and the future.
I implore you, push back against false narratives and disinfo, arm yourself with knowledge--read up on what Joe and Kamala are doing to help with recovery and assistance in the aftermath of Helene--redirect MAGA naysayers to clips from Republican Governors saying the received the AID they needed.
Let us not turn this into another Katrina event, help our American brothers and Sisters in the wake of Helene and drown out the voices of division.
As for disingenuous Politico Reporter types, may they burn forever and ever in the Hell I do not believe in.
Trump is disgraceful. His presence in a disaster area likely impeded cleanup efforts and rescue/recovery missions. There’s so much security involved in a high ranking (I use the term loosely) official getting to a disaster site. He’s just showing his face there to prove that Biden and Harris don’t care. Biden is the one in charge, the guy who can offer resources to help. And Franklin Graham has no business being there either.
Fuck Trump! Fuck Franklin Graham! Fuck the corporate media! The President did what the President is supposed to do when a disaster happens. Trump is exploiting the situation for his own purposes. I'm sick and tired of this bullshit!!😡😡🤬🤬