Placing Blame

from Ben's mom

I did a paper for a class in college on the tendency of Americans to have to place blame when a tragedy occurs. It was based on the book "The Sweet Hereafter" by Russell Banks. The book covers the perspectives of four different people impacted by a schoolbus accident in the Adirondacks. You get inside the heads of a victim who survived but was permanently maimed; a parent who lost a child; the bus driver and; the ambulance-chaser lawyer. I won't go into details but basically my analysis turned up that Americans don't really believe in "accidents." Whether it is a car accident, or a natural catastrophe, we look for someone to blame.

I've been amazed at some of the news accounts and the quotes from victims. Sometimes they sound like they are actually blaming President Bush for the Hurricane itself. Obviously something went wrong with the way the devastation was handled. But certainly, politics doesn't control the weather.

All that to say, here is a great editorial on the Hurricane Katrina disaster. Read it here.

I have recently started to compare the responses of New York City to Sept. 11 and New Orleans to Hurricane Katrina. Here is one city who had an unforeseeable tragedy happen. And another who had a very predictable one happen. One came with no warning; the other had hours (even days) to prepare. New York City's emergency response was immediate, organized, and thorough. The City of New Orleans failed to follow the plans that were already in place for evacuation and response in the event of a hurricane.

I am heartened by the response of Americans who are using their resources (time and money) to help the victims. I can't fathom what it is to lose your home, community, possessions, pets, and perhaps friends or family. My prayers are with them.