Some thoughts....

[conuly]

Now, I've been hearing a lot about two big things regarding the recent little storm. The first, neatly summarized here, involves the mistakes made which turned this problem into a much bigger problem. Along with that, I often hear "well, what would you have done differently?"

Hah. No. It's not my job to do disaster planning. My taxes (if I paid taxes) pay some theoretically intelligent people to do that for me, people who know what they're doing. And yet, even though I'm not one of those people, I can still think of many clear ways they dropped the ball, starting with the evacuation. If they have school busses now to get people out, why didn't they send the busses in *before* to take the people out who didn't have cars? One would really have thought that was basic....

The second has to do with certain countries trying to help, and being refused.

I remember the first thing I ever really learned about North Korea. There was a famine, a big one, and the South Koreans were offering to send food and aid - but the government of North Korea refused it. And you know, I understood that? I understood it in my mind, I mean, I still thought it was pretty stupid - if they'd accepted aid, they would've been saying they need help, which might've meant admitting that they'd screwed up, and they just couldn't do that.

Yeah.

I'm well beyond being sad for these people in any personal way, but I sure am full of my righteous anger. It's so much so that I can't even think on it much - I'm only paying as much attention as is strictly necessary.

Comments

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

"It's not my job to do disaster planning. My taxes pay some theoretically intelligent people to do that for me, people who know what they're doing."

I <3 Connie!

This should be the battlecry of the masses! Take this and run with it!

[conuly]

Believe it or not, I actually perfected this argument in regards to Neopets. Oftentimes, when a new pet or pet color comes out, some people don't like it, and say so. And, almost as often, somebody will pipe up "you can't criticize! Let's see what you've drawn!" which is, frankly, nonsense. I don't have to be able to draw to say "this little stick figure mona lisa is a piece of expletive".

I'd be gratified to know this argument has wider applications, except that, y'know, knowing that involves people having to have died, and... yeah.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

I understood it in my mind, I mean, I still thought it was pretty stupid - if they'd accepted aid, they would've been saying they need help, which might've meant admitting that they'd screwed up, and they just couldn't do that.

I'd've taken a slightly different turn on that last bit. Admitting that they screwed up would mean admitting weakness, which would seem to be inviting an attack.

Or maybe I'm just paranoid.

[scottrossi.livejournal.com]

"It's not my job to do disaster planning. My taxes pay some theoretically intelligent people to do that for me, people who know what they're doing."

I <3 Connie!

This should be the battlecry of the masses! Take this and run with it!

[conuly]

Believe it or not, I actually perfected this argument in regards to Neopets. Oftentimes, when a new pet or pet color comes out, some people don't like it, and say so. And, almost as often, somebody will pipe up "you can't criticize! Let's see what you've drawn!" which is, frankly, nonsense. I don't have to be able to draw to say "this little stick figure mona lisa is a piece of expletive".

I'd be gratified to know this argument has wider applications, except that, y'know, knowing that involves people having to have died, and... yeah.

[brownkitty.livejournal.com]

I understood it in my mind, I mean, I still thought it was pretty stupid - if they'd accepted aid, they would've been saying they need help, which might've meant admitting that they'd screwed up, and they just couldn't do that.

I'd've taken a slightly different turn on that last bit. Admitting that they screwed up would mean admitting weakness, which would seem to be inviting an attack.

Or maybe I'm just paranoid.