Wish I Tivo’d this. AP reports:
It began, fittingly enough, with jazz from New Orleans natives Harry Connick Jr. and Wynton Marsalis.But “A Concert for Hurricane Relief,” a heartfelt and dignified benefit aired on NBC and other networks Friday night, took an unexpected turn thanks to the outspoken rapper Kanye West. Appearing two-thirds through the program, he claimed “George Bush doesn’t care about black people” and said America is set up “to help the poor, the black people, the less well-off as slow as possible.”
The show, simulcast from New York on NBC, MSNBC, CNBC and Pax, was aired live to the East Coast, enabling the Grammy-winning rapper’s outburst to go out uncensored.
…
Comedian Mike Myers was paired with West for a 90-second segment that began with Myers speaking of Katrina’s devastation. Then, to Myers’ evident surprise, West began a rant by saying, “I hate the way they portray us in the media. If you see a black family, it says they’re looting. See a white family, it says they’re looking for food.”
While allowing that “the Red Cross is doing everything they can,” West ? who delivered an emotional outburst at the American Music Awards after he was snubbed for an award ? declared that government authorities are intentionally dragging their feet on aid to the Gulf Coast. Without getting specific, he added, “They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us.”
After he stated, “George Bush doesn’t care about black people. Please call ?” the camera cut away to comedian Chris Tucker.
Concluding the hour a few minutes later, (host Matt) Lauer noted that “emotions in this country right now are running very high. Sometimes that emotion is translated into inspiration, sometimes into criticism. We’ve heard some of that tonight. But it’s still part of the American way of life.”
Then the entire ensemble performed “When the Saints Go Marching In.”
Hear that NBC? There is no news unless it is Kanye news. Anyone see it live? It was cut out of the west coast airing.
UPDATE: Stream the whole thing here.
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There’s a stream of what happened here: http://www.pixelmd.com/kanye.html
In my opinion, good for him for practicing that freedom of speech thing you always hear about.
I mean its been days, and the government has not provided effective help or safety of these people. When they do, it’s too late, and horribly organized. Get on saving your people Bush for fuck sakes.
“… enabling … to go out uncensored”. Interesting that political opinions are censorship material these days.
Diamonds are forever. Forever. Forever.
emotions are running high, but i do have to say that this is one of the very few times that i’ve actually agreed with kanye west. LOL at the media’s attempt to discredit what kanye was saying by blaming it on emotions.
Tonight’s other meltdown, though it doesn’t involve any famous musicians.
Wow…. that was incredible.
You know, if it weren’t for Mike Myers reading perfectly off the cue card, it wouldn’t be as dramatic. But the two dissimilar pleas side-by-side made me remember that Myers is acting up there, while West was (hate to use the term) ‘keeping it real.’
It’s interesting they cut away, because West was done. Myers ended up being the one to get cut off. I wouldn’t call it censorship, as much as fear that he might figuratively tear off Myers shirt and expose a breast.
Matt Lauer has subtley defended Bush on many an occasion, so I’m not surprised by his comments.
http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/02.html#a4763
Some nights I can’t type straigtht, I swear.
george bush DOESNT care about black people. most people don’t. i’ve never heard kanye west’s music and i’m really quite put off by celebrity activism, but thank fucking god someone said it in a public forum. to pretend race isn’t an issue, whether it be in this relief effort or otherwise, is a chicken shit way out. and i’m sick and tired of all these so-call progressives (white, mind you) who laud multiculturalism and diversity, and yet are so divorced from dealing with people of color. for them, multiculturalism equals white essentialism. west’s remarks tonight won’t create a national discussion about race–that’s never going to happen–but i hope it made people very uncomfortable.
I guess I missed the part about it being cut out on the West Coast on first read… that’s just appalling.
It’s an odd little thing, it’s almost as if Kayne is reading off a script while Myers is freestyling, what with the difference in demeanor, but obviously Myers is the one sticking to the script while Kayne is veering off it. In that context, his comments almost get more power through the starkness of them: the monotone recitation of “George Bush doesn’t care about black people”, for example.
For anyone who wants to keep a copy, I’ll go out on a limb and hopefully I’ve set up this link right and it doesn’t get broken: http://www.ualberta.ca/~keithz/Kanye_-_Red_Cross_Benefit_NBC_.mpg
I told all yall muthafuckas this shit was going to explode!
Look out your goddamn windows. Bitches. A major American city just fell, collapsed, was wiped off the face of the map. There is no federal infrastructure in this country. It’s now two countries, rich and poor. We aren’t ready to deal with a natural disaster much less a theoretical terrorist attack that we can do very little about, ultimately.
I remember after 9/11 the somber tone in the air. People were straight up mad real kind and polite everywhere you went. The whole country felt like it was in mourning.
I feel like I’m living in a country where the death of multitudes of black people by starvation is being treated like a really good episode of the news. Why isn’t this as huge as 9/11? I know what you will say “ya ya we were attcked”. Shit don’t matter. Your own grandparents never lived through catastrophe like this.
That’s why we’re fucking pissed off. Meanwhile, most of y’all just are probably worried about how this is going to impact Spring Break. Goddamn, people.
I propose we take a city like Kennebunkport and remove all food and water and flood it and see how long it takes for people to look after they own selves.
Now read about this young brother who stole a bus to save as many people as he could. Was he a “looter”? HELL NO.
http://www.newschannel5.tv/2005/9/1/4255/Taking-refuge-in-the-Astrodome
Testify, brother Kanye. Though I will say that he doesn’t just hate black people. He hates poor people.
I’ve never been a fan, but Kanye just got a lifetime pass from me. Bravo. Fucking bravissimo.
Good for him for speaking his heart, I wish more Americans were feeling as convicted to get involved and get vocal about what’s going on down there.
But it’s not just about the government ignoring black people. They were ignoring ALL people stranded in New Orleans for far too long. It’s about desparation. I don’t think the looting, raping and violence can be attributed to any particular group–I think the government and the president have been ignoring all of those people because they are simply ignorant of the facts. They were without food, water, plumbing or medical treatment for over three days–people of all races and age groups were stranded together. I think that would drive anybody to do anything and Kanye is right in that you can’t assign blame to any specific individual. Bush is just ignorant, period, and he demonstrated that very well when he held a press conference describing his hope that Trent Lott’s house would be rebuilt.
I know everybody is aware of that but I wish he wouldn’t assign Bush’s ignorance to the black community alone. FEMA and the federal government clearly misunderstood and mishandled the entire situation. I only pray that they can rectify it quickly.
Prayers all around for those in the wake of this horrible mess…
And seriously, bravo to Kanye, cause he’s right all the way.
If Mother Nature attacked Capital Hill, I bet relief would come mighty quick.
No kidding, Jason. Isn’t that sick?
We have got to come together and start doing what we can as volunteers to help until our government starts getting the message. I’m working to organize volunteer efforts on my university campus and I think if we can encourage other people to get together in their communities and pool their resources–as well as badger their congressmen and women day and night to get on the stick–maybe those of us outside of N.O. can make a real difference.
Seriously, follow Kanye’s example and if you haven’t picked up the phone to call your leadership, or gone to give money, volunteer time, or donate blood, do so. Despite what CNN is spinning this thing is far from resolved.
Those people are Americans too, regardless of their class or color, and we should do everything to support them.
*sigh*
Kanye kanye kanyeeeeeeeeeee.
Great album, good rant (not really) but wrong place/time.
Where were you during the election?
Kanye wasn’t mega famous during the election, was he???
That was a question…
Anyway, it is nice to see someone in America hasn’t pulled the wool over their own eyes.
It is a race issue.
Bush is a bad president.
Kane is totally right.
And freedom doesn’t exist in America anymore. Only those people with enough money (whites) are free. And even at that, it’s only those with huge amounts of money.
For once, I’m not pissed off with stereogum.
damn kayne don’t you know you’re supposed to read the words on the autocue!?
anybody else noticed the freudian slip?
“i’d be a hypocrit… i’d try to turn away from the teacher … uh tv…”
The College Dropout… get it?
i’m not really sure if this is a racial issue. and i really don’t think it’s a good idea to start bringing this up at this time, when it’s still going on… i mean first things first, they’re already way behind shedule.
the last thing you need is to cause more riots and chaos. and i agree with him on the looting part, but that still leaves the r-apes and assault unaccounted for.
i don’t get how a country that has a history with hurricanes can be so unprepared for such situations. don’t they have emergency plans and stuff like that??! they knew days in advance and still people are dying!!! this could have been prevented. the republicans are so gonna lose the elections.
Freedom doesn’t exist anymore? You twat. Without freedom, would Kanye be able to have said what he said?
The whole thing is a clusterfuck and it has nothing to do with black or white. Honestly, what could Bush be doing? All you idiots complain yet offer no solutions.
*from michaelmoore.com*
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It’s Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren’t there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn’t want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don’t like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don’t let people criticize you for this — after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don’t listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers’ budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn’t cut the money to fix those levees, there weren’t going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them — BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn’t stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It’s not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C’mon, they’re black! I mean, it’s not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don’t make me laugh! Race has nothing — NOTHING — to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
http://www.MichaelMoore.com
The federal government fucked up. But the Kanye West statement and people who support it blindly is a good example at over simplfying and just responding with the rational of a school child. Do I like Bush? Fuck no. But come on..he hates black people? The system we had in placed failed. Lets fix the real problem instead of screaming how Bush is an idiot. He’s leaving office…screaming about him isn’t fixing shit. Lets focus on actual solutions.
And frankly his rant about how white people aren’t portrayed as looters. I’ve seen about 5 different blogs talking about this and all of them show the same damn picture. Honestly beyond that -1- picture that was on yahoo, has anyone seen a mass portrayl of white people as saints and black people as only looters?
Finally he goes off about how the national guard is authorized to shoot people. DId I miss something? All the talk about the national guard being well armed is too reassure innocent folks and scare the shit out of those criminals out there. They’re not talking about fucking shooting people stealing bread and crapping in the street.
I’m just sick of this useless bashing. Lets look at how the emergency system failed….not some bullshit about racism.
i don’t think kanye said “bush hates black people”. i think he said “bust doesn’t care about black people”. there’s a big difference, even if practically they *may* amount to the same thing.
kanye may not have chosen the right time to bring up these issues – i think we should focus all our efforts on immediate recovery, rather than blaming/praising – but the issues he raises are crucial, and will have to be rasied sooner or later. good on him for speaking his mind. his sympathy felt real, even if that telethon by and large didn’t.
anyone with half-a-brain would realize that if this disaster was in an economic center all the stops would be pulled out. bush is keen to spend billions daily on an ill-conceived and poorly administrated war, yet cannot cobble together adequate resources for a natural disaster that we knew for days was going to happen? how many ‘copters are in and out of iraq daily? we don’t have a couple kicking around the continental u.s.a.? if the federal government was even remotely interested in ‘freedom’ and ‘democracy’ they would have ensured that all citizens of the area were able to get out, and not merely left citizens to their own means to find their way out. and why is it taking so long to get help to people now?
the bottom line is this: bush and his cronies are interested in preserving the monied interests for the american elite and the general status quo. everything else is secondary, and i think americans are finally getting a real look at what this administration has always been about, what all its policies have been centered around. america is rich vs. poor, and when shit goes awry, you better damn well believe that the rich will leave the poor to fend for themselves.
it’s not that bush hates anyone. it’s that he doesn’t care. it’s not that he hates black people, it’s that he doesn’t care about poor people. it just so happens that most poor people (in the new orleans area at least) are black. and the “bullshit about racism” (as cali put it) is calling it like it is as many of us recognize an inexorable link between poverty and race as a kind of systematic racism that structures both the functioning and our understanding of america.
that said, what’s going on in new orleans is a disaster. kudos to any and all who have contributed to the relief effort, and that includes kanye using a mass media forum to speak his mind. and perhaps encourage other minority citizens to contribute more than they have. there’s still a lot to do, so let’s keep it up.
what will it take for bush apologists to wake up? we just witnessed the executive branch of the federal government completely fail at one of its basic functions.
ok me, here’s what bush could have done:
-not appoint a fundraiser/crony/good ol’ boy to run fema who had no experience in emergency management.
-provide fema with adequate funding
-fully fund levee projects and flood control to the state of louisiana instead of cutting it for tax cuts and war
-not specifically allow development into marshes and swamps in the area, ending a clinton program that would have absorbed some of the storm surge
-getting the military, like a brigade of the 101st ready to respond before the hurricane hit. so they can move in as soon as the weather clears to drop supplies and help people
-getting the hospital ship and navy ships carrying supplies from virginia ready to go a week ago when we knew n.o. was in danger and getting them sailed so they can arrive a day or so after the hurricane rather than a week after
-ordering temporary housing to be built at say closed military bases so that there is a place for evacuees to go to
i could go on, but do you see the point? there is lots he could have done as the leader of a government with untold resources. it would have take foresight, dedication, thoughtfulness and real fucking leadership, things bush has never demonstrated that he posesses.
and don’t try the current repub spin that it was the state and local governments responsibilities. a real leader takes action and makes sure things are taken care of. they do not wait on the proper forms to be filled out when there is a crisis. it’s funny, i never thought i would see a day when repubs would use beaurocratic procedure as an excuse. but i guess anything goes when bush needs to be propped up.
and to finish, since 9/11, shouldn’t our governemnt have been preparing for exactly this type of things? mass evacuation in case of say a dirty bomb or chemical attack? what a failure. what has been going on for the last 4 years? me, if there were a dirty bomb exploded where you live, would you be happy if it took the federal goverment 4 days before they arrived to help the situation?
You know Me, Kanyes statements were cut from the west coast airing… if there was time delay on the east coast, they would be cut there as well.
thank you, s-bot and pete, for your extensive posts.
You cannot separate the relationship btwn race and poverty to basic survival from this tragedy. Kanye spoke from his heart. And, many others in the media seem FINALLY to be asking the important questions rather than as they’ve done since 9-11,robotically spitting out what the gov’t feeds them…Anderson Cooper, Cafferty, Geraldo and more….all expressing the very real and inexcusable horror occurring on the ground. Also, the mayor of New Orleans…how long has it been, if ever, since you’ve heard a politician speak such truth without concern for who he might offend at the top (especially when “the top” has a proven track record of vengeful retribution)?
Ice-T’s waded in as well. I think this MP3 sums it all up.
http://www.notyourusualbollocks.squarespace.com/journal/2005/9/2/toekeo-fuck-bush-ft-ice-t-mp3.html
This is just absurd. There are plenty of black people in Mississippi and Alabama, and they had their coastlines devastated by Katrina as well, but their STATE governments had plans in place and have provided aid to their citizens. The Louisiana govt. and specifically, the mayor of New Orleans, have failed the people of New Orleans.
Maybe if the people there would stop SHOOTING at aid, they’d get some.
I see a lot of people posting extremely negative threads on this board, and I must emphasize to all these people who are ranting and cursing at ‘everybody’, to get up and do something positive. In stead of wasting your time critisizing the local government on a small chat board, and defending Kanye’s outburst (although in my opinion is somewhat true)…GET UP AND DO SOMETHING. If your smart enought to give a political statement on the internet, your smart enough to make a change, no matter how big or how small.
My wife and I are both in upper management in the companies we work at. We both sent out flyers and emails to our fellow employees requesting aid in the form of checks or money orders made out to the red cross in order to help the unfortunate. In two days, we raised over $1200 to donate to the red cross. TWO DAYS!
Myself, or my wife have never done something like this, and were amazed at how much people do really care, and are willing to help.
If you are upset by our governments lack of reaction and unplausable response to this situation, do something positive. Unless you ARE a celebrity who gets to have a spot on MSNBC or whatever….you are not going to make a change by sitting alone cussing this situation on stereogum.com. Do something, make your voice be heard in a positive way! -Mark
Fucking wow. Good on you, Kanye.
mark – you definitely have the right idea. good on you and your wife for developing your own path to helping those in need. this is a time for relief, not ideologizing.
but i think if you go back and re-read the posts, you’ll see that some of the posters were explicit in their belief that this isn’t really the time to blame/praise or anyone, but that in response to stereogum’s initial post (to which we are all ostensibly responding), here are our initial ideas… and even if some people came across as more critical than others, let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and trust that they recognize the urgency of the situation and are making time to do or give what they can.
further, while i agree that immediate tangible aid is infinitely more important than discussion for those in new orleans right now, i do believe that the kind of discussion we are having here is helpful. it’s forcing us to think about things and maybe *prevent* something like this from happening again. at the very least, talking about these issues, _in addition to physically contributing any way we can_, forces us to think critically about the media, the government, and our responsibilities to one another, and that can only be a good thing (regardless of which side of the political spectrum you fall on).
but you’re absolutely right. we definitely need to get in motion and do what we can, and i think your message was a timely one amidst all this kanye talk.
I was watching this Live last night. I was in the middle of washing some dishes and once I heard Kanye start talking I put more attention on it. I thought to myself at first “Wow, he’s not so eloquent or charismatic right now, quite out of character. He must be really torn up by this.” Then he got to the real meat of the speech. It was weird watching Myers reactions, you could tell he knew Kanye wasn’t saying what he was ‘supposed’ to be saying. Kanye really got to the point of what has been on all peoples’ minds but not many have spoken about until last night. Race has become a major topic now for this hurricane, it was skirted around the first few days, seemed like every reporter was afraid to comment for fear of being labelled a racist. The problem is New Orleans I read somewhere around 65% black population, and of the pop. 29% are below poverty line. When the feds are this slow to respond it’s gonna make it look like it’s a racist thing, but in reality it’s all a class thing. The nation doesn’t care about the poor.
Kanye may be a star, but the person who best spoke out on this was the Mayor of New Orleans. I was listening to a 9 min recording of his interview with a radio station. You can find it on the BBC unedited. He really tells it like it is, from ground zero. Either way though, this stuff needs to be said. When people don’t speak out against injustice, they get trampled on.
I guess Kanye is not much of a freestyler, schould have dropped his rant with some slick rhymes!
“Without freedom, would Kanye be able to have said what he said?”
Well, they did censor it on the west coast feed didn’t they? I think it took a lot of balls for Kanye to have said what he did. Conservatives tend to view the world from a seat of privilege, where they’ve never had to struggle, so they have no sympathy for people who are less fortunate. They want to maintain the status quo and have no interest in making the world a better place because they got theirs and that’s all that matters to them. Class divisions will tear this country apart, and these divisions still seem to be based on money and race. As it stands, a poor black child will never have as many opportunities as a white child born to a wealthier family. Connections and networks still seem to be predominant ways of finding jobs, etc. and that “good ol’ boy” system is still in place. Republicans don’t care because to them these problems might as well not exist. They’ve lived their whole lives in a privileged bubble. And to those who’ve made it and turned their backs on the less fortunate, they are the definition of soulless “sellouts”.
Regardless of whether the rant was ill-informed, it should not have been cut out of the West Coast airing. Where are NBC’s balls? It deviated from the “script” so it gets cut?
I don’t like Bush a bit, but I think this poor response is more about abject incompetence than it is a dislike for black people.
bravo kanye west!
i forget who said it, but i agreed; good rant, but really not the right time or place.
kanye needs to shut the fuck up.
I blame the state government… the mayor and governor have not shown the necessary leadership in this time of crisis. Instead of setting up a command post and really delegating responsibility, they seem to be hoping someone in the federal government will run things for them. There are simple things that could have been done days ago, including asking for school buses and boats throughout the region for evacuations… that have not been seemingly addressed.
In the United States, powers are split between the state and federal levels. States really have the power, the responsibilities to make sure that their citizens are ok. Sure, the federal level could be helping more here. I wish they would, because the devastation is unnecessary and awful. But the blame really lies on the state government for not recognizing a problem scientists and engineers warned about for years–more infrastructre should have been in place to help in what was a very looming emergency.
Not only was it cut out of the west coast feed, but he was censored live. As soon as he said the part about Georgie not caring about blacks, they cut right over to chris tucker.
beth –
the state of louisiana and the city of new orleans have repeatedly asked for funding to update the levees and pump stations. their requests have been denied. in 1999 a bill was passed giving funding and permission to fix the levees and allow states to update infrastructure in preparation for hurricanes. the funding for that bill was cut in 2003.
everyone has a share of blame in how badly this is going, the minority of people acting like roving gangs giving the news something to focus on, the people that could have left but didn’t, the city for not having a better evacuation plan for people without cars, and the federal for not funding things initially and not responding quickly enough when the hurricane headed toward NO
Kanye, you ignorant slut.
Don’t you love it when the people that claim to be victims of racism are actually the racists? His music sucks, and he is an idiot. Therefore, he should shut up.
pete, well said. you are 100% right. mark williams, what makes you think that those posting “negative” comments have not done or given anything?? perhaps we’re doubly mad b/c we have given and the gov’t (who is SUPPOSED to take care of it) has not! how positive can we be about raising/giving money that’s not getting there?
Even if Kanye were right to say something like that on TV (which he’s not…in a time like this, exactly WHO does it help? Name one person helped by Kanye getting on his high horse and saying George Bush doesn’t like black people?) no one can really, or has even attempted to defend this comment
“They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us.” Kanye is a fucking racist, and it showed here. High emotions or not, wtf does that kind of comment even mean? Where’s the proof/evidence? You all need to seperate your love of Kanye’s music with your opinions about him.
And Clinton was in office 8 years too. Then there was Bush before him, and Regan. None of them did anything about the levee. So to act like this is all Bush Jrs fault is a joke. *Laughs at idiots who take opinions blindly from Michael Moore and Kanye West*
Kanye is right. This is most definately a race issue and, what I think isn’t said enough, also a class issue. Anyone who doesn’t recognize that is living in a dream world.
for all you ignorant fools check http://www.snopes.com/photos/katrina/looters.asp for an explanation of the looter vs finder ‘issue’. of course it takes more than 6 brain cells to think about something rather than just respond emotionally.
KANYE IS A DUMMY AND A LOSER.
john darnielle of the mountain goats and last plane to jakarta says “thank you kanye west.”
http://lastplanetojakarta.com/archives/2005/09/cut_and_paste.php
what’s happening in New Orleans has nothing to do with race.
“Now is not the time,” people keep saying. If not now, when? Six months from now, when the powers that be can say “Yes, well that’s all in the past now, we have to move on…” BS.
If Bush and his administration weren’t shitting themselves at the level of outrage being expressed in the media things would be in a much worse state then they are now (if that’s possible). People are dying as we type, I see no better time then now to light a fire under the asses of those responsible for this appalling response.
Bush himself said the response was inadequate, members of his own party call it an embarrassment. If this was a Kerry administration there would be just as much outrage and it would be just as justified. So please, save me the mock outrage.
What happened in New Orleans is a result of overbuilding, overpopulation, and lack of respect for our environment – that is why the city is now flooded. In regards to our Government’s response, there is no excuse. We can spend Billions on wars and then Billions delivering aid and food to those countries (after we bomb the hell out of them) but we let our own die in New Orleans. Bush talks out of both sides of his mouth and trusting him is a huge question. I do wonder if the population in New Orleans were affluent white people, would the resonse have been better? Notice I did not just say whites but the key word is affluent. Our government does not care about our poor (black or white). It is all about money, oil, and power. That is why the Billions are spent in Iraq and Afghanistan, chasing Bin Laden and not facing the poverty in this country. Our gov’t wants the oil, wants to control the oil, and nothing else. Unfortunately, the almighty dollar rules and our freedom as Americans is something of the past.
Regarding Kanye, personally I don’t like his music and feel he is just propagating his cause using the words black people. Poverty is everyone – Black, white, Asian etc. What about the Vietnamese fishermen in Louisianna and Mississippi that have nothing now? The majority of my best friends are either black or Asian. The New Orleans thing is about money folks, pure and simple……..
This is not a race thing but a class issue. The gap between the affluent and poor has become larger and larger.
W. doesn’t not care about black people unless they have Oil tankers named after them or are part of this cabinet.
I mean it doesn’t help that he has never visited or met with the head of the NAACP.
But more to the point, W. doesn’t like poor people.
Unless when they are fighting a war for him. Then they are heroes.
What about the mishandling of this event as compared to the mishandling of the war? Similar? Why the wait to deploy the guard?
Was Bush reading to a class of 9th graders or something when Katrina hit?
Thank you Kanye for making people talk.
Now get on the phone with your business manager and donate some of your non taxable income to the poor people.
Take from http://www.alternet.org/story/25008/
—
…The flooding was not a result of heavy rains. It is a result of a weak levee — one that was in mid-repair when the storm hit. And that levee, which has held back floodwaters for time beyond memory, collapsed for one simple reason: Bush refused to fix it last summer, when local officials were begging him to do so. Instead, he diverted those funds to the war effort.
—
If that’s true… goddamn.
that fox news clip was crazy!
I’ve been finding for a long time now that there are restrictions to what one can say and where…
On the simple side of this, there is something like Pitchfork, which you have to say sucks. That’s the norm… If you do, no-one dissagrees, if you say it’s cool, then people tell you off…
The same applies to what Kanye West did. It did something outside the norm… outside of what is agreed upon.
Society has pre-set rules that are so prevalent that they are almost invisable because no one is strong enough to do something different, to follow their own guts. But when someone breaks this codes of conduct, it can be inspiring.
Kanye West is unpopular,everyone agrees (Except Pitchfork), but what he did was better than anything anyone on this board can do, including me. He did what everyone should be doing, challenging those who are more powerful, those who use that power for their own (usually) monetary gain at the cost of the poor and unfortuante, at the cost of those who can’t get a leg up because of those people in power.
Kanye was totally correct to attack Bush, because you are too afraid to.
i agree with kanye completely. I mean, if new orleans had a predominately white population, george bush would employ his magical white person powers and part the waters like moses so they could all be saved. Instead, he obviously used his magical powers for evil once again and more than likely caused the hurricane himself to teach minorities a lesson for not voting for him.
has anyone else noticed how awesome the prerequisite cynicism that accompanies being a hip twentysomething is? clap your hands say yeah rules!
OK laloque. First of all, the American people as a whole….be it Kayne West, or the people on this chatboard…..have the right to say whatever they want regarding how they feel towards ANY topic of discussion. (i.e freedom of speech). I am not trying to discredit anyone’s opinion at all.
I AGREE (to an extent) with the points Kanye was trying to make, and I also agree with some of the remarks made on this chatboard, and I didn’t by any means try to say people didn’t have the right to express their anger about this situation. However, you can only rant and rave so much. To all the people that really care, DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT. Cursing behind a computer screen and keying in profanities about our idiotic government might be therapy for some people, and I welcome (and find some humor) in what people have to say. But damn, if you feel so strongly about something….try to figure out how you can help the situation, not repetitivly state the obvious. The real topic of discussion should be how to help these unfortunate people, not keep talking about how the leaders of America let us down again….what else is new….
And how can you say that contributing to the red cross (or any other charitable organization) doesn’t get there or help. Your sadly mistaken. Whether the money we donated put fuel in a helicopter, or fed a family for a week….it’s bound to make some kind of difference. A hell of a lot more difference than saying “Fuck Bush”
The best part of that clip is Mike Myers’ botoxed face
And yes, Pete, you did make some excellent points. The government COULD and SHOULD have done so much more in preperation, and in the aftermath of this (or any) tragedy. However they didn’t.
I am appauled by this situation, especially given the events that have unfolded over the last 4 years. Unfortunatly, being appauled and irrate won’t get you far (except leaving a sick feeling in your stomach). The only thing we can do as concerned Americans is try to make up were our government lacks (which is a lot). Send help, everything you give will come back to you 10-fold. And VOTE for God’s sake, VOTE!
Hey Steregum – upcoming blogs should be on how much Kanye’s CD’s sales have increased! I am serious and would love to see what the numbers are….
Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay and your O.K.
Money it’s a gas
Grab that cash with both hands and make a stash
New car, caviar, four star daydream,
Think I’ll buy me a football team
Money get back
I’m all right Jack keep your hands off my stack.
Money it’s a hit
Don’t give me that do goody good bullshit
I’m in the hi-fidelity first class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet
Money it’s a crime
Share it fairly but don’t take a slice of my pie
Money so they say
Is the root of all evil today
But if you ask for a rise it’s no surprise that they’re
giving none away
Everyone should go visit this site:
http://www.brianjonestownmassacre.com
Anton may be a dick but he gives all his music away for free……….
I wonder if his albums sales rise next week?
As someone mentioned before, that was the wrong place/time to rant.
Do something
i’d post my thoughts, but i feel s-bot and emily did a better job than i could.
Wow. This is one of the best discussions I’ve seen in a long time. I’m dissapointed though by the number of comments merely stating that “Kanye chose the wrong time to say something, “Or shut up Kanye”. Even worse, I’m disgusted by the people who are saying that “it’s not a race issue” or “it’s a class issue, not a race issue”.
How can we seperate the two? Are they not inextricably linked? Race, gender, class…the holy trinity. Taking this out of race for a second, think about how women were denied the right to vote for so long. Were they denied the vote because they had no property or wealth to contribute to society so their opinions did not matter? Or did they have no property because they were women? And so goes the debate. See how it’s all tied together, they cannot be seperated.
As for Kanye choosing the right time. The only thing I can say to that is: when is the right time to point out the inequalities that are prevalent in our society? Would it have been better if Kanye had done it on his site where only people with similar ideological beliefs would have seen it? Ummm…no. He picked a great forum, it’s just too bad the discussion could not have been furthered, but to paraphrase Lauer, “he’s just emotional.”
“And Clinton was in office 8 years too. Then there was Bush before him, and Regan. None of them did anything about the levee. So to act like this is all Bush Jr.s fault is a joke.”
Well, it might not be all his fault for the levee being in ill repair to begin with, but that argument is pretty weak, he did nothing pro-active to help it, and cut back the FEMA funding for the repair so?
This is from the Governor of LA:
“They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will.”
So Kanye is sort of right about that one.
Brian Jonestown Massacre gives their music away for free because no one will buy it.
Regarding BJM: Music is in the ear of the beholder Adam and your opinion is as good as mine. That is what makes music so powerful and so worthy of attention!
Regarding Mr. Bush:
The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use – of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public.
Robert F. Kennedy
Excellent comments on this blog and thanks to Stereogum for the thought provoking exercise!
David
I liked Kanye’s comments, though it was a little out of place. I don’t think it’s purely a race issue, but it has a lot of race and class overtones to it – the looting versus finding thing, yes, (and the race portrayal in the media goes deeper than that to me) but the looting has deeper sociological roots. N.O. is a very segregated city, in terms of class and race, so the rioting, (to me, and I could be wrong) is a release of years of oppression.
Obviously, that doesn’t excuse anything. But it’s an explanation.
And how is Kanye a racist? “He doesn’t like white people”…whatever. So you can’t make a comment about race now without being racist against white people? Christ. As whites, we’re mighty priviledged (sp?). We can take a little racism. I hate it when white people whine about reverse racism. Suck it up, we’re benefitting more from it than not.
You’re right adam, Kanye is “sort of” right about that one. Both you and Kanye somehow overlook the fact that the initially sent in for relief efforts were met with guns in their faces, not to mention nurses volunteering around the clock at tulane hospital being held up at gun point. Does shooting back at someone who shoots at you make you a racist?
rmj, it’s nice that your liberal guilt allows you to “take a little racism”, but believe it or not, someday you will graduate from college and have to function in reality. racism is wrong regardless of the target.
wow. so hyperbole carries the day, eh?
a whole bunch of people who know nothing about logistics or the exact nature and extent of the catastrophe get together and
decide that kanye was correct and that yes, bush does not care about blacks. i mean, everything always comes down to colour or money doesn’t it? that is the simple answer to everything, is it not?
brilliant. now i am reminded why i hate america. if this is the face and the intelligence of the opposition of bush, the republicans will never, ever lose again. you might as well give up, they are to smart for you. they will become like the ldp are rule over your poor souls regardless how corrupt or inept they are.
“”They have M-16s and are locked and loaded. These troops know how to shoot and kill and I expect they will.”
So Kanye is sort of right about that one.”
so, you are saying that all the armed, rampaging looters are black? or are you saying that national guard members are just going to go to new orleans and kill black people? i kind of missed that in her comments, but guessing from your post, i should take that as a correct inference. thank you. i had no idea.
i’m just curious, what other country do you think could gather the logistics to respond better than the american’s have. japan? no, i remember the great hanshin earthquake. e.u. countries? no, i remember the massive flooding.
the logistics in this situation are so massive, i do indeed fail to see how anyone can realise such vitriol so soon. to be honest, it seems a bit pathetic.
Kanye’s album was already poised to sell close to 800,000 copies this week (according to midweek Soundscan reports) before the benefit outburst, but I’m sure everyone will credit his success to the controversy. Fact is, it’s a good album. That he was totally right to say what he did is only icing on the cake.
I assume that people in Louisiana aren’t chiming in because they’re too busy for internet.
Having spent a lot of time in Louisiana as an outsider, I must say that there is a real disparity in LA between black and white. There’s a big difference between the perception of the white poor and the black poor in LA as well. It’s sad.
I don’t know who to blame in govt., and I don’t think it even matters. What is ultimately to blame is the southern culture there that still relegates blacks to second-rate citizens.
Watching the news is like watching ’28 Days Later’ crazy.
villalobos, it ain’t difficult to believe that most industrialized, Western nations would and could have bothered to mobilize and send federal aid and workers within FIVE days of one of its major cities being devastated by a national disaster they had 48 hours to plan for.
Granted, in most industrialized, Western nations, their leaders wouldn’t be on vacation under those circumstances either…
Can we talk about Britney Spears now? Please?
“No one cares about disasters until they happen. That is a political fact of life,” – david mcentire, professor of emergency management at the university of north texas.
huzzah! someone finally nails it! it is not a black versus white issue and it is not a poor versus rich issue. it is the fact that no one is really prepared for a disaster.
i know that the government here in tokyo is not really prepared for the inevitable. someday, we will be hit by a massive earthquake and the result will be terrible. and everyone will wonder where the government is. it is always the same. the lesson will never be learned.
huzzah! someone finally nails it! it is not a black versus white issue and it is not a poor versus rich issue. it is the fact that no one is really prepared for a disaster.
wrong. the middle- and upper-class citizens of the city were finanically prepared to mobilize themselves and leave; the poor were not. and the government did very little to assist them, both before the hurricane landed and for days afterward.
No, reg, you’re right, racism’s never right, that’s not what I meant exactly. It’s an Internet board, so I overstated my case a little bit. I guess I’m saying is that it’s a lot worse for black people than it is for white people. Maybe I’ll see it differently when I graduate.
Villalobos….get off you high goddamn horse. Come on. All of us, including and especially you, are just jackasses spouting off on an internet forum. You know as well as anyone that this is not the singular “intelligence and face of opposition against bush”. Christ. Hyperbole much, hypocrite? We’re saying whatever comes to minds, first reaction, and it comes out sounding stupid. These aren’t major policy speeches or New York Times editorials or anything that actually makes a difference. They’re rantings, first-instinct opinions on a POP CULTURE WEBSITE. They don’t go through a first or second draft (as you demonstrate). Logistics? We, myself included and ESPECIALLY you, barely even have time for basic grammar, spelling, punctuation, and capitalization, let alone well-thought-out opinions. This is our way of thinking out our opinions. We’re not running the DNC (not that they’re that smart). Sometimes we’re wrong, sometimes we overstate, we’re not meticulously informed, we’re just citizens. Discourse on this website does not have to be up to the standards of more formal and important areas of conversation. If you’re so much smarter and more logical than us, then why the hell are you here? Just to chastise us? Show us the light? Belittle us?
Good job, loser. You’ve got no better idea what’s going on than any of the rest of us.
Scottpl, thanks for your comments. You’re doing a much better job than I am.
MAYBE the same guy who invented Aids to kill blacks people created Katrina …. A BIG Keanu Reeves WHOA for that one!
“so, you are saying that all the armed, rampaging looters are black? or are you saying that national guard members are just going to go to new orleans and kill black people? i kind of missed that in her comments, but guessing from your post, i should take that as a correct inference. thank you. i had no idea.”
How did you derive that first sentece from “So Kanye is sort of right about that one.”?
There was martial law declared partially in the city and a shoot-to-kill policy issued. I was talking about the part when he said “They have given them permission to shoot us.”
He IS *sort of* right about it. It’s not passive voice I’m employing.
(Where are italics and boldface when you need them?)
Let’s see how much money Mr. Kanye West will donate. C’mon now, like he said, he went shopping. Is everything to be blamed on George Bush? What about the Governor, Mayor and other City officials. City and State officials should have prepared for this disaster. Please people, don’t make this a race issue. It’s time to stop complaining and do someting about it. Write a check to the “American Red Cross.” We have family members too who also lost their house, they are hungry, but thankful to be living. They would like to move forward.
Humor….
Late breaking news…..
New Orleans Superdome to be renamed New Orleans Sewerdome
Brian Jonestown Massacre and Kayne West to collaborate on a new CD tentatively titled “Katrina” – rumor is Britney Spears is writing the tracks
Geraldo reports for CNN that we need some damn Fried Chicken and Watermelon down here instead of those damn MRE’s….. Bush agrees in an exclusive
I guess it can’t be too soon if it’s still going on eh?
Humor is always based on a modicum of truth. Have you ever heard a joke about a father-in-law?
Dick Clark
Geez Villalobos, if all it takes to get quoted by you is to be a professor, I’m choosing that career path.
Emergency responses will never be adequate, because it’s an emergency situation as things never go as planned. I think that’s why it’s called an emergency – no?
But let me point out that Bush’s policy is built around “emergency preparedness” in light of all the “terrorism”. Speaking of which…homeland security is long overdue for an orange or red alert. But that’s a whole other topic.
This government who so willingly invades our privacy rights and civil liberties in order to be prepared for a terrorist attack took 48 hours to respond to a natural disaster! Next they’ll have to ask Osama to e-mail them before his next terrorist attack.
48 hours is just perposterous and unacceptable. And as scottpl points, vacationing at the same time is even more unacceptable.
“I assume that people in Louisiana aren’t chiming in because they’re too busy for internet.
Having spent a lot of time in Louisiana as an outsider, I must say that there is a real disparity in LA between black and white. There’s a big difference between the perception of the white poor and the black poor in LA as well. It’s sad.
I don’t know who to blame in govt., and I don’t think it even matters. What is ultimately to blame is the southern culture there that still relegates blacks to second-rate citizens.
Watching the news is like watching ’28 Days Later’ crazy.”
Very true indeed, Paul. I live in Louisiana, and it’s a mess. You basically nailed it better than I could have.
Why are you all picking on Villalobos, he has a point…
“No one cares about disasters until they happen. That is a political fact of life,” – david mcentire, professor of emergency management at the university of north texas.
huzzah! someone finally nails it! it is not a black versus white issue and it is not a poor versus rich issue. it is the fact that no one is really prepared for a disaster.
i know that the government here in tokyo is not really prepared for the inevitable. someday, we will be hit by a massive earthquake and the result will be terrible. and everyone will wonder where the government is. it is always the same. the lesson will never be learned.
Engineers working on the levees in New Orleans studied what the Dutch has done regarding their system. They did not follow what the study suggested and did not properly do the work in New Orleans. Japan may not be able to handle a worst case Quake but their building construction is an engineering marvel, well planned and well constructed and well thought out….. He has a point….
Kanye chose as good a time as any, in my opinion, to make a statement. I’m sure many people probably would have said that John Stewart picked an “inappropriate time” to call the Crossfire hosts dicks, but honestly, what time would have been more appropriate? Behind their backs when he was in his car driving home and nobody would have heard him?
And we all aplauded Stewart. He’s popular, and a lot of us would like to think he’s representing us in some way.
Now, we don’t always agree with what Kanye says or does. He’s a much more controversial figure. Still, if what he said did have at least SOME merit (and virtually everybody so far seems to agree that it did), then when SHOULD he have said it? If it’s worthwhile, then it’s worthwhile, and the more people that hear it, the better. He wasn’t advocating anythng detrimental. He was trying to get more people to give more money to the Red Cross, and presented a new reason for why they should act immediately, one that might convince people who would otherwise ignore the plea.
I think Kanye is an awful and untalented musician and an arrogant ass. But I can’t fault him here. Challenging peoples’ ideology can only be good thing for our country.
Louisiana is approximately 80% Black. Two Thirds of the population in Louisiana are under the poverty level. The question you want to ask is why? Well, Slavery is officially dead but the oppression of the classes is still rampant in the ‘deep south’. I say classes because oppression is not being limited to the Black population, but anyone the ruling class wants to oppress they do. Black, hispanics, europeans, canadians, women, single mom’s you name it, and I will find an example of oppression. I would contend Bush hates blacks and anyone else beneath ‘his class’. So here we are, someone finally said it. Congrats Kanye, maybe people will stand up and realize their success may be built on the backs of good people that are being treated unfairly.
The New Orleans situation is a terrifying example of the degradation of society. I bet the Bush cabinet is secretly cheering the many deaths of the blacks and the poor. Remember, this is the administration with ties to Haliburton, Enron and others who were caught on tape during the Cali wildfires chanting, ‘Burn baby burn’. Gee, where have we heard that line before?
Mr. Bush, you don’t deserve the title President of the US. You are a fraud, a fake, and a terrible liar. And you’re a shitty cowboy too.
Puhleeeeeeeeze. Blacks making up a large portion of those living in poverty is not exclusive to the south. Please name a state in this country where that is not the case (not counting states that have a very low percentage of blacks). The issues causing this are much, much bigger than can be stuffed into a southern bigotry pigeonhole! The fact that a large portion of the population of New Orleans or Louisiana is black, and is poverty-stricken, makes the problem more obvious, but the problem exists across the nation.
Amen to the comments made by Cali and John! Its so easy for people to take the completely ignorant stance of “this is all Bush’s fault” and playing the race card. I have to ask, where the Hell is the mayor of New Orleans and the governor of Louisiana? Why haven’t they been blamed for not stepping up as leaders???
Courtney, so many people are blaming the mayor and governor of our state. And I take it you haven’t heard Mayor Ray Nagin’s speech. They honestly did what they could. This happened so fast and resources were severely limited. Ridiculous? Absolutely. But if you’re going to blame anyone, it should be past politicians who were aware of the risks we had here and not people who have only been in office for only one or two years.
Bravo Kayne for speaking what TONZ of Americans who are fed up with the Government and The Media Feel. Even way before he said it I saw as well as a big group of my friends knew it. I was just waiting for other’s to catch on. As an American I can once again feel embarrassed of our nation. A nation that is so full of shit. How many times people do we need Bush to shit on us before we realize he and his team need to go. I just hope that if there is a God that he remembers this … How many people need to Die Mr .Bush before it gets into your mind that “Help in on the way”.. UHHH. Sometimes I wish you would just go away.
Oh and don’t send your evil Wife to the press MRS.-Bush to ease things off. Be a man and get down there and help people. Stop being a pussy-!!
Fox News once again you prove your self as the most racist network and Bias. Why don’t you just have Klux Klan as you news broad casters.
Angry White Woman in NYC!!!
“They’ve given them permission to go down and shoot us.”
No, they’ve been given permission to shoot the motherfuckers who are killing aid workers trying to evacuate hospitals. By “us” do you claim those same motherfuckers are black?
I’ve never been to LA so I don’t know the level of incipient racism in the area, but it would seem most of the National Guard troops are from out of state anyway, so why would it make any particular difference? And enough hysterical shrieking about the NG shooting those searching for food and water. They aren’t morons, stop treating them as such: they’re shooting those who are lighting buildings on fire – buildings lacking both gas and electricity – and raping, etc. If these people were truly searching for basic necessities, then they wouldn’t be shooting at aid workers. A fact remains undiscussed: some – not all, but some – of the people who stayed in New Orleans even after it became apparent the city would be an aquarium in 24 hours did so because they knew it would be a prime time for looting. If the city is evacuated, all the Walmarts, drug stores, and attics are open for business. The NG isn’t about to shoot anybody for pissing in the streetwater, they’re going to shoot somebody for blocking the doors to the hospital, and if the person doing so happens to be black, it still remains a tragedy not for blacks but for the entire human race for producing such a low specimen of life.
anyone with half-a-brain would realize that if this disaster was in an economic center all the stops would be pulled out.
Go check your gas prices, idiot. Katrina completely destabilized the Gulf’s oil resources. Atlanta’s going through a massive gas panic at the moment, with seven dollars to the gallon. NO is also home to the fifth largest port in the world. This is costing the federal government an extraordinary amount of money.
Not to mention Louisiana is a “red state”, located in the South. Destroying your base, much?
This is such a ridiculous issue. Bush might be a moron but you really think he’s so apathetic towards poor blacks that he’d intentionally let them starve in the streets? You think he’d alienate his Christian, Southern base by ignoring a massive natural disaster? This is not a sign of racism, it’s a sign of massive incompetence on local, state, and federal levels. Voters should have demanded at some point in the past decade to fix the levees, the mayor should have gotten off his ass and declared a mandatory evacuation two days before he did, the government needs to figure out what in the hell it is doing. To be fair, this is the largest scale migration in the US since the Civil War, so not all of the logistical screwups should be attributed to pure stupidity, but the most troubling aspect of this isn’t racism, it’s security.
Bush has spent almost eight years reassuring America that he can keep us safe. You really think some latent prejudice would be enough for him to display to American citizens his complete inability to do so? Short of an another actual terrorist attack, his failure to send aid in an expedient manner is the most damaging thing he could do to his current rhetoric. The government isn’t dragging its feet, it doesn’t know where to go.
diana:
that’s me you’re calling an idiot. thank you for that. much like the racist jokesters here, it took a long time for the aggressive posters to get here and do away with civilized discussion through name-calling.
of course new orleans is a crucial site for federal economic interests. all major cities – in any country – are. not to mention the fact that it houses a number of unique and important cultural and historical artifacts that seem like they could be lost. of course Bush doesn’t want any of that to happen, and maybe I wasn’t clear in what I meant when I used the term “economic center”. maybe i should have just called it “predominantly white, affluent area”. my bad.
the point i was trying to make – what i think a number of people here were trying to make – is that there seems to be two sets of conceptual frameworks for emergency response. the one is swift, even pre-emptive action, to ensure minimal effect, and the second is what you’re seeing now. and these two frameworks seem to correspond to class lines, which in turn correspond to race lines. while he couldn’t have averted the general disaster to the area, i think people are generally upset with the way things have been handled in downtown new orleans.
of course Katrina was going to destroy the coast, and cause the very same economic problems you’re noting. no one is saying Bush should have stood out there with an umbrella. but goddamn, you’re telling me as President he couldn’t have done more? do you think tripping around on a medicare tour with senior citizens on August 29 was a good plan? Do you think pandering to his voters in Arizona while Katrina was about to bear down on Louisiana was a great way to prepare himself and the nation for what was about to happen? do you think that’s a good way to prepare? do you think that’s what the national leader should be doing?
of course you don’t. you’ve said as much. but what would you call what’s been happening? if it was capitol hill at risk, do you think he would have been traipsing around out west in the days leading up to it? if it was manhattan, don’t you think he would have been more organized for pre-emptive action? you’re right, the federal government is completely useless and this proves it, but what kanye was implicitly saying, and what i agree with, is that if the circumstances of those affected were different, the government would have done more, either pre/post event. if you don’t see that, then there’s nothing i can say. you’re entitled to your opinion.
of course the state and local governments screwed up. and i hope they’re accountable when that time comes. but the problem for a lot of us is that bush isn’t intentionally doing anything. and that’s the ultimate problem. he’s been negligent. and that negligence, many feel, is attributable to an institutional racism constantly at play in america. it may not always be visible, but it can be felt in its effects. and its those effects you’re seeing right now. you’re right to call it “stupidity” and note this is a “security” problem, but to not see that race and class are also involved is to fall short.
he’s not just some guy with a job, he’s the president for christ’s sake. he needs to take the blame when shit goes wrong, and he needs to take the blame when shit goes bad.
Wait, did I miss something? When did this become a debate about what should have been done before Katrina even hit. Are we not talking about the response to Katrina and how it was poorly handled?
Yes, past political leaders should have dealt with the levees. They were wrong. Here’s the thing, they didn’t. And now it’s on Bush to deal with the outcome, which he didn’t do properly.
And it’s not absurd to think Bush is apathetic to blacks. Think of all the terrible things that happened to the Iraqi people and even American soldiers in his quest to find “WMDs”. The point still remains the same. If you don’t fit into his designs, you’re screwed.
Kudos Philabuster, Rob, and S-bot.
Kanye West doesn’t lie.
so…isn’t it the governor of louisiana’s job to call up the louisiana national guard? i believe it is.
oh and, it was actually president bush who urged the governor to call for an evacuation of NO.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1475914/posts
and don’t you wonder why we’ve never seen stuff like this in past hurricanes? one big reason: local authorities are actually prepared. in florida jeb bush had buses set up to evacuate people who couldn’t leave on their own. why didn’t that happen here? incompetence.
From the city of new orleans “hurricane plan” concerning duties and responsibilities.
http://www.cityofno.com/portal.aspx?portal=46&tabid=26
A. Mayor
* Initiate the evacuation.
* Retain overall control of all evacuation procedures via EOC operations.
* Authorize return to evacuated areas.
hmmm…guess he fucked up. but it must be the federal government’s fault…
and guess what, it’s a little hard for mommy federal government to come clean up the mess when the bridges are out and people are shooting at them.
i wish they would’ve gotten there faster. and i hope we reassess our disaster plans. but if you’re looking to blame this on racism and bush, you’re just showing your own prejudice.
After he “contacts his manager” i’d like to see the numbers on how much kanye gives to Katrina victims this year vs. how much he gives to jacob the jeweler.
ha ha fuck you all america is gay kanye is a fat faced fag