The Loss of NOLA through the eyes of Anne Rice.

[Jazzman]

Originally Posted by Anne Rice

But to my country I want to say this: During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs.

Oh please.

The outpouring of support and aid from everyone in this country has been tremendous. Within a week just one news channel here in Portland raised $500,000 in contributions. That's one channel in one town raising one donation at a time; a hundred bucks here, two hundred there, thousand there. Countless semi trailers around the country have been packed full and sent on their way to the area to distribute supplies, all given freely with love and caring by everyday citizens, regular people, Americans. Businesses have opened their checkbooks and donated millions in cash. Families nationwide have opened the doors to their homes, offering shelter to those left homeless. Texas public schools have also opened their doors and hearts to thousands of displaced children, giving them a chance at some semblance of normalcy and hope. Thousands of volunteers have left their own lives on hold to take up the Bourbon Street call of "Let's drive down! Or fly down. To New Orleans!!" and do what they can to help, whether it be handing out water and medicine or caring for lost animals or pulling people from the waters. And for months, maybe even years, they'll all be there. We'll all be there, in body and in spirit, rebuilding our beloved New Orleans until we can once again parade down Bourbon street, seeing all the hot spots and meeting all the big shots.

Sorry Anne, but you just lost all credibility with your whiny, "woe is us, you all abandoned poor old us" crap. If there is any place in the world right now that is in the center of American hearts, prayers and thoughts, it's New Orleans. Throw your pity party somewhere else, we’ve all got better things to do right now.

[wendybeth]

The outpouring began after the horrendous failure of FEMA and state and local government. Anne has a right and a reason to be bitter, and I am too. I'm not even a resident of NO, but I recognise it's importance and place in our history books and culture. As I stated before, NO will be fine, but only because the citizens of this country will make it so. No offense, Jazz, but had this happened to Portland or Vantucky, I never would have responded to a local citizens editorial with an "Oh, please". You're not there, you're not from there, and this isn't personal for you.

[sleepyjeff]

Originally Posted by wendybeth

The outpouring began after the horrendous failure of FEMA and state and local government. Anne has a right and a reason to be bitter, and I am too. I'm not even a resident of NO, but I recognise it's importance and place in our history books and culture. As I stated before, NO will be fine, but only because the citizens of this country will make it so. No offense, Jazz, but had this happened to Portland or Vantucky, I never would have responded to a local citizens editorial with an "Oh, please". You're not there, you're not from there, and this isn't personal for you.

I totally disagree. The outpouring started before the storm even came ashore. We all were glued to our TVs hoping and praying the worse would not happen. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief when it looked like the storm was losing power and it was downgraded to a cat 4.

We all were horrified when the levy broke and I believe not even hours later donations, volunteers, soldiars, and more prayers were sent that way.

Anne has her oppinions and I won't judge her but I do strongly disagree with her take on it all.