Some thoughts on the different reactions to Haitian relief efforts....

[galileoreloaded]

For those stating "this is taking too long", what you are really mad at is the bureaucracy and the wonks that lead this culture of "process" that has infected governance, both public and corporate. This is evident and bad enough in our everyday interactions, and when things go all screwy or tragedy strikes, we expect a plan, action, something tangible for once goddamn it. After all, these people are "experts" and "professionals", right??

But of course they are all fucked up, most large organizations are. How many companies have you worked for that outwardly seemed very professional and squared away, only after a month or so of working there, it takes three brain cells to realize the wasteful and needless "process" that can never be changed due to a native and inherent culture of mediocrity.

Our governments, respectively, are very much the same way, and when it comes to disaster response, they are even worse as these issues and the experience required to form procedures are relatively rare and far flung. Most first responders never get close to a real disaster, and you don't get a chance to refine procedures as required, because you generally don't see the same problem twice, in a career.

What is freaking you folks out though, is that you are internalizing the fact that you rely so heavily on highly refined, complex systems for your very survival. As such, it becomes an instinctual reaction to armchair quarterback what seem like failures (but in reality are acceptable loss ratio's given conditions) because you know how desperately unprepared you are to deal with an event on the magnitude of this one. You are probably internalizing the reality that these folks likely never enjoyed 1/10th of the standard of living that the typical American does, and are emotionally and physically INFINITELY better equipped to deal with the long term realities of living without 100% operating services, than most Americans.

Ergo, while you look at the potential for violence as an abomination BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCES, this is merely a projection of your own inability to grasp the totality of human nature and humans inherent ability to be cruel, but especially here, in the US, in your neighborhood.

Face it, you can look at Haiti and do all you can, and you should, but you are worried about yourself and your family, here and now. We all know damn well that security would be a MAJOR issue in a US event, and since we exist inside the fucked up organization, we know EXACTLY how incompetent our "officials" can be.

The stark reality is that shit happens to good people, no great people. But when you put so much faith in ANY process driven bureaucracy, and rely on them completely, you WILL be let down eventually. You must absorb some responsibility for your own well being, no matter how seemingly trivial or ineffective those actions seem. Katrina showed many this, and now Haiti is reinforcing that lesson. Even an extra can of food a week added into your pantry can build up quickly, and can relieve the burden on first responders or your neighbors. Three weeks, is sufficient to plan for, for 90% of the population.

Not to sound morbid, but three weeks after a major catastrophe, regardless of scale, things will have pretty well be sorted out. Those that will die (elderly, those requiring refrigerated medicine, initial catastrophe injuries/deaths) will no longer be with us. Level of service will be known. (not working necessarily, but we will know what is and is not available) Security and assistance levels will be known, and the initial emotional stress will be easing. Organizations (police, fire, utilities) will have an idea of what they can actually do.

Think for yourself. Gotta keep yourself OUT of the acceptable loss ratio. There is a GREAT book on this called "Deep Survival" by Laurence Gonzalez that really goes in depth as to why people get themselves into the positions they do, and the physical neurology behind making decisions that shorten your lifespan. Get OUT of the actuarial tables, as quick as you can.

Just gotta make it three weeks.

To summarize, yes our government response is fucked up (yet good as it could be), no it won't be like this forever, folks were and will continue to die regardless of what is perceived as inaction by many. The initial loss projections will probably be pretty accurate, as the guys that model that are pretty good, and yes that essentially means that a certain percentage of the population must be "written off" for lack of a better term. Medically, precious aid and supplies will go to those with the best chance of survival.

[virgogal]

1. Great post. Thanks.