How is your reaction to Katrina vs 9-11?

[yvr girl]

I was more shocked by 9-11. I couldn't believe that it happened - that anyone could devise such a horrible plan. I just stopped what I was doing and was immobilized by the whole thing for days.

It also made me feel vulnerable. I'd been to New York. I'd been to the WTC. After the second tower was hit, and especially after the Pentagon was hit I waited for the next shoe to drop.

At first, Katrina was just another hurricane - easy for me to say - I live thousands of miles away from a hurricane zone. I was happy when New Orleans was spared the 'direct hit' we were worried about. I felt bad for the people who had their lives turned upside down.

Of course, I'm not so blase now. I don't feel vulnerable because I'm a safe distance away, and I don't live under the Bush regime but I am so angry. Storms will come, but the extent of the damage could have been mitigated. The horrors those people have faced are criminal. This tragedy wasn't caused by an enemy but by the government. In many ways this atrocity is more unspeakable.

[ThoughtCriminal]

1. 9-11 in slow motion - nm

[liberalpragmatist]

2. Totally different reactions

9-11 was a huge shock and the visual impact of the disaster cannot be minimized. It WAS a significant event with mind-boggling historical and political implications.

Katrina was a very different type of reaction. Rather than shock, I initially was like "oh, another hurricane," and tuned out until I started hearing about them evacuating New Orleans. Then I remembered, oh, tons of articles and pieces on New Orleans on hurricane documentaries and thought to myself, "oh, shit." That's what's shocking about Bush saying "nobody could have foreseen this" - I remember seeing computer-generated images of New Orleans under water 8 years ago when I was in 6th grade and we were watching a documentary about hurricanes. I've seen articles about New Orleans as vulnerable for years - most recently just last year when Hurricane Ivan threatened the city.

Then, my morbid interest and expectation turned to initial relief upon learning that it hadn't hit New Orleans head-on, which turned to sadness when I learned of the devastation along the Gulf Coast. Then a day later, the levees broke and as the incompetence of everyone involved became obviously criminal I grew truly indignant and angry. And I have been fuming ever since.

[bassman79]

3. At least Katrina wasn't an inside job

[Mojambo]

4. Katrina has been harder for me.

9/11 (as ghastly as it was) was mostly an equal opportunity disaster. I feel like we all suffered the effects. But I get the uncomfortable sense that there are more than a few rich white people who aren't "feeling" Katrina much at all.

Unfortunately, most of them work in the White House.

[tedoll78]

5. 911 was instantaneous.

Katrina was more like watching slow-motion negligent homicide.

Add the fact that I'm from New Orleans and that I was worried sick about where they were and how their homes did, and this hasn't been a good time. I don't think I've ever been more angry in my life. My friends have had to calm me down over what's gone-on in the past week. I want payback for the negligence/incompetence/malice. I want those douchebags in D.C. to pay.. bad. If they were to lose in 2006 and that be it, I'd say they got off easy in my book. They deserve far worse fates.

[brazil]

9. Yes, they deserve worse, and not for revenge

Now's not the time to play "turn the other cheek." Now's the time to play "protect humanity" instead.

Appointing a horse trader as head of FEMA is criminal negligence, criminal because tens of thousands are now dead. It's like appointing the head of the American Kennel Club as Secretary of Defense - you can't be surprised if the army then goes to the dogs.

I stole that last line from a blog, but I liked it so much I had to use it...

[brazil]

6. You don't live that far away...

I'm assuming you're in Vancouver, one of my favorite cities, one I'd love to move to. But being 25 miles across the border won't save you from Bush. The US and Canada are too interconnected.

But back on point... I feel worse about Katrina. 9/11 was a shock, but at least society responded quickly. With Katrina, the response was incompetent and bungled at best, malicious and criminal at worst.

And we're looking at 40,000 dead or so. More than 10 times the toll of 9/11, and at least the poor souls in the WTC went quickly. Most of the people in NO went slowly, in filthy conditions, and something could have been done to save them if Bush had bothered to step up to the plate.

Yes, this is criminal. So was 9/11, but this time, the criminals are our so-called leaders. And that makes it hurt even more. Even for those of us who have known all along just how evil these neocons are, it's worse when you realize that they are Americans who have sold out their people.

[Swamp Rat]

14. Eh aí cara! Bem vindo ao DU!

:hi:

[brazil]

23. Danke schön für das herzliche Willkommen

My name doesn't refer to my nationality but rather to the Terry Gilliam movie... it seemed appropriate for this strange time.

[Pachamama]

25. One of my favorite all-time movies....

Had my first "Mushroom" experience while watching it....(not recommended)....I went to the mirror and thought my face was stretching like the Mom who kept getting the plastic surgery....

What a great movie....Tuttles, I mean Buttles....Loved Robert DeNiro...and it was freaky to see how "Bureacracy" and incompetence in a government gone crazy can get out of control....Remember how they would come and take people away?

PS: Wilkommen zum DU! :hi:

[Swamp Rat]

26. Ich verstehe, obwohl mein Deutsch wirklich schlecht ist

Ich bevorzuge Portugiesen, Sie weiß, lateinische Sprachen. ;)

Btw, I'm a 'HUGH' Terry Gilliam fan. :D

[yvr girl]

27. But he's not the leader of my country

Just the pain the ass neighbour.

[ellaydubya]

7. Perfectly said.

Exactly my thoughts, though I had not thought about the comparison until now. Unbelievable that two such different but similar devastating events have happened under the Bush regime. Both are horrific- what is scary is that our government, that we elect to protect us from such things, does not have a clue about what they are doing.

Why they don't have a clue is another subject- is it intentional or greed and power, or stupidity, or a combination of all of the above.

I am a little bit scared. We need to hang together.

[Demobrat]

8. Very different reactions.

Since my instantaneous reaction when I turned on the TV the morning of 9/11 was "Bush has done this", there was shock, yes, but mostly fury. The fury served to distract me from the horror and pain.

With Katrina the heartbreak is closer to the surface, because my fury is slowly building, rather than full-blown. At this point I still feel more pain for the civilians than anger at the administration.

9/11 - anger
Katrina - sadness.

[yvr girl]

18. Just the opposite for me

I knew there was suffering in 9-11 but the people died in the buildings or planes. We didn't see it. The trauma experienced by those left behind was terrible but they weren't dying.

Seeing bodies in the streets, people going into diabetic comas, living in filth and literally dying of thirst has been
heart-wrenching.

[quiet.american]

10. This is worse for me

Being a New Yorker, I was seriously impacted by 9/11.

However, I feel worse about this. Immediately the day of 9/11 and afterwards, by and large, there was a lot of help available here in the city; at least to the point where I did not go without a meal or water. It was also clear the entire country was in mourning with us. I did not have the feeling of being abandoned. There was immediate medical aid, psychological counseling, and monies available to cover personal costs associated with the attack.

You've said it very well and it sums up my feelings:

The horrors those people have faced are criminal. This tragedy wasn't caused by an enemy but by the government. In many ways this atrocity is more unspeakable.

[rocktivity]

11. 9/11 saddened, but not shocked me

It just confirmed my conviction that Bush was no good--I didn't think for one minute that it was the result of a Islamic fundie hissy fit.

I think Katrina's worse because it SHOULDN'T have happened.

:(
rocknation

[Cleita]

12. On 9-11 I thought we still had a democracy in spite of the installation

of GWB. Now I am horrified because I know we are screwed.

[Pachamama]

13. It's because of the images: If you were seeing ALL the images from NO

over and over again (like they did for 9/11 on TV ad nauseum) then you might be more shocked by Katrina and more importantly by the lack of response and failure of the Bush Administration in light of those images.

I can say that 4 1/2 years of Bush Co. and the Neo-con Cabal has "numbed" me - nothing surprises me. I guess in some ways, we were all "virgins" before 9/11. But I will say that I almost expected something like this to happen, whether it was by a terrorist attack or natural disaster. The reality too is that I am very aware of Global Climate Change and I live in the SF Bay area which is ground zero for a major catastrophic earthquake (or so they say) within the next 50 years.

I will say though that my husband and I lost 5 friends in the WTC on 9/11. As the fourth anniversary of their deaths is approaching, I can tell you that I believe that Katrina is far worse and actually, I feel its more likely a "natural disaster" and the failure of this administration will be a risk to me and my fellow citizens than an actual terrorist attack. The only difference for me this time is that I am so conditioned and expecting no less from the Bush Cabal, that nothing surprises me. But I find myself this last week at times barely able to breathe when I start thinking about what has happened in New Orleans. I am enraged. I am disgusted. I am angry. I am more fearful in a different way than 9/11.

[sundog]

15. harder... less shock but more sadness

[brazil]

16. One odd thing...

Look at the timing. September '01 vs September '05. Both almost 9 months after G.W. was sworn in.

Like a pregnancy, both 9/11 and Katrina were gestating for a while, and took a little while to come to term.

[bliss_eternal]

17. This has somehow felt so much worse for me...

I feel vulnerable, and like a whole segment of the population doesn't exist to this administration. I feel completely raw. I don't want to go out, I don't want to talk to people. I get angry upon going out and seeing others not even remotely concerned...

[shireen]

19. hard to compare, both such different events

On 9-11, everything happened suddenly and was "over" within several terrifying hours. When those towers collapsed, we knew the odds of finding survivors was very slim.

But with the hurricane, it was all slow motion. We watched, with dread, as the hurricane headed to the Gulf coast. Many of us stayed up all night to keep vigil for the people who were in Katrina's path as she made landfall. We exchanged messages with DU'er who were in Katrina's path, trying to be supportive and comforting, till they went silent from the loss of power. Over the next few days, we watched the unbelievable horrors that followed, wishing we could wake up from this nightmare. People were dying. We were completely helpless. We screamed about it on DU, we called our members of Congress, we contributed as much as we could to relief agencies. Some DU'ers close to the affected areas were able to make a direct and meaningful contribution by volunteering to help the survivors. As you read this, more people may be dying. The nightmare is still running.

It's difficult to come to terms with the tremendous loss of life, but there is a small comfort in knowing that the dead are no longer suffering. However, in these past few days, along the Gulf coasts, particularly in New Orleans, we could feel the slow suffering and dying of so many innocent victims of George W. Bush.

Both events were incredibly painful. I don't think we can compare them, and we shouldn't.

[proud patriot]

20. 9-11-01 put me in fear until 8 days after when I flew to Hawaii

and faced my fears head on , I've been healing from that
trauma ever since .

Katrina made me worried then Angry very angry

[2Design]

21. first thought was *

I have never felt vulnerable to the world but I do from the WH - Knowing that 18 of the 19 were from saudia and * continue to kiss them - I just wondered what they had done and how - that was long before I found this site

Everything that has been done after I have felt made us less safe. The stuff they do when take a flight is BS - rich people can go buy or rent a plane and the hijackers have lots of money - some security stuff has been so stupid - it is show while real security is ignored

We have seen how security would work with this crowd - NOT

They have made the world a much more dangerous place -

This hurricane - seeing the non-response is again the same gang - only this time I believe it is more evil

[Auntie Bush]

22. But the enemy = government!

[Eugene]

24. 9/11 left me stunned. The post-Katrina bungle frightens me more.

On 9/11, I was stunned with disbelief when the towers fell.
I was angry at the terrorists who committed the crime.

Hurricane Katrina was different. The threat to New Orleans
was well known and well publicised. I expected our governent
with its vast civil defense network to at least try to
save lives.

New Orleans drowned and the Bushies didn't give a damn.
Ordinary people like me just don't matter to this government.
First it made me angry. Now it also makes me afraid.

[auburngrad82]

28. Shock on 9/11, Anger over Katrina nt

[rbnyc]

29. Similar, but more drawn out.

First, I live in Brooklyn and my husband used to work at the WTC and was supposed to be there that day. He had decided to play hookie. Also, I work at a community center right next to St. Vincent's and we were an emergency center and housed the Red Cross. I was due in at 2 pm, but could not get across the bridge, so I felt completely helpless. I had a role to play and I couldn't get there.

I cried non-stop for about 3 days after 9/11. I had a cigarette relapse. I threw up about 100 times. I was immediately furious with Bush and the neo-cons. I knew our country would never be the same. I instantly predicted a range of things that all came true. (except for one thing--I predicted we'd end up at war with the EU.--close but not an actual shooting war.)

My response to Katrina and the New Orleans levee situation has been more drawn out. Spurts of crying instead of constant crying. Fury at Bush, but not the same kind of turning-point fury, because it's already turned.

I'll tell you, I thought so much about how I would feed my baby if I were trapped with no food or water that I actually did re-lactate! I kept wondering if I would be able to re-lactate if I were in that situation, and I actually did. So I guess that shows a certain amount of empathy.

I feel removed and helpless, but not to the same degree as when the disaster was in my own community--and such a surprise.

This was not a surprise--a different kind of helplessness.

[misanthrope]

30. Katrina is far worse for me...

...Why? Because, in my eyes, New Orleans was the only redeeming factor of life on the Gulf Coast.

I'm into art, music especially and only a couple of hours up the road from the Big Easy.

Though many note the poverty and racial problems of New Orleans, bear this in mind: compared to the rest of the region, New Orleans was an oasis of diversity, tolerance, liberalism and artistic expression. It was a world class city in the middle of a Third World region.

Without it, the Gulf Coast is an endless stretch of Bush Country...culturally and economically. From Florida to Alabama to Mississippi to rural Louisiana to Texas, all conservative, all the time.

Not to mention, the suffering with Katrina has been more prolonged, widespread and decimating.