Recovery Ignorance

Damabala gives us prime example of the widespread problem of "recovery ignorance" that exists in this country in this post.

I truely wish more people would see When the Levees Broke to realize the breadth of Katrina's destruction. Some people believe that the recuperation should be over. "I mean, it's been a year...." is the attitude often heard outside the Gulf South.

"You had Mardi Gras, you must be back to normal" is another misinterpretation of why we had carnival .

No matter how hard you try, you can't change what people think without educatin' them. There are A LOT of people who need educating out there.

As everyone from Katrina's footprint will tell you, you cannot understand the size and scope of what has happened down here without being here . You need to smell it, see it first hand.

It will take years for this area to recover. New Orleans is having a hard time getting back on their feet The Mississippi gulf coast is coming back business-wise. There still are a lot of people who need real homes to live in.

Initially forgotton Pearlington is coming back .

If you want to compare recovery between NOLA and Mississippi's Gulf Coast, I'd say the main reason our neighbors to the east are coming back faster is the fact that they don't have Ray Nagin as a "leader". He's a pretty crazy sonofabitch.

Here is a great interactive map detailing comeback struggles of some New Orleans' businesses. Containing audio and video experiences, I think it's worth checking out.

Katrina's path affected Mississippi differently than NOLA in that New Orleans drowned where Mississippi was just flat wiped out.

Again, the only way people "not from here" who question the recovery are going to understand the enormousness of Katrina's wrath is through education. I started this blog and my Katrina Webpage to do just that.

Here are some good places to start:

Katrina One Year Later Essays and Epilogues

NPR's article on one year later Worth a look.

The Washington Post gives us a photo essay of the last year down here.

The Gulf Coast news Katrina Photos Bear in mind, folks that these are NOT pictures of isolated destruction. This destruction happened ALL OVER. These are photos of the norm.



"Having opinions without knowledge is not of much value; not knowing the difference between them is a positive indicator of ignorance."
-- Diane Ravitch