Beastmomma

It is hard to wrap my mind around how much water is in New Orleans. The photographs are very powerful.  I had trouble sleeping last night.  Tulane-- where I did my graduate work-- finally got its webpage back up.  You can read about things here.  As a person with some compassion, it is tough for me to not be able to do something actively to help. I would like to go down there.  The phones are still busy; I cannot get through to ErinB and another friend that I remembered was there.  I am trying to be optimistic, but it is hard with all the news coverage and visuals.

Through the American Public Health Association, I came across a list of organizations that need monetary donations in order to provide aid to hurricane victims. I am struck by the fact that they are all Christian religious organizations.  Not sure why that is sticking out in my mind.  In any event, you can view the list here.   I am going to try to find better ones.

The city of NOLA has gone through so much. The historic French Quarter is still mostly in tact. This is the oldest part of the city which has seen much of war and natural disaster.  Through the coverage, I have been looking for glimpses of the school of public health, but have not seen it.  By reading the letter on the Tulane webpage, it is clear that there is damage to the campus.   The increase in violence and loitering is awful.  It reminds me of watching the real life version of Lord of the Flies.  Is this what humans come to when they are trapped with no food, water, or electricity?  On the flip side, there are lots of stories about rescues and kindness.  Maybe the violence comes out in those who are living in extended periods of time without necessities.

There are many meetings taking place by people much smarter than me on how to repair the levy's.  The first area where the levy failed was the Ninth Ward. This is one of the poorest parts of the city.   It gets ignored by city developers and politicians because there is not a lot of money coming out of there and there is not a large voting block there.  Again, I have to say that this is a metaphor for how the poor are treated throughout the country.  It also speaks to how good infrastructure is essential to city planning, not something which should be put on hold so that everyone can get their cut.  Other levee's are also failing. Attempts to put in sandbags failed. They are now talking about trying concrete.   I hope that it works.

There is now officially a shortage of drinking water and food.  NOLA has a high number of diabetics.  For those who do not know, the chances of going into shock or a coma are much higher in diabetics than others because they need insulin either through injections or a pump.  In order for that insulin to work, there has to be food and water in the body.  

The superdome may not be evacuated because the water inside is starting to rise.  I had my graduation ceremony in the superdome.  It is a huge structure which gives the semblance of extraordinary power.  It is hard to believe that part of the roof got taken off.                           

It is hard to watch a place you once lived get rocked by weather.  As I watched some of the footage of the devastation and heard commentary, there were lots of thoughts going through my head.  I have lots of memories of various adventures.  I am glad to not be living there right now.  However, I am sad for all the people who had to leave everything behind and for those who could not leave.   I am worried because I have not heard from ErinB.  I am concerned about how the city will rebuild itself.  I do not have anything else to write about this for now; just wanted to say that I was thinking about it.

I feel like there have been two flashing signs over my life for the past week. One says, "Everything you are is wrong" and the other says "I am trying to find a different way."

In the search to make the second sign stronger, I have been having so many good conversations and having a good framework to absorb the brilliance of Timothy Tyson's Blood Done Sign My Name which is about the history race relations and the civil rights movement in North Carolina.  The book is a brilliant narrative and will be the subject of my book club discussion tomorrow.  Even more than that, I feel inspired about my budding political career and my larger desire to be a force for good. 

Tonight at a birthday party for a woman who works at the gym I got into a great conversation with this woman who I knew I would instantly like because she has a t-shirt that she wears to the gym which says "Got Privilege?"  Anyway, I told her the tale of the fellowship and asked for some resources she gave me a few names and suggested that I give some feedback to the facilitators about how the process was not serving anyone if some people feel attacked and isolated.  I also got the names of some local Durham organizations which may give me some good ideas.  I need to gather some more courage to continue to speak truth to power and to call people out on behavoir that is not right.