2008 Woodie Awards
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Racism? I Think Not
Charlie Brown
Issue date: 9/28/05 Section: Opinion
- Page 1 of 1
This letter is in response to the opinion article, "The Whitewashing of an American Tragedy" by Will Reyes (Sept.21).
The article leads "Racism in America is alive and well." It well might be on a small scale in my humble opinion, but to blame the slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina on racism is truly absurd.
Neither the president nor anyone else, including the news in the first twenty-four hours, know the vast, overwhelming disaster Katrina had made. When the news crews did find out in the second and third days they began to get photos of the area out to the nation. Then and only then did we as a nation know and begin to understand just how much disaster the hurricane left.
The flooding began to worsen, by the third and fourth days Hurricane Katrina took more lives.
Did we as a nation prepare for this massive undertaking to evacuate an entire city? NO, we did not. Are we guilty of being unprepared? YES. Are we as a nation or government racist?
NO.
I cannot and will not believe that we as a people, or our government, or even just white people are all or mostly racist. We as a nation did make deadly errors in misjudging our capabilities to respond to such a large emergency. But it is just that: deadly errors, not racism.
This is a terrible tragedy in which countless millions of white people among ALL races of Americans offered not only their hard earned cash, but brought new and used clothes, bedding, toiletries, diapers, food, housing and tons more. We brought it as fast as we could to the people of the disaster.
Programs and churches across America brought thousands of victims to their headquarters, homes and churches to house, feed and heal victims of the storm.
The Dream Center here in Los Angeles is one of such places which took in about 300 victims and is doing everything they can to help people in need. I know for sure - I volunteer there.
The article leads "Racism in America is alive and well." It well might be on a small scale in my humble opinion, but to blame the slow response to the victims of Hurricane Katrina on racism is truly absurd.
Neither the president nor anyone else, including the news in the first twenty-four hours, know the vast, overwhelming disaster Katrina had made. When the news crews did find out in the second and third days they began to get photos of the area out to the nation. Then and only then did we as a nation know and begin to understand just how much disaster the hurricane left.
The flooding began to worsen, by the third and fourth days Hurricane Katrina took more lives.
Did we as a nation prepare for this massive undertaking to evacuate an entire city? NO, we did not. Are we guilty of being unprepared? YES. Are we as a nation or government racist?
NO.
I cannot and will not believe that we as a people, or our government, or even just white people are all or mostly racist. We as a nation did make deadly errors in misjudging our capabilities to respond to such a large emergency. But it is just that: deadly errors, not racism.
This is a terrible tragedy in which countless millions of white people among ALL races of Americans offered not only their hard earned cash, but brought new and used clothes, bedding, toiletries, diapers, food, housing and tons more. We brought it as fast as we could to the people of the disaster.
Programs and churches across America brought thousands of victims to their headquarters, homes and churches to house, feed and heal victims of the storm.
The Dream Center here in Los Angeles is one of such places which took in about 300 victims and is doing everything they can to help people in need. I know for sure - I volunteer there.
