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by Cassandra, Unknown News
April 16, 2007
Hurricane Katrina is old news, but a friend in media keeps getting
releases from other media outlets, explaining that the correct term for the people
who lost their homes, jobs, and family in the disaster is
'Katrina evacuees', not 'refugees'.
The reasoning is that the victims
fled from a natural disaster rather than one of the many man-made ones
playing out across the world. We've always used the term refugees for
people fleeing a disaster, but the term has become too political.
As
we've seen in the media, the levees were known to be insufficient; the
response to Katrina by politicians was lackluster and too late. Katrina
caused both deaths and refugees; politicians multiplied their numbers.
Victims have had difficulties from the government in getting promised
housing and assistance while temporary housing sits rotting, unused.
The
people from Louisiana
and Mississippi are refugees of both a natural and
a political disaster, and like most
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refugees before them, they're not
welcome by the communities where they've washed up.
I have family and a friend, whom I'll call 'Ken', in Dallas. One
relative, the kindest woman I know, worked with the refugees [her word]
to help them find homes in other areas. One the families she helped
ended up in my home town, a 13-hour drive from where they started out.
They had family who were able to take them in and help them settle.
Another community in my state that had been all-white as recently as 25
years ago [a lynch mob drove black families out in the first half of the
1900s] is once again integrated, peacefully this time, with more Katrina
refugees. Up here, where the impact on our communities has been small,
the media has covered heart-warming tales of people starting over,
with the help of families, churches, and strangers who are becoming
friends. It makes for good press.
I hadn't seen 'Ken' since the weekend 16 years ago when we almost eloped.
He looked very much the same, although like me he's gotten a few more lines
and a few more pounds. His hair has darkened to brown from blond. Mine
is turning gray, although I hide the gray with dye. 'Ken' and I had a wonderful
visit a few weeks ago, talking about old times and catching up with pictures of our lives
now. However, whenever he brought up 'The Katrinians' he looked and
sounded like the man I've known since he was a boy, but it was jarring.
'Ken', who has lived in both Houston and Dallas since Katrina, talks about
how 'those refugees' are ruining the cities. 'They' have raised the
crime rate. 'They' have caused property values to drop. 'They' have
ruined both cities. And 'They' aren't going away soon enough.
I suspect
'Ken's' opinions are shared by many, although he may be more outspoken
than the majority of people. He always has been. It used to be charming,
because he didn't sound like a bigot.
We talked about me going to Dallas to visit. It would be a nice
vacation; I'd get to meet his partner, visit family, and see a city I
have only visited briefly. The thing is, I have family who are very
conservative. Some of them think my gay friends and
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The people from Louisiana and Mississippi are refugees of both a natural and a political disaster, and like most refugees before them, they're not welcome by the communities where they've washed up.
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family are going to
Hell. We used to avoid topics like religion and politics, and finally
drifted into speaking rarely and visiting even less. I still love my
family and my friend because I remember their sweetness and their many
kindnesses, but it's hard to listen to their opinions when they lack
both. I think this will happen with my old friend.
I'm writing this in the early morning, so when I finished I began checking the new day's news and my horoscope.
Although I don't believe in horoscopes, I keep hoping one will say 'a
man is going to show up with a huge check today and you won't have to
worry so much' or 'your health and that of loved ones will improve'.
Maybe even 'longed-for political changes are beginning'. It would be
great to have something to hope for even if it doesn't happen. I could
look out the window for the guy with the TV cameras, call my folks to
ask about their health, or turn on the radio to make sure I don't miss
anything.
A snippet of today's horoscope read, "at times this influence
indicates self-righteousness and smug arrogance, as if you considered
yourself as the embodiment of social truth and wisdom. This attitude may
not be entirely conscious on your part, but it may be subtly evident in
your phrasing or in an unspoken attitude toward others."
So I apologize if I sound self-righteous and smug. I don't feel either.
I just feel sad, that another person I love is not the person I thought I
knew, and that I'm losing another person to bigotry disguised as
conservatism.
© by the author.
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