Common Wonders
by Bob Koehler

09/15/05

Something far more sinister than incompetence has been at work in post-Katrina New Orleans. While there was plenty of that -- 'racism and incompetence seemed to merge to create a sluggish response,' Christian Parenti wrote in The Nation -- the fumbling cluelessness of FEMA under George Bush is a minor aspect of the vision of America, armed and gated, he and his cohorts have bestowed on us. In this virulent, militarized vision, disaster relief is an afterthought. What this administration does enthusiastically is wage war, or at least take potshots at fear. Thus the commander of the Louisiana National Guard's Joint Task Force told Army Times, as quoted by Rebecca Solnit in Harper's, 'This will be a combat operation to get this city under control.' If it's a combat operation, you need an enemy -- and the poor and destitute of New Orleans got conscripted into this role...

http://www.commonwonders.com/archives/col311.htm


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp