*~*Carlinlp*~*

bluestreet

Are you from New Orleans?! I went to McMain, Franklin, and Loyola. I read, and appreciated your response to austxgrl's post. I didn't want to detract from how awesome her grandma is for her work, and how great it was for austxgrl to share her grandma's recounting. But yeah, it's still very painful to me how New Orleanians are perceived in the context of the storm.

austxgrl

I really truly was not trying to depict New Orleanians in any negative light at all.  I was just telling of a few incidents my grandmother had while working there.  It was no way intended to be a generalization about any group of people at all.  These things did in fact happen but I don't think that I in any way was making a generalization about any group at all.  The picture of what I was trying to convey was how amazing the people that are going through such horrible tragedy are coming together.  I sincerely apologize that my post has been taken as a generalization to you all. It was not intended that way at all. I was simply stating some facts that did happen.

carlinlp

Slidell.  I grew up there from 11 years old on.  We stayed for 2 years and rebuilt after the storm before moving here.  I miss it, the way it was though, not the way it is now.  DD and I are heading back for a girls weekend in a few weeks and I can't wait!

LA - no biggie to me at all.  I appreciated your story.  And I love ya! 

bluestreet

austxgrl:

I really truly was not trying to depict New Orleanians in any negative light at all.  I was just telling of a few incidents my grandmother had while working there.  It was no way intended to be a generalization about any group of people at all.  These things did in fact happen but I don't think that I in any way was making a generalization about any group at all.  The picture of what I was trying to convey was how amazing the people that are going through such horrible tragedy are coming together.  I sincerely apologize that my post has been taken as a generalization to you all. It was not intended that way at all. I was simply stating some facts that did happen.

Yes, of course. I didn't want to hijack your post to talk about NOLA when the focus was Alabama. Like I indicated above, I think your grandma is awesome for spending her retirement helping people, and I know too well how people trying to help in the aftermath of the storm suffered. I imagine that was very hard for your grandmother. And you didn't make any generalizations about New Orleanians.

I started a new thread because (a) I was excited that one of the women on the board was from home, and (b) because I had a similar reaction to the minuscule part of your grandma's description that referred to New Orleanians. But I certainly didn't want to, again, hijack your post with negative.

That said, it's impossible for me not to bristle at implicit comparisons between the more gracious response of people in Alabama and the responses encountered in New Orleans. Reasons for the differences include everything you astutely pointed out in your response to Carlinlp in the other post-- people going hungry, getting dehydrated, running out of formula for their babies, etc. etc., and the sense of betrayal at having to wait so long for any response at all. 

So, while I'm glad communities are coming together in Alabama, I also suspect that part of the reason the relief efforts in Alabama are going more smoothly may be due to the lessons FEMA learned in New Orleans.

I'm sorry to have distracted from your original post. Blessings on your grandma and to the people of Alabama!