Wednesday, July 25, 2007

How to destroy an African-American city in 33 steps -- lessons from Katrina

A sad, enraging, all-too-accurate post from the Black Commentator about racism's effect on adapting to climate catastrophes: Step One. Delay. If there is one word that sums up the way to destroy an African-American city after a disaster, that word is DELAY. If you are in doubt about any of the following steps – just remember to delay and you will probably be doing the right thing….

Step Two. When a disaster is coming, do not arrange a public evacuation. Rely only on individual resources. People with cars and money for hotels will leave. The elderly, the disabled and the poor will not be able to leave. Most of those without cars – 25% of households of New Orleans, overwhelmingly African-Americans – will not be able to leave…

... Step Five. Make certain the local, state, and national governments do not respond in a coordinated, effective way. This will create more chaos on the ground....

Read all 33.

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