panther

am not well informed but looking at the aftermath of the devastating katrina,the reason the federal government delayed its reaction was because black people are a majority,and black communities in america are second classed and negrected no wonder they all turn to looting as its every man for his asss.

Basically whats going on over here is that they are addressing the black people as 'looters' - lawsless folks whilst saying that the white are 'survivors desperate to get help' - to be pitied. LA as Game mentioned is predominatly black. Its taken the govt a week to send food. A week ? It was Monday when they hit. The media keeps saying why didnt people leave...Al ot of them were too poor to leave or were broke enought to decide to sit out the storm. All the rich folks got out. They do the same type of reporting to black americans as they do to us Africans. They make the black folks really look like people you dont want to hlep lawless looters. This one guy had t pull up his shirt to a reporter and say 'I am a chirstian , I feel bad taking these bandages from Rite AID (drug store) and show his wounds so tht he is not portryed in a negative light. What is this country all about ?

Furthermore we keep hearing comments on CNN saying stuff like, " This place looks like a refugee camp in Africa" Now why dont they just leave us alone? Keep us out of this...

Also apparently, oneanti American web site called the hurricane Private Katrina. You cant treat minorites like this and then turn around and wonder why people thin your policies stink. what is this wolrd coming to ?

Lost in the Flood
Why no mention of race or class in TV's Katrina coverage?
By Jack Shafer
Posted Wednesday, Aug. 31, 2005, at 4:22 PM PT



What the newscasters didn't say


I can't say I saw everything that the TV newscasters pumped out about Katrina, but I viewed enough repeated segments to say with 90 percent confidence that broadcasters covering the New Orleans end of the disaster demurred from mentioning two topics that must have occurred to every sentient viewer: race and class.

Nearly every rescued person, temporary resident of the Superdome, looter, or loiterer on the high ground of the freeway I saw on TV was African-American. And from the look of it, they weren't wealthy residents of the Garden District. This storm appears to have hurt blacks more directly than whites, but the broadcasters scarcely mentioned that fact.



Now, don't get me wrong. Just because 67 percent of New Orleans residents are black, I don't expect CNN to rename the storm "Hurricane" Carter in honor of the black boxer. Just because Katrina's next stop after destroying coastal Mississippi was counties that are 25 percent to 86 percent African-American (according to this U.S. Census map), and 27.9 percent of New Orleans residents are below the poverty line, I don't expect the Rev. Jesse Jackson to call the news channels to give a comment. But in the their frenzy to beat freshness into the endless loops of disaster footage that have been running all day, broadcasters might have mentioned that nearly all the visible people left behind in New Orleans are of the black persuasion, and mostly poor.

To be sure, some reporters sidled up to the race and class issue. I heard them ask the storm's New Orleans victims why they hadn't left town when the evacuation call came. Many said they were broke—"I live from paycheck to paycheck," explained one woman. Others said they didn't own a car with which to escape and that they hadn't understood the importance of evacuation.

But I don't recall any reporter exploring the class issue directly by getting a paycheck-to-paycheck victim to explain that he couldn't risk leaving because if he lost his furniture and appliances, his pots and pans, his bedding and clothes, to Katrina or looters, he'd have no way to replace them. No insurance, no stable, large extended family that could lend him cash to get back on his feet, no middle-class job to return to after the storm.

What accounts for the broadcasters' timidity? I saw only a couple of black faces anchoring or co-anchoring but didn't see any black faces reporting from New Orleans. So, it's safe to assume that the reluctance to talk about race on the air was a mostly white thing. That would tend to imply that white people don't enjoy discussing the subject. But they do, as long as they get to call another white person racist.

My guess is that Caucasian broadcasters refrain from extemporizing about race on the air mostly because they fear having an Al Campanis moment. Campanis, you may recall, was the Los Angeles Dodgers vice president who brought his career to an end when he appeared on Nightline in 1987 and explained to Ted Koppel that blacks might not have "some of the necessities" it takes to manage a major league team or run it as a general manager for the same reason black people aren't "good swimmers." They lack "buoyancy," he said.

Not to excuse Campanis, but as racists go he was an underachiever. While playing in the minor leagues, he threw down his mitt and challenged another player who was bullying Jackie Robinson. As Dodger GM, he aggressively signed black and Latino players, treated them well, and earned their admiration. Although his Nightline statement was transparently racist, in the furor that followed, nobody could cite another racist remark he had ever made. His racism, which surely blocked blacks from potential front-office Dodger careers, was the racism of overwhelming ignorance—a trait he shared (shares?) with many other baseball executives.

This sort of latent racism (or something more potent) may lurk in the hearts of many white people who end up on TV, as it does in the hearts of many who watch. Or, even if they're completely clean of racism's taint, anchors and reporters fear that they'll suffer a career-stopping Campanis moment by blurting something poorly thought out or something that gets misconstrued. Better, most think, to avoid discussing race at all unless someone with impeccable race credentials appears to supervise—and indemnify—everybody from potentially damaging charges of racism.

Race remains largely untouchable for TV because broadcasters sense that they can't make an error without destroying careers. That's a true pity. If the subject were a little less taboo, one of last night's anchors could have asked a reporter, "Can you explain to our viewers, who by now have surely noticed, why 99 percent of the New Orleans evacuees we're seeing are African-American? I suppose our viewers have noticed, too, that the provocative looting footage we're airing and re-airing seems to depict mostly African-Americans."

If the reporter on the ground couldn't answer the questions, a researcher could have Nexised the New Orleans Times-Picayune five-parter from 2002, "Washing Away," which reported that the city's 100,000 residents without private transportation were likely to be stranded by a big storm. In other words, what's happening is what was expected to happen: The poor didn't get out in time.

To the question of looting, an informed reporter or anchor might have pointed out that anybody—even one of the 500 Nordic blondes working in broadcast news—would loot food from a shuttered shop if they found themselves trapped by a flood and had no idea when help would come. However sympathetic I might be to people liberating necessities during a disaster in order to survive, I can't muster the same tolerance for those caught on camera helping themselves in a leisurely fashion to dry goods at Wal-Mart. Those people weren't looting as much as they were shopping for good stuff to steal. MSNBC's anchor Rita Cosby, who blurted an outraged if inarticulate harrumph when she aired the Wal-Mart heist footage, deserves more respect than the broadcasters who gave the tape the sort of nonjudgmental commentary they might deliver if they were watching the perps vacuum the carpets at home.

When disaster strikes, Americans—especially journalists—like to pretend that no matter who gets hit, no matter what race, color, creed, or socioeconomic level they hail from, we're all in it together. This spirit informs the 1997 disaster flick Volcano, in which a "can't we all just get along" moment arrives at the film's end: Volcanic ash covers every face in the big crowd scene, and everybody realizes that we're all members of one united race.

But we aren't one united race, we aren't one united class, and Katrina didn't hit all folks equally. By failing to acknowledge upfront that black New Orleanians—and perhaps black Mississippians—suffered more from Katrina than whites, the TV talkers may escape potential accusations that they're racist. But by ignoring race and class, they boot the journalistic opportunity to bring attention to the disenfranchisement of a whole definable segment of the population. What I wouldn't pay to hear a Fox anchor ask, "Say, Bob, why are these African-Americans so poor to begin with?"

*******

Note to Al Campanis' departed soul: Al, if you had endowed a foundation to build a 50-meter pool in an urban neighborhood and hired some good coaches, I bet that pool would have spawned Olympic-caliber swimmers. Send your Katrina nuggets to document.write("") document.write("slate.pressbox"+"@"+"gmail.com"); slate.pressbox@gmail.com document.write(''); . (E-mail may be quoted unless the writer stipulates otherwise.)


Related in Slate
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Click here for a full roster of Slate's Katrina coverage. Last year, Daniel Engber explained how reliable hurricane forecasts are. And if you're more interested in class than race, click here to read Shafer's analysis of two special series on the topic in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal.

document.write("") Jack Shafer document.write(''); is Slate's editor at large.

We are better equipped to face starvation though ..I dont think people would be hitting the local PTC b/c of hunger, it hasnt happend yet.

Your Right TJ, had it been election year, it would have been swifter - I hope this get rid of the black voters that swayed Republican during this years election - America simply doesnt give a damn about it black population . With the numbers of black folks that dies in this situation , surely, black folk are no longer the largets minority group.

I watched Bush speaking on CNN yesterday. He gave one of those "god bless America" speeches.
Why has the government delayed with search and rescue? supplying aid? transporting the refugees?and why have they blocked more people from entering the stadium?
I remember hearing some black guy ask, "would there have been any changes if money had not gone to Iraq?" These are just some of the questions people are asking the white house. Sadly, the administration hasn't answered these tough questions. Instead, like 9/11, Bush gave a response. And from there we see a pattern. Bush tends to sway away from answering questions that concern the issue at hand.I guess thats politics .Anyways, its not time to be point figures. Elections are over.
As other honorable members have pointed out; there are plenty of reasons why blacks were hit worse. If anything, its more an issue of class than race. As is always the case, the poor are alwasy hit the worst.


-- Edited by skillzmanifest at 07:34, 2005-09-04

inde

My pity only goes so far. Malawian farmers find themselves stranded (the same way those hurricane victims are in) just about every year. We're always left to fend for ourselves in hard times, without any assistance from government. Sure, Katrina was terrible, but I'd rather allocate money to poverty alleviation for my brothers and sisters back home, who are thankful for just recieving oxygen. Who can go on without Mcdonalds, gas for vehicles and all these easily accessible commodities westerners enjoy and survive on.




-- Edited by skillzmanifest at 07:30, 2005-09-05

skills

i think the whole katrina scenario is oversaturated,remember phalombe disaster back in motherland,aid agencies took months to recognise the damage caused,first donations were blankets when people were dying of hunger and disease outbreaks,there was no superdomes to take shelter in, but man survived on his own.malawi is one poor country but managed to accomodate its citizens in that devastating event.

these americans dont even know how to handle the harsh realities of life,the country is so rich and well equipped to withstand the natural phenominal effects,they just want remorse from the world,when in africa these things happen everyday.from aids to working under bad conditions,wars the list goes on,and still we survive.now one earths fury submerges a small city that only has a population of black people they publicly cut their skin to show their heartache.who are they?the twelve tribes?my asss.

true Abre, i feel for those people but what about dead women and children in congo,



remember this.

untill the philosophy,which holds one race superior and another inferior.
is finally,and permanently,discredited and abandoned,untill there no longer,first class and second class citizens of nation,untill the color of a man skin,is of no more significance than the color of his eyes,that untill the basic human rights,are equally guaranteed to all without regards to race.that untill tha day,the dream of lasting peace,world citizenship,and rule of international morality,and untill ignoble and un happy regimes that holds our brothers in angola,in mozambique,south africa,subhuman bondage,have been toppled,utterly destroyed,untill that day,the African continent,will not know peace,we africans we fight if necessary,we know we shall win as we are confidence,in the victory,of good over evil.



words by his majesty,some might wonder whats the relation to the matter at hand,the answer is simple,america has done more harm than good to mankind,from hiroshima to the middle east,nagasaki to iraq,america wants the whole world to grieve with her in her times of sorrow,but cares less of other peoples predicaments.

I have a big problem with the media. With the wide increase flow of information It has all become about getting a wider audience. Disasters have some how become entertainment. The more shocking the better. They do it to the extreme that they show the same pictures over and over again. It also depends on where it is happening. If its happening in Europe or USA then the media is their like vultures to get the most shocking pictures, September 11 comes to mind.

Katrina is bad but there are worse things that are happening in Africa that we dont see and that we will never get to hear of because the media is not interested in it. TV having a wider audience has got also obligations to advertisers and sometimes the government so out of censorship they decide what we see and what we dont. Its all about business for them the wider the audience the more money they make. They dont even care about the disasters or atrocities that are happening. Unfortunately where the media is thats where you hear a lot of people pledging a lot of money. USA has unfortunately created a nation that is not able to think for themselves the media thinks for them.

USA is the richest country in the world donating money to help is for me not really necessary i would rather donate money to anti-aids campaing programs operating in Africa.
NOTE: I write USA not America because i live in South America and the south americans resent it when only those from USA are referred to as americans.

The media has indeed exagerated on the issue.On the other hand being here for a while NO has one of the highest black on black crime in the south. If you have been to neworleans you will agree with me that people walking in the streets strapping a pis is not a forktale.
Most black people ended up in such situation because either they did not have the means to evacuate or they underestimated the wrath of katrina.
By deciding to ride the storm the power went out and they didnt know about the breach of the cannal wall until it was too late and they ende up in the attics

sepu

I live 2 hrs fro the NO. Just for your info. check this site.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/8999837/

In my 1st posting i was comparing the NO to the southern states. Last spring i went to the NO and we had to run for cover when we heard gun shots. By the way this was burbon street on a saturday evening.The next day we saw on TV that 4 people were shot. There is violence in NO take it or leave it.

sepu

-- Edited by sepusepu at 20:28, 2005-09-06

Gentlemen

 

the media have done a very good job so far,lets not attack them,alot of poor black people are gang bangers, they took advantage of the situation under the watchfull aye of the media giving them a story to tell.if the media was not there we wouldnt have known the extent of the damage caused by katrina.

vietmam for example,if there was no media coverage that war would have lasted long enough,but because we saw the human rights abuse and the crimes committed by soldiers from both factions it ignited someone to call for cease fire.katrina again Dubya took the stick because we saw dead bodies being washed away while he attended some charity party instead of deploying the national guard to the gulf coast.