Texas Vs. Louisiana
Feel free to disagree with this comparison. It was posted in an AOL message board that I frequent. In my opinion, it hits the nail squarely on the head. The commentary at the bottom and the individual observations are copied exactly as I read them. Thanks to Willweasel for an enjoyable read.
Two States, 22 Observations
OBSERVATION #1.
Texas: Productive industrious state run by Republicans.
Louisiana: Government dependent welfare state run by Democrats.
OBSERVATION #2.
Texas: Residents take responsibility to protect and evacuate themselves.
Louisiana: Residents wait for government to protect and evacuate them.
OBSERVATION #3.
Texas: Local and state officials take responsibility for protecting their citizens and property.
Louisiana: Local and state officials blame federal government for not protecting their citizens and property.
OBSERVATION #4.
Texas: Command and control remains in place to preserve order.
Louisiana: Command and control collapses allowing lawlessness.
OBSERVATION #5.
Texas: Law enforcement officers remain on duty to protect city.
Louisiana: Law enforcement officers desert their posts to protect themselves.
OBSERVATION #6.
Texas: Local police watch for looting.
Louisiana: Local police participate in looting.
OBSERVATION #7.
Texas: Law and order remains in control, 8 looters tried it, 8 looters arrested.
Louisiana: Anarchy and lawlessness breaks out, looters take over city, no arrests, criminals with guns have to be shot by federal troops.
OBSERVATION #8.
Texas: Considerable damage caused by hurricane.
Louisiana: Considerable damage caused by looters.
OBSERVATION #9.
Texas: Flood barriers hold preventing cities from flooding.
Louisiana: Flood barriers fail due to lack of maintenance allowing city to flood.
OBSERVATION #10.
Texas: Orderly evacuation away from threatened areas, few remain.
Louisiana: 25,000 fail to evacuate, are relocated to another flooded area.
OBSERVATION #11.
Texas: Citizens evacuate with personal 3 day supply of food and water.
Louisiana: Citizens fail to evacuate with 3 day supply of food and water, do without it for the next 4 days.
OBSERVATION #12.
Texas: FEMA brings in tons of food and water for evacuees. State officials provide accessible distribution points.
Louisiana: FEMA brings in tons of food and water for evacuees. State officials prevent citizens from reaching distribution points and vice versa.
OBSERVATION #13.
Texas: Media can't find poor blacks in need of assistance, looking for something else to blame on Bush.
Louisiana: Media focuses on poor blacks in need of assistance, blames Bush.
OBSERVATION #14.
Louisiana: New Orleans is destroyed, Mayor asks residents to return home as another hurricane approaches, has to be overruled by federal officials.
Texas: Coastal cities suffer some infrastructure damage, Mayors tell residents to stay away until ready for repopulation, no interference from federal officials
OBSERVATION #15.
Louisiana: Over 400 killed by storm, flooding and crime.
Texas: 24 killed in bus accident on highway during evacuation, no storm related deaths.
OBSERVATION #16.
Louisiana: Jailed prisoners are set free to prey on city shops, residents, and homes.
Texas: Jailed prisoners are relocated to other detention facilities outside the storm area.
OBSERVATION #17.
Louisiana: Local and state officials obstruct FEMA and Red Cross from aiding in recovery operations.
Texas: Local and state officials work with FEMA and Red Cross in recovery operations.
OBSERVATION #18.
Louisiana: Local and state officials fail to demonstrate leadership, require federal government to manage disaster areas.
Texas: Local and state officials demonstrate leadership in managing disaster areas.
OBSERVATION #19.
Louisiana: Motorists wait till storm hits and electrical power fails. Cars run out of gas at gas stations that can't pump gas. Gas in underground tanks mixes with flood waters.
Texas: Fuel deliveries can't keep up with demand, some run out of gas on highway, need help from fuel tankers before storm arrives.
OBSERVATION #20.
Louisiana: Mayor moves himself and family to Dallas.
Texas: Mayors move citizens out of danger.
OBSERVATION #21.
Louisiana: Mayor cusses, governor cries, senator threatens President with violence on television; none of them have a clue what went wrong or who's responsible.
Texas: Mayors continue public service announcements and updates on television with Governor's backing and support.
OBSERVATION #22.
Louisiana: Democratic Senator says FEMA was slow in responding to 911 calls from Louisiana citizens.
Texas: Republican Senator says "when you call 911, the phone doesn't ring in Washington, it rings here at the local responders".
* * * * * *
What if state and local elected officials were forced to depend on themselves and their own resources instead of calling for help from the federal government? Texas cities would be back up and running in a few days. Louisiana cities would still be under water next month.
posted by SuperDad @ 8:22 AM
4 comments:
While all of these observations are true on the surface, there are some deeper issues involved. For instance, couldn't the rampant racism that prevents people from feeling empowered be partially responsible for the failures in LA? Also, if Texas had the high numbers of unemployed, uneremployed, and unempowered minorities, would it still have done as well? I think the differences go a little deeper than mere liberalism vs conservatism. However, the points about taking resonsibility are quite valid. Everyone is ultimately responsible for themselves. What they can't provide, the city and state should try to provide. When the city and state can not provide, the federal government should step up to the plate. There were failures on every level in Louisiana. But, every official in Texas acknowledged that they learned from the mistakes in LA, preventing them from making the same kinds of mistakes. And don't think the down-and-outers in TX missed the lesson either. LA gave TX an opportunity to do it right, and they took it. Good for them. But who's to say that if the events were reversed, so would those obeserations be reversed, hm? Just my two cents.
GOD BLESS TEXAS
These observations had to have been written by a Texan. I've lived there and I can tell you that all Texans have an espirit de corps (for their state) as fierce and as logic-defying as Marines and Catholics.
My friend, also a temporary Texan at one point in his life, felt so much competitive and sometimes sinister pressure from the natives, he finally bought the following bumper sticker to get them to leave him alone.
I WASN'T BORN IN TEXAS, BUT I GOT HERE AS FAST AS I COULD.
Mama didn't raise no fools. I couldn't have said it better myself. With the eyes of the world upon them, Texas was bending over backwards to do it right! And of course there is that famous bathroom scrawl I once read: "Here I sit, cheeks a flexin', just gave birth to another Texan!" Not that I am against Texas in any way, it's just that I think on many levels they had it better to begin with.
Do you think that the big difference is the lifestyles and the income level? Well, and education. I remember watching the coverage before it the hurrican hit LA. It was sad, there were poor black people. Swamp people I'd joke. I think it is tragic that these people didn't have enough sense to 'come in out of the rain'
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