Ring of Fire

Hard to believe from rainy and cooler New York that all this is happening on the West coast. I'll see it and feel it and most likely taste it with my own body tomorrow as I fly to LA before San Jose. Domestic Departures workshop inside the ring of fire will be interesting to participate in. Scoured and charred, how will we be able to respond in our own work?

However bad the devastation, though, I can't help but think of the hypocrisy surrounding the rescue and evacuation effort in relation to that after Hurricane Katrina. Images of thousands at a sports stadium, people waiting on line or sleeping on concrete, similar in both cases. But in recent news programs and in the papers, not many people this week are shown starving, dying of thirst, without proper medical equipment or attention, without sanitation.

In Southern California, even the farm animals have been saved, are still well fed and hydrated. Newborns and the elderly weren't treated this well at the Superdome, were they? Maybe I missed something.

It makes me ask myself again (proverbially) why certain types of people's lives are valued more than others' in this country. The lower-class to poor, mostly African American lives destroyed by Hurricane Katrina are still waiting for aid. New Orleans seems to have become a pet project for the rich and seemingly socially conscious (with green building initiatives and tours, documentaries, etc), but not the government. Conversely, celebrities whose (not even primary) homes are in harm's way are being touted around like victims. I'm sure they all left for Hawaii until the smoke clears!

I see the government, the Governator, FEMA, mobilizing at almost stealth speed. I'm stating the obvious here with most of our reserve troops fighting in Iraq, local hands on deck seem to have loads of help, enthusiasm and drive, and support.

I feel embarrassed to be represented by such a transparent, manipulative, and cruel administration. It breaks my heart and makes me incredibly angry that millions of people in New Orleans are still waiting for...pretty much everything, and the most recent homeless of Southern California are basically getting in front of the line.

Very good place to be before a workshop!