The big Rant, Day #8

Ahem...
> Stepping up onto the soap box<

In my own little private grieving process, I seem to have progressed today to the anger stage. The day began pleasantly enough, in fact I wondered what to even write to all of you today. But I stopped at a rest stop in South Carolina and on the way back to the car a man stopped to ask me for directions. Not being from the area ( and with 5 cartons of cigarettes in my hand for my husband- heck if he is going to smoke it may as well be cheap) he asked where I came from, where I was headed. I mentioned I was returning from Mississippi.
The questions he asked was innocent enough, but somehow after driving away it brought out a very angry part of me. He asked " Is it really as bad down there as the news portrays?" to which I replied " It's worse than you can imagine, and no news network can give it a fair viewing."
Next question he asked. " Did you go to New Orleans?" and I told him I had been in Bay St. Louis and Waveland all week. He sat and talked to me about the hurricane coverage for about 15 minutes... and mentioned all he ever saw was the New Orleans crisis. He knew nothing about the Mississippi devastation. When he drove off I got angry. I'm angry at the media for the constant focus on New Orleans and no focus on Mississippi. I'm angry the President Bush ( yeah he went to Gulfport for about 5 minutes this week, but hardly got any press) for feeding the squeaky wheel of the New Orleans Political machine. I'm angry that what is happening is that people are going to be so over fed with news from New Orleans that they are going to stop listening. And I'm mad that the good people of Bay St. Louis and Waveland are not being given a fair shake.
There is an entire humanitarian crisis happening there that no one is covering. People are living in parking lots and are without family, home or any means of long term survival. This is not a political football to be kicked between parties, nor is it an easy story for the media vultures to pick apart. People are suffering, people are dying, and all that is happening is that New Orleans is getting more and more press every day and the people on the Mississippi coast are being left in the dust.
I do not know how to change this. I do know that while New Orleans is a humanitarian crisis, the people living there are doing so by choice, not because they have a lack of alternative shelter. In Bay St. Louis I see people looking for shelter but who have none...THERE ARE NO BUILDINGS LEFT. There is no place to linger except the parking lot.
When we rely on the government and other agencies to fix things, we become spectators. I'm tired of being a spectator. I'm turning off my TV, and I'm not participating in the media circus anymore. I want to help the people who have been forgotten and overlooked ...somehow...by everyone. And having watched the media in my own community after the flooding from Hurricane Floyd in 99, I know that they have no compassion. They are there for the sizzle...the most sellable choice story that is easiest to find and easiest to tell. There is one big story in New Orleans...10,000 small human stories in Bay St. Louis and Waveland. Somehow that is disproportionate to the way it ought to be. Tomorrow on the way home, I'm going to think about how that could be different. And I am going to try and find a way to help the people of Mississippi in whatever way I think I can be most effective. I hope I find some guidance.
When I was thinking about this today, the song on the radio that popped up was "Help" By the Beatles.

Help, I need somebody,Help, not just anybody,Help, you know I need someone, help.When I was younger, so much younger than today,I never needed anybody's help in any way.But now these days are gone, I'm not so self assured,Now I find I've changed my mind and opened up the doors.Help me if you can, I'm feeling downAnd I do appreciate you being round.Help me, get my feet back on the ground,Won't you please, please help me?And now my life has changed in oh so many ways,My independence seems to vanish in the haze.But every now and then I feel so insecure,I know that I just need you like I've never done before.Help me if you can, I'm feeling downAnd I do appreciate you being round.Help me, get my feet back on the ground,Won't you please, please help me.And that is how I feel the People of Bay St. Louis are crying out to us. They are asking for our help. I hope we respond. I know I'm going to try.

>stepping off the soap box now.<
Audrey