Friday, September 02, 2005
lather rinse repeat
I cannot do these things, but maybe you can:
Okay, actually, you know what? I was going to make this huge list, but everyone knows all the obvious things that can be done already. Here's a big old list from NPR, if you don't. Give money to the Red Cross, volunteer with the Red Cross, donate to other relief efforts. Just don't send THINGS unless you live really close to the affected areas -- that seems to be the main message. Which is really kind of awful because I could do that, I could give so many things and make things to give, but I guess that just has to wait. It is just so frustrating to know there are so many things you could do and not be able to do them.
I want to give blood, the one thing I know I can give that's needed, but the high blood pressure gods are frowning upon me these days. Here are a few things that I just received or didn't hear about until recently:
* I heard about a request for people in the construction/building industry to go down there. but I can't find any links, so maybe I imagined it.
* offer to give shelter to displaced hurricane victims -- you have to be within a 300-mile radius of the affected areas, though.
* clicky clicky and Oxygen will donate $1 for "Katrina Kid Relief."
This whole thing is such a mess.
I'm not getting into the political stuff except to say that this is effing ridiculous, how this is being handled and what's not being done. It is heartbreaking and a little terrifying to see what's going on down there. Let me put it this way: I fear for our country if this is our typical response to a disaster within our own borders.
And if another person implies in my presence that the people who are stuck in the disaster areas are at fault for their problems, eg they should have gotten out of there instead of apparently hanging around, I might explode. Or cry. It's fifty/fifty.
Okay, actually, you know what? I was going to make this huge list, but everyone knows all the obvious things that can be done already. Here's a big old list from NPR, if you don't. Give money to the Red Cross, volunteer with the Red Cross, donate to other relief efforts. Just don't send THINGS unless you live really close to the affected areas -- that seems to be the main message. Which is really kind of awful because I could do that, I could give so many things and make things to give, but I guess that just has to wait. It is just so frustrating to know there are so many things you could do and not be able to do them.
I want to give blood, the one thing I know I can give that's needed, but the high blood pressure gods are frowning upon me these days. Here are a few things that I just received or didn't hear about until recently:
* I heard about a request for people in the construction/building industry to go down there. but I can't find any links, so maybe I imagined it.
* offer to give shelter to displaced hurricane victims -- you have to be within a 300-mile radius of the affected areas, though.
* clicky clicky and Oxygen will donate $1 for "Katrina Kid Relief."
This whole thing is such a mess.
I'm not getting into the political stuff except to say that this is effing ridiculous, how this is being handled and what's not being done. It is heartbreaking and a little terrifying to see what's going on down there. Let me put it this way: I fear for our country if this is our typical response to a disaster within our own borders.
And if another person implies in my presence that the people who are stuck in the disaster areas are at fault for their problems, eg they should have gotten out of there instead of apparently hanging around, I might explode. Or cry. It's fifty/fifty.
