Friday, September 16, 2005
Notes from the Underground
Like so many people, I am deeply concerned about the evacuees from Hurricane Katrina. What I think most about is how so many have had their political voices effectively cut off by being scattered to adjacent states and all around the country.Presently, the way I look at it breaks down into three things:
1. Who are the evacuees? How can we get real data of who they are, capturing the variety of people who are out there? How can we get communicate who the evacuees are, in ways that break down any presumptions or stereotypes we may have?
2. What would it look like to have all kinds of evacuees reconnected with each other, wherever they may happen to be now? Surely, we know that this is happening already, due to the efforts of governments, churches, families, and numerous volunteer efforts. Is there some kind of order to these reunions that we can all opt-in to?
3. What would it look like to have evacuees speaking for themselves in a systematic way, despite being spread out all around the country? Could they be reconnected with the local and state politicians already elected to represent them? (I hear these officials are all congregated in Baton Rouge).
Are you motivated to work on any of these issues? Do you know others who are contributing to these issues already?
Read or Post a Comment
Sorry I didn't manage to direct the comments to *this* blog, but there are some responses here,
here, and here.
Thanks, Renee