What have we here? Why it's another pity piece about the poor.
HOUSTON - Wilma Skinner would like to scream at the officials of this city. If only they would pick up their phones."I done called for a shelter, I done called for help. There ain't none. No one answers," she said, standing in blistering heat outside a check-cashing store that had just run out of its main commodity. "Everyone just says, 'Get out, get out.' I've got no way of getting out. And now I've got no money."
And I bet she done dropped out of school and I'll bet she done got pregnant at an early age and I bet she done got no employment skills and that is why she done has to depend on gummint to done get her sorry ass out of Houston.
This is what I really hate about some of these disasters. The LSM goes out and finds the dumbest people they can find and then tries to get us to to feel sorry for them because they have totally fucked up their lives by depending on gummint and now gummint is letting them down. GMAFB!
With Hurricane Rita breathing down Houston's neck, those with cars were stuck in gridlock trying to get out. Those like Skinner - poor, and with a broken-down car - were simply stuck, and fuming at being abandoned, they say.
Why dontcha just call up Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton and they can getcha a ride on a private jet? Oh wait! They don't show up until after a disaster and then they scream racism.
On Bellaire Boulevard in southwest Houston, a weeping woman and her young daughter stood on the sidewalk, surrounded by plastic bags full of clothes and blankets. "I'd like to go, but nobody come get me," the woman said in broken English. When asked her name, she looked frightened. "No se, no se," she said: Spanish for "I don't know."Her daughter, who appeared to be about 9, whispered in English, "We're from Mexico."
Maybe you should have stayed in Mexico.
Eddie McKinney, 64, who had no home, no teeth and a torn shirt, stood outside the EZ Pawn shop, drinking a beer under a sign that said, "No Loitering.""We got no other choice but to stay here. We're homeless and we're broke," he said. "I thought about going to Dallas, but now it's too late. I got no way to get there."
Where will he stay?
"A nice white man gave me a motel room for three days. Just walked up and said, 'Here.' So my buddy and me will stick it out," he said, pointing to another homeless man. "We got a half-gallon of whiskey and a room."
Somewhere in there is a clue as to why this guy is homeless. Can you find it?
I do feel for the people stuck in the gridlock. This is the downside of people taking an evacuation order seriously. People are stuck in traffic, burning fuel, and going nowhere. But please spare us the pity party for the losers and the homeless people. Most of them are that way for a reason. As for the gummint letting them down, that's what they get for total dependency on the gummint.
Yeah. I'm an unfeeling asshole. What's your point?
Posted by denny at September 23, 2005 11:47 AMAnd I see your favourite ex-President was living up to his usual high standards of decorum.(finally managed that word in a sentence!)...The peanut farmer wes quoted at some dinner Monday as that Gore had won the election in 2000. Gotta give the guy a little credit as to holding firm to his convictions in the face of overwhelming evidience eg-Bush IS in the White House :)....Actually this comment should go on the "Sacred Cow Burger" post,but I don't feel like typing more>
Posted by: big al on September 23, 2005 01:14 PMI love the symbolism...standing in front of a check cashing place. Fuck 'em. Ungrateful, demanding bastards. They are already causing crime rates to rise in every city and town to which they have been relocated.
Just read of one unmarried tit-sucker bitching because the 3 bedroom apartment they GAVE her wasn't large enough for her and her 9 whelp.
Not unfeeling...realistic.
Posted by: wayne on September 23, 2005 01:46 PMHow long has this hurricane been predicted?
Why do people wait until the last minute to evacuate?
Banks closed!
Traffic jams!
No gas!
No lodging!
Well, what the Hell did people expect?
Is there some part of this I don't get?
Posted by: Vicki on September 23, 2005 03:59 PM"Is there some part of this I don't get?"
I think its endemic with most of the populace. They can't think for themselves anymore. They have to wait until gummint tells them what to do. Usually by then it's too late. (Gummint doesn't suffer if their timing is off - There's no penalty they suffer when they're too late). Those that can think for themselves were long gone by the time the gummint said to git out, thus avoiding the rush. After all, the one thing the gummint controlled schools intentionally don't teach is how to think for one's self....and events like this just showcase that.
Posted by: Vulgorilla on September 23, 2005 05:08 PMVicki - I have friends who live in Texas. One of them will be joining us in Helen next weekend. Their relatives left the coast before the rush and they are all safe and sound.
Posted by: Denny on September 23, 2005 05:47 PMThose people are friggin idiots. They just stand there waiting for their handouts and someone to haul their sorry asses out of harms way. I tell ya, I don't depend on the government for anything. If we ever had something like that happen here, I am prepared. We live in a town that that is not accessible by road, you either fly in or get here by boat -- it'd take weeks for help to get here. I figure the worst that can happen here is an earthquake that creates a tsunami or a massive blizzard. Either one, bring 'em on, I'm prepared. You can't depend on anyone but yourself.
Posted by: Alaska Kim on September 23, 2005 06:30 PMI heard some 4 or 5 states in the east that are taking these "evacuees" are running criminal background checks on them first. Over 50% have criminal records!!! And of course, the anti-American Civil Liberties Union is taking these states to court to demand they cease and desist the background checks, since it violates their "rights"...
Posted by: Rob Cooper on September 23, 2005 09:52 PMHouston here-didn't leave town because 1)don't live where it floods, 2)the apartment building is old substantial brick, and 3)had to secure the shop at close of business Thursday and find secure parking for 7 vehicles.
Did stock up on water, food, smokes, snacks, pop, Little Bites for mans best friend, batteries for the radio. We're snug and secure. I should also mention that we won't go to a shelter if our lights go out, only if the roof blows off. That's what shelters are for.
I'd be embarassed to call and say,"I'm a big boob who can't take care of myself. Come and get me, please. I can't be trusted to keep my car gassed up and find a place indoors for my child to use the restroom."
The tv coverage of the evacuation was a real eye-opener. I had thought that Texans were self-reliant and independent. That's what my Daddy always taught us. Take care of ourselves, then we will be able to help the helpless. Who knew there were so many helpless?
You know this must be about the tenth referral to a "cheque cashing store" I've seen in these tear jerkers....This means these people can't even have a bank account.I don't know about American banks and the welfare system,but most banks here don't require that much to hold a chequing account open.(they make their money off service fees anyways)..And the people I've known on welfare usually were organized enough to at least have an account at a bank for paying the apartment rent and bills.(and were usually just temporarily in a short term bind betwixt jobs).....Those cheque cashing stores usually,up here,charge a fair percentage of the cheque total to cash it for someone....So the point is,sometimes the choices you make do come back to bite you in the ass,even if you've glided over the shit for years.
Posted by: big al on September 24, 2005 02:15 PMbig al - These people are too stupid to open a checking account. They pay all their bills with cash and money orders. These are also the people who take payday loans or car title loans with incredibly high interest rates. You would be surprised at how many of them smoke. With the incredibly high taxes on cigarettes (Tax the stupid!) they become a big part of the budget.
Check List:
1. Cash check.
2. Pay interest on pay day loan.
3. Buy cigarettes.
4. Buy beer.
5. Buy lottery tickets.
6. Bitch because there is not enough money left over.