Anne Rice and Richard Ford on Katrina Response and Aftermath

Law Dork points to two essays. One from Anne Rice:

During this crisis you failed us. You looked down on us; you dismissed our victims; you dismissed us. You want our Jazz Fest, you want our Mardi Gras, you want our cooking and our music. Then when you saw us in real trouble, when you saw a tiny minority preying on the weak among us, you called us "Sin City," and turned your backs. Well, we are a lot more than all that. And though we may seem the most exotic, the most atmospheric and, at times, the most downtrodden part of this land, we are still part of it. We are Americans. We are you.

And Richard Ford:

Other peoples have experienced their cities’ losses. Some bombed away (sometimes by us). Others gone in the flood. Here now is one more tragedy that we thought, by some divinity’s grace that didn’t arrive, we’d miss. But not. And our inept attempts at words run only to lists, costs, to assessing blame. It’s like Hiroshima, a public official said. But no. It’s not like anything. It’s what it is. That’s the hard part. He, with all of us, lacked the words.


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One response to “Anne Rice and Richard Ford on Katrina Response and Aftermath”

  1. Beastmomma Avatar

    I enjoyed reading those articles. They both provided a good history and personal background.

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