Hey, There's crisis in New Orleans & Mississippi. -- forget this MJW crap for now?

My thoughts are with all who are currently in dire need in New Orleans. Siggy, it is my most sincere hope that your brother in-law is safe, sound, and soon with you.

As a former resident of the great state of Louisiana, I am so deeply saddened by the scope of Katrina's devastation. It saddens me no end to learn that so many human beings are suffering (this, certainly, goes on all over the globe, every day). I recognize the potential scope of this disaster, and I am humbled by its magnitude.

However, I will continue to participate in SL until economic forces make it impossible for me to do so.

Edit: If you have relatives coming out of New Orleans and headed to Austin, please PM me. I would be more than happy to provide any kind of support for those who are displaced to my area.

It still does not give you the right to speak down and/or insult those whom you want to donate. I understand that you have good intentions, but lay off the insults if you want something accomplished. There are ways to get your message across better than insults.

Does anyone else think we may be heading for a revolution in the US?

Following your line of reasoning, people should not be playing SL, or reading the SL forums at all, until everyone who is suffering from this disater is safe and taken care of (Which is going to be a long time in comming thanks to our current administration).

You are right, SL and this MJW thing ranks way down on the scale of importance compared to the people suffering from Katrina. But most people here have probably donated what they could, and get as much information as they can already stand about the suffering of the people in the SE. So, should they just stop the rest of thier lives until you give approval to carry on?

Despite the amount of activity on the forums about MJW, it is a small part of peoples daily lives. You should not berate them for thinking about something other the disaster for part of the day, not all of us are interested in sainthood.

There is also the fact that beyond donating to relief efforts and helping those people that they personally know who are effected, most people don't pobably feel they can do anything more to make a difference. SL is important to many people, and they feel that they can have some effect here by posting on the forums. People will put thier efforts into where they feel they can have some effect.

God I hate it when someone comes out with a holier-than-thou attitude.

<Editted several times for spelling and grammer :blushes:>

hiro, i think the moral outrage is a little unnecessary and uncalled for. That's all i will say on that topic.

US-based SL-ers might find this announcement interesting. If you want the email address of the contact person, please send me a PM (I don't want to post it publicly):

Please note, I am not affiliated with this company, I just had an engineer-friend forward this to me.

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Hi All,
My company provides Technical Assistance Contractors to FEMA to assist in disaster recovery efforts. We specialize in providing disaster recovery funds to governmental agencies that have damaged facilities due to declared disasters.

The effort to help the gulf coast recover will be unprecedented. We need lots of people to join the effort. If you are in a position to commit to a minimum 90 day travel assignment and wish to help, please let me know as soon as possible.

Training will be provided. A Technical background is not a primary requirement. People from all walks of life perform this function: engineers, architects, real estate people, accountants, insurance people, etc. Most important you must be FLEXIBLE, the situation is in constant flux, and your work environment and team structure will change early and often. You have to have great communication skills and be able to provide great customer service (both to the disaster victims and to FEMA). Travel expenses are paid (hotel, car, meals and incidental exp. (perdiem)). Hourly pay rate with lots of overtime expected.

If you or anyone you know might be interested, please contact me as soon as possible at this address:
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While I disagree with Hiro's holier than thou attitude and arrogance, it ultimately is about perspective. There is something absolutely horrifying and shameful going on right now in New Orleans and elsewhere, and it seems overall that a blind eye is being turned to it. As we fight here in the forums for stress relief, escape, entertainment, whatever reason, one of the worst disasters to ever hit the US is going on. It is about keeping that in mind, and keeping that in perspective.

None of this bullshit honestly matters at the end of the day, and yet, that is perfectly fine. Not everything has to have some deep meaning. Prokofy and Anshe looking like power hungry forces of evil? Yeah, it makes great talking points but it's not the end of the world. Aimee getting press, GOM getting shafted, or the hundreds of other things we talk about, cry about, argue about, laugh about - there will be something new tomorrow.

However, the end of the world for many people has occured. What is happening right now in New Orleans is almost impossible to completely comprehend. To make matters worse, it seems almost that they have been abandoned. The coordinated response to it has been haphazard at best, and every hour that passes, more people are dying. I feel almost powerless - I have donated money, but beyond that, I feel like there is nothing I can do while all these people suffer. Seeing the lack of response by the Federal government has been even worse. When 9/11 hit, the US pulled together in unprecedented ways. Where is that kind of support now?

Having been hit by the same hurricane, I feel an odd sense of both relief and guilt. I suffered nothing more than the inconvenience of loss of power and phones for a few days (which feels a bit silly to have been upset about in comparison). The people of New Orleans and the rest of the victims have lost everything. I can't begin to imagine what that is like, let alone the conditions they are now in.

The ultimate message is to just keep things in perspective, and if you can help by donating money, time, prayers, whatever, please do so. Yes, there have been other disasters, and there will be more. However, there are members of our community here that are either dead or have most likely lost everything. Please do what you can to help, in whatever way you can, but certainly don't feel bad for going on with your own lives - be thankful that we have them because life can turn on a dime, and it is precious.

9/11 was an attack on ALL Americans by an enemy seeking to inflict death upon us. As such, psychologically we were all in it together. We circled the wagons and rallied our forces.

While not any less tragic, the disaster unfolding in New Orleans provides many opportunities to disassociate ourselves from it; i.e. we're not all Southerners, we don't live along the Coast, we're not Louisanians, etc etc.

This being the case, while we feel bad about it, there's not really any direct threat aimed at those outside the afflicted area.

Thats my two cents as to why we're not united as we were during 9/11.

What is shameful is that you invoke this disaster to shut people out here.

What is shameful is that it took 4 days for the richest country in the world to send supplies and soldiers to New Orleans.

What is shameful is the news media in this country spending months talking about a girl lost in Aruba day and night, when over million people were dying in Niger from starvation.

Maybe you should focus your condescending comments somewhere else then this forum if you so care.

This is not analogous to 9/11 in any way, shape or form. On your comments about not all being Southerners, etc., we are all HUMAN BEINGS. Put aside your nationalism, your colloqialism, for a of couple days. Sheesh. It's a shame some of choose to rationalize when we should be sympathizing.

Except for rising gas prices and disease that could very well spread beyond the area. This is in no way like 911 as the PP stated. If you want to compare it to something compare it to the big Tsunami of last year...though it's a bit smaller scale than that. Imagine loosing your home, your job, and knowing everyone around you did too. You'll have to get in line for rebuilding or collect your insurance check and move on.

This has been yet another powerful example of what Mother Nature is capable of. The fact that those people who live down there are able to find any hope of a future after such a thing is amazing. There is nobody to blame and thinking about it too much isn't healthy either. Each person can do what they are able to as far as contributing and feel good that they have done their best. Nobody can be criticized for doing their best. I read a post on another forum where a class of kindergartners wanted to do something for the people down there. These children lived in a very economically challenged area and they want to help. Isn't that awesome how much children are capable of caring? That being said, because life is challenged somewhere doesn't mean the rest of the world should draw to a halt.

Nolan,

I made the original comment about it, and I was asking where the same kind of solidarity was, because it is much needed right now. The people of New Orleans could have been any of us. Jamie's answer was actually quite accurate - I think it is the reason why the reaction has been kind of muted in comparison.

It is easier to distance yourself from the tragedy there, but it is no less urgent. If anything, it is much more urgent. There was nothing that could be done to save the people in NYC - there is much that is needed to save the people affected now.My comment was more rhetorical than anything else - the reaction in the US to 9/11 was touching - the outpouring of support then is desperately needed now.

Perhaps I over-reacted.

I see now that Jamie was probably speaking as to why we see the behavior we do, rather than speaking from her own viewpoint. I apologize for that.

Now that we know more... It seems a 15,000 person riot had broken out on the other side of the bridge they were trying to cross. Turning them back was partially for their protection, and partially to not make the situation worse by letting in more rioters.