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Remember this story:

(CNN) — Tornadoes tore across the nation’s midsection for a second night Saturday, 24 hours after a storm leveled Greensburg, Kansas.

[...]

Kansas Emergency Management Agency spokeswoman Sharon Watson said eight of the deaths were in Kiowa County, where Greensburg is located, and one was in Stafford County, to the northeast.

“I believe 95 percent of the homes are gone,” Hewitt said of Greensburg. “Downtown buildings are gone, my home is gone, and we’ve got to find a way to make this work and get this town back on its feet.” (Watch homes turned into piles of bricks and splintered wood Video)

The Red Cross said about 90 percent of the town, population about 1,500, was destroyed or heavily damaged. The central business district, City Hall and high school were destroyed, but the courthouse and the town’s only bar remained standing, witnesses said.

Hundreds of residents were taken to shelters in schools and other facilities in nearby towns, the Red Cross said. (source)

The media (and some folks who are not part of that world) has continuously painted the survivors of Katrina as eternally-doomed with very little hope for the future. Since Katrina was a hurricane that did more damage than storms in the recent past of that region, I am willing to cut some folk a break. But on the other hand you have natural events like the Tsunami that occurred in the Indian ocean back in 2004 and it has long become an afterthought in our media (even with a victim count of “…186,983 dead and 42,883 missing, for a total of 229,866 (link).” Where were all the claims that this tsunami only revealed to the world the poverty that had been there for years (like the claims that were made repeatedly during the post Katrina days) and how it was a case of shame being revealed? The sad truth is unlike New Orleans, we expect our money will be put into good and that these people will rebound—end of story. Look at Africa and after YEARS of donating billions of dollars into that continent, mainstream media still mainly emphasizes ailing children, men strapped with AK-47s and frail women huddled together in fly-infested huts–all with the yearly backdrop of concerts that play on our emotions to give more to this seemingly losing battle for survival.

Now, am I suggesting here that the survivors of hurricane Katrina ‘toughen it up and get some perspective?’ Certainly not. For folks who have lost everything, it will take some time to rebuild their lives. But my issue here is how quickly folks were willing to make this event a continuation of both slavery and Jim Crow and how it will take MORE THAN a miracle for these folks to break even in life.

As I am writing this, I am sitting in a hotel in Monterey where I am being serenaded by flocks of seagulls that are hovering over our hotel. Yet despite the beauty of this area and everything it has to offer, I still have this undercurrent of anger inside of me anytime I see Black folks being portrayed as a bunch of weaklings who lack the ability to think straight or help themselves while the best is expected from others. What really pisses me off is the fact that in most instances, this type of portrayal doesn’t just come from some Whites, but some Black folks as well who will use these portrayals to “stick it to the man” in order to perpetuate some form of guilt. If a Black kid picks up a gun to shoot another kid, to some it is not his fault– it is the fault of that White executive of a gun manufacturing company. A Black woman becomes a stripper—she is only doing it because White-owned businesses moved out of her town years ago limiting her choices for income. A Black child is failing in school–it is because of poverty that was caused by once again a White-owned business (like a manufacturing plant) that moved out of his community years ago. A young Black woman gives birth to a unhealthy child—racism caused it. Obesity — caused by stress due to racism. I even read an article recently that blasted individuals for holding Black mayors accountable for crimes that take place within their own city. Why are all these excuses allowed for the Black community but not for others? Plug an Asian in any of these examples and what is defined as roadblocks for one race is considered stepping stones for another.

In the past I have written posts and linked to writings of other individuals that gave numerous examples of Blacks throughout history who did not feel this unexplainable need to pick up a gun to shoot one of his own because he/she was too hungry or too angry over racism to think straight. You will not hear of a ‘Black on Black’ crime rate in the post slavery era (mind you, these are folks who just stepped out of slavery). Yet in today’s world these things have become almost commonplace while many lay the blame on the ever familiar doorstep of “legacy of slavery”. How could such a thing jump generations of Black folks who did not engage in such self-destructive activity only to appear centuries later?

I’m sure I’ll write more on this later. Back to my mini vacation.