Four questions about Katrina (not me) and other thoughts

Apparently, a number of my friends only keep up with one person from Louisiana, me. Because of that, I've somehow become the 'unofficial official' voice of the state since they think I'm the one with all of the answers.

"Why didn't people leave when they knew a hurricane was headed their way?"

This one, I've answered more than 100 times, for sure. In fact, I (along with a friend from Baton Rouge) gave a presentation during a workshop at Emory University. We answered that question and a number of others. I scoffed at the film presentation when the 'volunteers' said they wanted to go down to New Orleans to see if things were as bad as they seemed on TV...and despite things being really horrible and depressing during the day, at night the drinks and parties were great. That's another story for another day.

"Why did people re-elect Nagin when he didn't do what he was supposed to do before, during and after Katrina?"

There are a number of different answers for this one; I think one of them is that people weren't all that excited about trying something new during such a "difficult" time for them, their city and state.

"Why would they re-elect Jefferson after he stashed 90,000 illegal dollars in his freezer?"

He wasn't charged during the time of the election and even if charges were filed, people (in this country, at least) are supposed to be "innocent until proven guilty." If that doesn't work, see above answer...that's all you get on a public forum.

"Why would someone choose to live in an area that's below the sea level?"

According to the journal of Environment and Urbanization, 634 million people live in "threatened coastal areas." I don't think you should really fault people for believing the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers was comprised of competent engineers. No one asks the Dutch why they live in The Netherlands, but then their levee system is respectable.

I've been asked so many questions and I've had to explain so many things, I think I should be on the state's payroll as a PR consultant...I have the experience and the background.

On another note, I couldn't agree more with my fellow board member, David. It's a shame that so many people see Louisiana as one of the best when it comes to negative things and one of the worst when it comes to positive things.

For better or worse, this is our home and if we cannot appreciate our beloved state, why should anyone else? I don't hear many people say that New York deserved 9/11 or that Florida deserved Andrew so why, exactly, is it okay for people to say that we deserved Katrina? No one deserves a natural disaster; even Sodom and Gomorrah are up for debate.