Disasters - especially fatal disasters - sells the daily fishwrap. And so we see the breathless hype about the hurricane this year. Not to minimize the loss suffered by people who suffered through that, but the Press (as always) ignores the historical context.
8,000 souls died that day. In inflation-adjusted dollars, it was the second most costly hurricane in US history.
And the Federal Government had nothing to do with disaster relief. The only explanation that makes any sense is that George W. Bush hates Texans.
When Hurricane Ike hit Galveston a few years ago, the brunt of the storm was blocked by the Seawall that Galveston installed after 1900; at nearby Point Bolivar, and in areas of Galveston not protected by the Seawall, Ike wiped the land clean.
ReplyDeleteYes. The media hyperventilates in waiting for a disaster. They can't wait. Disasters with +100,000 casualties are not uncommon in history. In fact, the +1,000,000 mark has been crossed several times. Yet people picked themselves up and went on.
ReplyDeleteSeem to recall that there was a martial law issued - under penalty of summary execution, no photographing the dead - really put a damper on the media.
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