PhotographyTuesday, September 27th, 2005, (8:38 pm)
I was in borders this afternoon looking through magazines and stuff, I ended up picking up an American edition of TIME magazine. I flicked through it and came to a photgraphic essay of Katrina. The pictures were utterly shocking. More so than any others I have seen. I know that Katrina is out of the news cycle now, and that many of you Houston folk are feeling pretty happy that Rita spared you, but I hope you don’t mind if I use this little space just to show you some of these pictures. From a photographers view point, these are really well shot pictures. They are arresting, and this is America!
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 4:22 pm
There was a time when I would have moved there in a heartbeat. For one reason or another I didn’t or couldn’t. Getting legal status is very hard in countries such as the USA, UK etc. However, in recent years I have come to dislike America’s outward appearance to the rest of the world, it’s ‘swagger’ if you will. I’m not entirely sure I could get along very well in a country that is so insulated from the reality of the rest of the world. That might sound like a swipe at America, but it’s not, it’s more of a sad realisation I think. I most certainly do LOVE America, that much is unquestionable.
These days I think I would like to move to Melbourne, Sydney or Auckland. The Australians and New Zealanders don’t go upsetting the world anywhere near as much as America and the UK do. I (probably wrongly) felt uneasy travelling through a middle eastern airport last year with a UK passport. America may well be the most hated country on the planet at the moment, but I am under no illusion that the UK is anything other than the second most hated country.
But when I look at these pictures I am deeply moved. I feel connected to America, I’ve long said “America saved my life” and so when I see America suffer in this way I feel like I am watching a friend hurt, you know what I mean?
What grieves me about the disaster in New Orleans though, is that in some way it could have been prevented. As a time magazine article eloquently put it;
“Hindsight is 20/20. but once in a rare while, foresight is too. For years, researchers have described exactly what would happen if a megahurricane hit New Orleans and the surrounding Gulf region. They predicted that the city levees would not hold. Their elaborate computer models showed that tens of thousands would be left behind.”
They described rooftop rescues, 80% of New Orleans underwater and “toxic gumbo” purling through the streets. If experts had prophesied a terrorist attack with that kind of accuracy, they would be under suspicion for treason” [Read the article]
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 5:10 pm
And this is America referred to the fact that scientists had repeatedly told the government at all levels about the FACT that this would happen when a serious storm hit New Orleans. Heck, I watched a Sky TV show about exactly this disaster in June of this year!
And to dismiss TIME magazine as propaganda is all well and good, but surely one must understand that all media is essentially propaganda and in order to try and build as best a picture of the truth as one can, one should seek information from a wide and varied cross section of coverage. I tend to look at BBC, al Jazeera, CNN and Fox News, though I often push that much further afield in major news events.
If you think there is any other good places to read news and current affairs then please tell me. Heck I’ve even read CBN at times (though it usually gets me real mad! I remember seeing a show on the subject of “Should America allow the European Union to continue it’s growth. – Like what the heck are you going to do about it!? )
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 3:56 pm
simon, you truly have an american heart. why the heck haven’t you moved here by now?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 4:34 pm
I find it confusing when people show pictures like the ones you are showing and then use a tag line like “…and this is America.” What does that mean? We are not immune to any tragedy, or weather related disasters, or anything else that happens in other parts of the world. Yep, this is America. This stuff has been happening on our land before any of us got here, and it will continue after we are gone. And Lordy Cowboy, TIME mag is propaganda at its best.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 4:39 pm
Holy shit. My roommates got that magazine, but it’s still incredible to look at those images. Makes you think…if you’re capable of it.And that number 7 was awfully hot! ;-)
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 5:51 pm
I’d forgotten to mention…my sister met one of your countrymen in Honk Kong a few weeks back, and she (and he) seem quite enthralled with each other. Who knows? Maybe a trip to merry old England is in order sometime soon.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 27, 2005 at 8:16 pm
those pictures are unbelievable. im soooo thankful that rita passed us by.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 5:52 am
I suppose we’ll see what they do with the levies now won’t we. If they just plug em’ and paint em’ then that will be a disgrace. I would imagine now that New Orleans will get the best flood protection in America. It will of course be the MOST EXPENSIVE flood protection of all time when you consider the cost in damage from flooding and loss of life, but better late than never I suppose.
Once again though I will stress that I DO NOT BLAME BUSH for this. Yes I blame the federal government, but the state and the local government are also very much to blame. All in all this was one almighty fuck up. There is enough blame to go around. Rita of course managed to deflect attention from that particular issue though. Bush managed this time to look like a leader, and ‘the media blame game’ was stopped dead in it’s tracks by mother nature as reporters hurried to get some rating winner coverage of yet more misery.
With regards to where I would live in America if ever I moved there. That’s pretty simple. Portland Oregon. The place has very similar weather to here but is always assured of a summer PLUS it is very open minded. I like open minded.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 9:15 am
The title “This is America!” came from me, not TIME magazine.I will again say though that I was not assuming that natral disasters cannot fall the United States. I was merely pointing out that the richest country in the world that set up a despartment of Homeland Security in 2001, has pumped billions into that, a country that was said to be ‘ready’ was caught napping by nature. The shock of those pictures comes yes from the shock of just seeing an image like that, but also from the disbelief that in a country so fabulously wealthy and able, such a terrible thing could happen to so many when EVERYONE [who needed to] knew that this would happen at some point.
If this had been a terrorist attack, you’d all be asking “How did this happen” just like you did after 9/11.
Homeland Security, Ready.gov. What’s the punchline?
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 4:31 am
When I saw the first picture my thoughts immediately went to the Civil War. It looks positively ante-bellum, like a plantation being burned out during Sherman’s March to the Sea.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 5:01 am
Pictures tell a thousand words…
Atrocities have always been a part of American History. Most of them are on a relatively small scale and therefore not worthy of a media blitz.
The real tragedy of New Orleans is less about bricks and mortar and more about the absolute poverty of a significant portion of its denizens.
I’d say the majority of Americans are indifferent and that’s why the bullies among us stand out.
If you do decide to settle in America, be sure and choose the Midwest. We’re as mild natured as the bovines that we breed, and corn doesn’t have much in the way of violent tendencies.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 5:34 am
The fact of the matter is, is that there are thousands of homeless Americans being shuffled around. Entire families in shelters, plus! I was “displaced” for just a few days and I found it to be very difficult. Heaven forbid anyone should have to experience losing everything. People say at least we have our lives…… yes, true…. but the future is very uncertain. Each day is a challenge and that coming for a rich nation… it’s craziness.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 7:07 am
First, I really like this site and the great discussion you have from its visitors. I’m in a company that is very internationally oriented so unlike many Americans, I am able to get some outside perspective on my homeland.
As an American, I agree that as hard as it is to believe, we are not immune to natural disasters and what is left in their wake. The images are well done and haunting. They make you stop and appreciate the awesome and destructive nature of these storms. But, the tag line “this is America” is a little over top and typical for a magazine like Time.
As an American, however, I’m shocked and embarassed — certainly not by the destruction or even the response. I am embarassed by the degradation of society — particularly in New Orleans — which led to this sad state of affairs. Aid works being snipered? Hurricane victims alike seeking shelter in the Superdome and robbing/raping/attacking each other before during and after the storm? What kind of society is that? Even a natural disaster doesn’t conjure that behavior.
You didn’t see this (at least reported) in the Tsunami areas. In Asia you had a lot of helpless people trying to do the best they could with what little they had, a sprinkle of some US military assistance and NGO support, and a good handful of corrupt governments and rebel groups taking advantage of the situation. But even many of these rebel groups in the affected areas put politics and history aside to address the disaster.
New York city had some of its lowest crime rates after September 11th and you don’t even hear of this kind of behavior in Mississippi which by some estimates suffered more damage from the same storm.
This is an issue that goes way beyond Bush and I agree that the blame should lie on just him (although 4 years ago he made it a pillar of his administration to build a whole govt department around readiness which failed its first test since its creation). The situation created in New Orleans has been decades in the making. New Orlean’s generations of corrupt city officials, mayors, police chiefs, etc were fortunate enough to have the Superdome, conventions, and of course Bourbon street to overshadow their systematic destruction of the morale fabric of that city. At least the storm and flooding helped them cover their tracks while painfully exposing the negative effects of their work.
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 12:17 pm
These pictures are heartbreaking – such devastation. (p.s. you are way obsessed with America!!! lol)
Wrote the following comment on Sep 28, 2005 at 1:32 pm
sadface :( my aunt doesn’t even know what her house looks like yet.