I am originally from a town outside of Chicago. I feel the Midwest loyalty. It has obviously upset me that there are people I know who have lost their property or have been cut off from going to see their loved ones because of the recent flood crisis.
But, despite these inbred loyalties, there is no possible way I can say that the Midwest flooding crisis comes anywhere near the death and destruction of Hurricane Katrina. And there's no way I could conscionably say that the floods in the Midwest in any ways "dwarfed" what happened in New Orleans, which Rush Limbaugh Tuesday had the audacity of saying. Let's look at the differences: In New Orleans, you had a poverty-endemic urban center experiencing one of the most powerful natural distasters, which resulted in a death toll of nearly 1,900 deaths and $81.2 billion in damages, which the victims were given no warning to and FEMA feebly came to aid very, very late in the game; on the other hand, the Midwestern floods impacted a sprawling, white, rural population, who were given warning and immediate aid from FEMA, resulting in 24 deaths and $1.5 billion in damages.
On Tuesday, uber-conservative radio commentator/propagandist Rush Limbaugh said this about the Hurricane Katrina victims versus the victims of the recent Midwest flooding crisis:
I see devastation in Iowa and Illinois that dwarfs what happened in New Orleans...I see people working together. I see people trying to save their property . . . I don't see a bunch of people running around waving guns at helicopters, I don't see a bunch of people running shooting cops. I don't see a bunch of people raping people on the street... I don't see a bunch of people doing everything they can . . . whining and moaning, "Where's FEMA, where's Bush?" I see the heartland of America. When I look at Iowa and when I look at Illinois, I see the backbone of America.
Mark Twain wrote "To a main with a hammer, everything looks like a nail." To Limbaugh, who has a long history of racist comments, even natural disasters are just another reason to let loose with racial tirades. In Limbaugh's mind the mostly black, poor victims of Hurricane Katrina were "people raping people on the street," while the mostly white, rural farmers of the Midwest are "the backbone of America."
But these comments are nothing new to anyone who has listened to Limbaugh for more than five minutes. Which is why it's outrageous that a big company like Barnes and Noble continues to be one the Rush Limbaugh Show Website's major advertisers. The money they spend to advertise on his Web site and show essentianly funds Limbaugh and his hate-filled rhetoric. Click here to send an e-mail to the executives. Ask them to stop funding Rush's racism and drop advertising on the Rush Limbaugh show.
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