The dead are starting to appear, given up by rivers and landslides in Western North Carolina. Currently, it’s impossible to know how many are dead. One man spoke with The Guardian, a left-wing outlet, to explain the horror they now live with. He admits he’s one of the privileged in a gentrified neighborhood.
The horror is in no way resolved. It’s being ignored but not resolved:
At least 227 people have died, and that toll is only going to get higher. The rivers are giving up the dead; landslides are yielding corpses. The destruction is grotesque and, in some cases, total, with bridges condemned, roadways eviscerated, and whole towns – Swannanoa, Hot Springs – obliterated. The personal terror I felt that morning is nothing compared to the rage I feel on behalf of those lives unnecessarily lost, those displaced, those struggling to access too few services, and at a governmental response that has seemingly prioritized the most privileged.
I am one of those most privileged. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (Fema) showed up to my affluent, resource-secure neighborhood of Asheville on 1 October. However, I have been without power, water and wifi, and had only spotty cell service, since 27 September. There is a curfew in place, there are gas shortages and everyone is living with a profound feeling of disconnection from the rest of the world.
Democrats and Republicans are not about the party as they help each other survive in their neighborhood. Tragedies have a way of erasing divisions. They have come together. Food and water are coming from neighbors, not the government.
The caring isn’t coming from the government:
Besides hearing that Joe Biden did an aerial overpass of our region (“We’ve got your back”) and the appearance of Fema trucks in my gentrified neighborhood on Tuesday, I have seen little evidence of the robust, coordinated, multi-agency response for which I and many others had hoped. Perhaps that’s in part because the roads are in various states of destruction, and the cell network barely usable. But, having lived through the pandemic in 2020, I’m skeptical.
What the government can and must do is rebuild critical water infrastructure, roadways, bridges, and its economy from within.
The truth is that we need immense federal emergency funding. Right now, western North Carolina does not look at all how you may remember from your bachelorette or mountain biking getaway. There is a day-to-day struggle to survive here right now and a fundamental lack of sustainable resources or services. We are not looking at weeks to recover; we are looking at months and years.
The government has blown enormous sums of money supporting foreigners and paying off donors under the guise of climate change. Now, they complain about not having funds for Americans in dire need.
They have $2.6 billion to replace all the lead pipes in New York City. That’s the latest. Every day, it seems, they blow money.
As I wrote this, Kamala was off to Vegas with her hand out.
The Sentinel only wants taxpayer money to go to Americans right now. What do you think? Let us know in the comments section. We want to hear your opinion.
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