Barbara Bush on Katrina Victims

ambición6 · #1 09-06-2005, 10:09 AM

what in the world???

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06...presidents.ap/

Barbara Bush, who accompanied the former presidents on a tour of the Astrodome complex Monday, said the relocation to Houston is "working very well" for some of the poor people forced out of New Orleans.

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

Rudey · #2 09-06-2005, 10:25 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ambición6
what in the world???

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06...presidents.ap/

Barbara Bush, who accompanied the former presidents on a tour of the Astrodome complex Monday, said the relocation to Houston is "working very well" for some of the poor people forced out of New Orleans.

"What I'm hearing, which is sort of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everyone is so overwhelmed by the hospitality," she said during a radio interview with the American Public Media program "Marketplace." "And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

What has you confused?

-Rudey

ambición6 · #3 09-06-2005, 10:29 AM

I don't know, I guess even though it is the truth, it just sounds mean to me the way she said it

I might just be reading too much into it!

Rudey · #4 09-06-2005, 10:33 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ambición6
I don't know, I guess even though it is the truth, it just sounds mean to me the way she said it

I might just be reading too much into it!

She said people who were poor and had lost everything were being treated with great hospitality and you thought that she was mean.

-Rudey
--To each their own.

Lindz928 · #5 09-06-2005, 10:47 AM

I think this might be a case of mis-interpreting her meaning. Does anyone really think that she meant to be mean? I highly doubt anyone does.

phimusical · #6 09-06-2005, 12:39 PM

I think I understand what you mean. It's not at all that she meant to be derogatory or condescending to people who have lost everything, but it can certainly be seen as offensive to suggest that anyone is better off for having had their city demolished. Saying that they were disadvantaged anyway almost suggests they should be grateful for the disaster because now they are recieving better hospitality and care than when they were just poor, but not disaster victims. And I think that while it might be true that their living conditions now could be an improvement over their previous existance, it cannot be discounted that they have gone through a terrible experience, losing everything they owned and everything they knew, whether small or large; and I would suggest that not one of them can yet look back with gratitude at Katrina for allowing them to experience Texan hospitality. Still, though, I believe that Barbara Bush is a good-hearted woman who would never have intended that comment to in any way discount or degrade, and would probably feel badly if she thought it had been taken that way by any of the hurricane victims.

ambición6 · #7 09-06-2005, 12:44 PM

phimusical thats basically what i was thinking!!! I just couldnt put it into words....

Rudey · #8 09-06-2005, 01:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by phimusical
I think I understand what you mean. It's not at all that she meant to be derogatory or condescending to people who have lost everything, but it can certainly be seen as offensive to suggest that anyone is better off for having had their city demolished. Saying that they were disadvantaged anyway almost suggests they should be grateful for the disaster because now they are recieving better hospitality and care than when they were just poor, but not disaster victims. And I think that while it might be true that their living conditions now could be an improvement over their previous existance, it cannot be discounted that they have gone through a terrible experience, losing everything they owned and everything they knew, whether small or large; and I would suggest that not one of them can yet look back with gratitude at Katrina for allowing them to experience Texan hospitality. Still, though, I believe that Barbara Bush is a good-hearted woman who would never have intended that comment to in any way discount or degrade, and would probably feel badly if she thought it had been taken that way by any of the hurricane victims.

She didn't say you're better off for having your city demolished and nowhere does she suggest that people should be grateful for any hospitality they receive.

I can't even believe this made the news.

-Rudey

Tickled Pink 2 · #9 09-07-2005, 12:53 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by ambición6
what in the world???

http://edition.cnn.com/2005/US/09/06...presidents.ap/

"And so many of the people in the arena here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is working very well for them."

This angered me when I read it. Why would she say this? In what context? Hopefully someone will get wind that it was viewed offensively by some, and the comment will be explained better.

AKA_Monet · #10 09-07-2005, 03:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Tickled Pink 2
This angered me when I read it. Why would she say this? In what context? Hopefully someone will get wind that it was viewed offensively by some, and the comment will be explained better.

I'm sorry Soror Tickled, most here on GC are too "intelligent" to want to even relate to something so devastating as a category 5 hurricane hitting the Gulf Coast and waylaying entire cities to cause a larger disaster that was calculated to happen but everything got caught up into some tape...

I guess I'm cynical right now...