Cedar rapids-New Orleans contrast

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Nnobby45

New member
Well, with the town under 10 ft. of water, it seems that nobody is shooting at rescuers or looting stores and neighborhoods--- and the Police haven't set up checkpoints to confiscate folks firearms.

Haven't been seeing people on TV wondering when the government is going to come and take care of them. The ones I've seen seem to take the attitude that they pitch in together and then start over from scratch, if need be, after loosing everyting.

Quite a contrast between Cedar Rapids and New Orleans, though the news media hasn't chosen to point that out. They haven't been criticizing FEMA, so maybe the Feds are doing their job this time.


And so far, no one has showed up from the government and told them they aren't strong enough to survive or handle things on their own.

Not saying there aren't lots of fine people in New Orleans who needed help, or who pitched in to help their neighbors. I'm just noting the contrast.
 
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Yithian

New member
N.O. is a completely different culture.

It was more backwater, greedy and selfish than most other places in the U.S.
Half the population was below poverty and accepting all handouts.
And, choosing to live that way.
When Kat. hit, they mostly expected those handouts to fix the problem.
It isn't all their own fault tho. They had no experiences with doing for themselves. So, they didn't know what to do. Literally.
It was like a kid in a grocery store that lost its parent.
"Lord of the Flies" stuff, in real life.
Our "giving" society is to blame for that fiasco. Not any particular Govt. agency.
Ironic, 50 years after "The Red Scare", and we are more 'communist' than some communist countries, IMO.

Those folks in Cedar Rapids are going to be Ok.
They are good people in a bad situation. But, they have the knowledge and capability to endure and move on.
That is what this country is built upon.
And, I salute them.
 
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GoSlash27

New member
Everything's going well here in CR.
To be fair to NOLA, we got hit hard but Katrina hit them much harder.
Also, as great as the people here have been we haven't been completely without our bad apples too. We did have some incidents of looting and police squabbles but they were rare.
The main differences I see are that we had a little more time to prepare, were never threatened with complete social breakdown, and the people out here have a strong sense of community. Everybody wants to help in whatever way they can, and that's an attribute I'm not used to seeing elsewhere.
 
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B. Lahey

New member
A lot of the reported carnage in NO never happened. Reporters were just repeating any wild rumor they heard on the street as fact. There were no incidents of people shooting at helicopters that can be verified. Nobody got raped at the Superdome. There was some looting because people were not prepared and needed stuff, but the stores were all closed. There was some crazy behavior, but it was very much overblown by the media.

I don't mean to totally play down the chaos, but if you have ever been to New Orleans, you know that it's a very odd town. It's not surprising that people in Iowa and people in NO react differently to social collapse (if that's what really happened in Iowa, I bet most of their cops didn't run for the hills at the first sign of trouble).
 
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Northern Sod Breaker

New member
On the subject of the floods in Iowa. Expect your box of corn flakes to take a drastic jump in price. The most recent estimates I've heard is that the nation lost 40% of it's corn crop. Corn is supposed to hit $10/bu. by this fall. This is up from $1.70/Bu. just two 2 years ago.
 
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SDC

New member
I'm curious...SDC, what makes you think GW hates corn farmers?
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That was the "explanation" given during Katrina ("George Bush hates blacks"), so why wouldn't the same "explanation" hold true when it's Iowa corn farmers being flooded out?
 
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Mr. James

New member
There was some looting because people were not prepared and needed stuff, but the stores were all closed.
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Yes, with no power, they needed televisions and dvd players. And with two feet of water on the ground, they needed designer clothes and shoes. Some folks were stealing necessities. Others were simply cashing in on the breakdown in order.

Katrina was predicted for days in advance. Her course was minutely and painstakingly tracked for days. While the precise location of landfall was a crapshoot, the storm was massive, and her widespread effects predicted.

I hate to be unkind, but people were unprepared because they chose not to take responsibility for their own welfare. The contrast with Cedar Rapids and environs is striking. I offer no explanations for the difference.
 
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mechdriver

New member
I believe the inference to the NO debacle was due to the lack of aid for the whiners in NO.
We haven't seen this in Iowa because these are hard working people who are used to stepping up to the plate and helping themselves and there neighbors during rough situations.
Keep in mind there are good and bad people in ever local, it just appears that the bad are not in sufficient numbers in Iowa to warrant media coverage, hence, no cries of discrimination towards 'corn farmers'.
 
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B. Lahey

New member
And with two feet of water on the ground, they needed designer clothes and shoes.
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My sister's neighborhood had 12ft+ of water. Total destruction.

This thread is starting to irritate the hell out of me, y'all don't know what the hell you're talking about.
 
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Bailey Boat

Moderator
I believe the difference is in the people, some have morals and ethics and others didn't. The midwest has always been a strong community whereas NO wasn't....... Mental attitude goes a long way........
 
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Epyon

New member
Regardless of who's at fault...

Why is it that in New Orleans they were taking away people's right to bear arms? Yet I haven't really heard much about this happening in Iowa, unless they are about to start it and haven't fully implemented it yet.


Epyon
 
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Nnobby45

New member
Our "giving" society is to blame for that fiasco. Not any particular Govt. agency......
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Not quite that simple.

Our "giving" society is largely specific to a certain political party, controlled by the left extreme, whose doctrine is to make people dependent on government through entitlement/ social programs financed by the achievers through the distribution of wealth in the form of higher taxes.:cool:

A lot of the reported carnage in NO never happened.
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True, but lot of it did happen and was never reported.
 
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Pahoo

New member
Got this from a Vet. buddy in Mt. Pleasant Iowa who got flooded out. Think it speaks for all Iowans. One hog buyer from Missouri was traveling through and stayed a week in order to help fill sand bags. He was in his late 60's

This was taken from a comment on the NY Daily News web site...


Has the media noticed how Iowans, regardless of race, work together to help one another and there isn't this mass hysteria, blaming the federal govt, waiting for help, focusing the blame on everyone else but the source - the weather? And the governor is a democrat, just like the one in Louisiana at the time of Katrina. Look media-take a look at the people of Iowa - they aren't waiting - they are helping one another. I am so sick and tired of people in this country trying to place blame on everyone else and doing nothing to try and solve the problem.


Compare/contrast how the Iowa people will rebuild and make their state great again, while Louisiana will still cry of injustices, poverty and no help. Sorry, but there is poverty in Iowa too. People don't just sit on their lazy behinds waiting for someone else to do the job. Do you see anyone w/shotguns, do you see any looting, do you see any whining? Iowans are a great example of how people should behave in time of crises.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The older we get, fewer things seem worth waiting in line for.
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SamHouston

New member
I made my contribution to the Iowa economy today. Went down to the store and bought 6 ears of corn for the grill.

Gotta put those guys back to work. I hope it wasn't Chinese corn.
 
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