Friday, November 2, 2012

The American Way?

It's the American way, just make enough demands or scream really loud and you can get everything you want.... (rant ahead). I don't know anyone in the impacted areas, and I maybe I just don't care anymore but:

What kind of crap is this. Fights breaking out over long lines for gasoline, a bus ride, groceries. Upset commuters having to walk 30 minutes to work. News people getting angry towards officials who are trying to get the basics restored. Sorry CNN, you could have given people 6 months advance warning of a storm and still have it bite you in the ass and destroy a lot of things. Those are power lines, and power lines are damaged when debris falls.

Being in Mexico I only have CNN to watch, and internet new stories to read. Sensationalism sells and gets clicks on websites, I don't expect anything less.

It's a personal responsibility to care for your family. If you need government assistance, I understand that, but it's not the governments job (local, state, or federal) to support an entire population of any area. How could you live on the coast without flood insurance? How could you have storm warnings for a week (or more) and not have enough food, water, gas, etc. to make it at least 1 week. I'm only talking about $40-$100, not some spectacular amount of money.

Lines of people waiting to charge a cell phone. My iPhone battery lasts 2 days with only making a few phone calls. How about a little forward thinking... turn the phone off until it's needed to check in with family once the storm has passed. Posting on your social media sites that you are scared and the water is rising is STUPID and doesn't do you any good unless you somehow got a magic life saving boost from people making comments like 'oh you poor thing', 'hang in there', my prayers to you' while you were typing out your final text: 'gurgle gurgle'.

 I know a lot of people got some new TV's from the looting, way to go, it's the American way to steal from your very own community. Communities should pull together in a crisis, not make sure you have a lookout while you bust into Best Buy.

Speaking of the American way:

We had some breakfast at a local cafe, great food and good prices, a place we have been going to for all of our Cozumel trips. The cafe was packed, the owners consolidated 2 people on laptops to one table so we could have a place to eat. The people there were all from one of the 4 cruise ships in town, a younger crowd of mostly under 25 year old people. I would say 45 people there, including us, and our group of 4 were the only table not holding a laptop or cell phone. I know the cruise ships have internet, so why would anyone want to walk 1/4 mile just to plug in again. Look around at the amazing water, scenery, beaches, culture.

The locals aren't any better. They have the (us) tourists fooled into thinking they don't make any money and rely on tips alone. Funny, I see these same people with top of the line gear and electronics. I watched a local who was fishing by hand while I was eating a nice dinner.... I was feeling guilty about my lifestyle when a rogue wave crashed up on the rocks and soaked this poor man completely. He pulled out his iPhone to make sure it still worked....

Apparently it's not just the American Way.

4 comments:

  1. You sound as frustrated as I am. I do know plenty of people there and thankfully they made it through ok, other than I haven't heard yet from one of the blog readers.

    There are stories of people who aren't government coming from other places setting up bbqs and making meals for people. There are plenty of stories about people offering temporary shelter - bedrooms, couches, etc. But for those who not only didn't prepare, but expect the government to come to the rescue, I get so tired of them complaining. It is not our government's responsibility to fix everything. If the government wasn't there to do it, the churches and individuals would take back the old American Way.

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    1. It's super frustrating. I'm glad there are stories popping up about churches, neighbors, neighborhoods, etc. pulling together. It does give a glimmer of hope, but then I put my sunglasses on and see the majority for what it really is.

      Time to dig in deeper and prepare better.

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  2. This reminds me of many of my students who think technology is going to save them. I'm saddened that we have created a generation of non-thinkers who believe winning a video game is a "real" experience.

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    1. I use technology all the time, I play video games all the time. To rely on this stuff is crazy.

      My iPhone didn't adjust daylight savings time in Mexico last weekend. I was smart enough to think it might let me down, set an alarm for 5am to make sure I knew what time it really was. Woke up, went to the hotel lobby and checked the clock. Had I relied on my phone we would have lost an entire day of boat diving, around $200.

      I've seen too many key systems and devices fail to actually rely on them to save me.

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