I live in New Orleans and I love most aspects of the city. I evacuated before the storm and we lost our home and most of our possessions to flooding. But, this has merely been an inconvenience for me in many ways. As one who had to buy flood insurance to get a mortgage, we were lucky - with the insurance settlement and the sale of gutted house, we will soon be back on our feet financially.
However, spiritually and emotionally, Katrina has changed my life. Much of that is because of the things Dyson writes about in this book. I watched with horror, outrage and sadness as our government (at all levels) failed the people of New Orleans. New Orleanians knew but generally did not speak about the huge racial and class divisions within the city. As I took myself (and my dog) out of the city, I knew thousands would be left behind, and generally felt there was nothing I could do. I had get myself to safety. Of course, Dyson doesn't let people like me off the hook, which is a good thing.
It is painful to read Dyson's book because in so many ways it speaks the truth about our country's attitudes toward the poor and toward African Americans, as well as our government's continued response to their issues. These issues didn't begin with a hurricane; it took that to remind the entire country that we are not a classless society. The book was insightful in many ways, and it provided new information about what really happened. Dyson's writing is searing and unforgiving.
However, I only rate this book 4 stars instead of 5 because it is almost too hard on Bush. I am not a big fan of Bush, and believe wholeheartedly that the federal government bears a great deal of responsibility over its lousy and cruel response to this disaster. I also agree that this is indicative of a larger philosophy about poverty and racism. Worse in some ways is the federal government's continued response by refusing to pay for Category 5 levees and to realistically help people get back on their feet.
Yet, the local and state officials bear a lot more responsibility than Dyson is willing to admit. Although exaggerated, Nagin's "chocolate city" comments illustrate that our local leadership is certainly not beyond reproach. I also found Dyson's defense of Kayne West to be incredibly convaluted - I doubt seriously that West gave as much thought to his words as Dyson seems to think he did. And, although he is correct that the stories of violent crime and looting were exaggerated by the media, they did occur. We saw it on television, and I have a good friend who was trapped for days in a local hospital, afraid for her life b/c of thugs trying to steal the hospital's limited food, water and drug supply. He should not let these people off the hook simply by saying their poverty caused them to enjoy things that had heretofore been denied to them. In that case, laws are meaningless, as is morality.