Crossposted at Shadow BFA Blog
I readily admit that I am not a fan of America’s Queen Mother, she of the “beautiful mind” that can’t be bothered with hearing about body bags and other consequences of her son’s policies. But as much as it irks me when right wing media hacks and the trolls who love them endlessly quote Howard Dean out of context, after I listened to the report on The Marketplace, I felt it was important to share the context in which Babs said it is “kind of scary” that they all want to stay in Texas. In a report entitled, Houston, we may have a problem, it is clear that she is not the only one who feels that way…
It has taken a week–a very long week–but some hurricane refugees may finally be feeling better. Evacuees at Houston’s Astrodome got reassuring hugs from former presidents George Bush and Bill Clinton this September the 5th. Perhaps more importantly, the two ex-presidents launched a nationwide fundraising campaign for hurricane relief. The money will help survivors get back to their lives. Officials in Texas are hoping to convince many to make a new start elsewhere. The Marketplace’s Bob Moon reports, most of the 15,000 taking shelter in the Astrodome are asking, “Why mess with a good thing like Texas?”
Reporter: Houston, we may have a problem.
Babs: Almost everyone I’ve talked to says “We’re going to move to Houston.”
Reporter: Former First Lady Barbara Bush took note of the mood in the small city that’s formed inside Houston’s Astrodome. She says many simply want to stay put.
Babs: What I’m hearing, which is kind of scary, is they all want to stay in Texas. Everybody is so overwhelmed by the hospitality. And so many of the people in the arenas here, you know, were underprivileged anyway, so this is–this is working very well for them.
Reporter: Former President Bill Clinton heard the same sentiments from many of those he spoke to today
Clinton: A lot of people want to go home to New Orleans, a lot of people want to stay here in Houston or live somewhere else. But, you know, they’re beginning to think about the rest of their lives now, so I feel pretty good about what I saw today, even with all the anger and all the terrible stories, there’s a sense of hope.
Reporter: The question is, can the country’s fourth most populous city absorb perhaps hundreds of thousands of new residents overnight.
Greeting the evacuees along with Clinton today, Illinois Senator Barack Obama suggested the government will have to try to spread the burden.
Obama: We’re going to have to tackle aggressively, both in Washington and various states and cities that are willing to accomodate folks. So, for example, I’ve been lucky that Mayor Daley of Chicago and Governor Blagojevich of Illinois and others were interested in taking thousands of people who might be interested in moving to Illinois.
Reporter: But that may be easier said than done. Sherry Williams (sp?) says she’s not interested in going to a faroff place like Illinois.
Williams: We don’t know anybody out there. We’re trying to stay someplace where we know people. I have some friends that live out here. And what I’m trying to do with my family is get a three-bedroom apartment where we can all just stay here. For now.
Reporter: Have you had any luck?
Williams: Not yet
Reporter: Williams told me she’s heard New Orleans may not be inhabitable for at least three months. But another evacuee, Michael DuPont saw his house completely under water before he left and says he knows it will be a lot longer, maybe three or four years. And he too intends to find a job and live here.
DuPont: I would rather stay somewhere down south–I’m from down here. And Houston is right next to my home state. I still have family in all parts of the state and I would rather be in this area, you know…
Reporter: So this feels a little closer to home, then?
DuPont: Right, it feels like home and they’re making us feel like we’re at home.
Reporter: DuPont says most of the people he’s spoken to in the Astrodome feel the same way.
DuPont: Well, generally, the few that I’ve talked with, they’re ready to make Houston home. They’re ready to just blend into the population and get jobs and become citizens of Houston, Texas.
Reporter: Houston officials are obviously concerned, but they haven’t had much time to do any long term planning. Mayor Bill White said last week he wants the people being sheltered here to be sent to, as he put it, “every apartment and hotel in the country”. And an aide to the mayor said over the weekend that while Houston welcomes its neighbors, it does have its limits.
So, the “which is a little scary” remark, while it sounded bad on its own, was in fact indicative of a very real concern that is echoed by many. Of course, I do still think the “let them eat cake” attitude Babs clearly demonstrated when she said, “this is working out very well for them” is pretty appalling. It’s yet another reminder that she and her whole family live in a “world apart”, largely unfamiliar with and untouched by the struggles many of us face every day. That disconnect can be seen in her son every day, no matter how many times he uses the word “folks”, it is painfully clear that he has led a sheltered life–sheltered from many of the struggles the rest of us face, and sheltered from experiencing the consequences of his own actions. He’s not your drinking buddy.
