I’ve been waiting for a glut of Hurricane Katrina stories (and don’t forget Hurricane Rita). But since many seem to consider Hurricane Rita a non-event, don’t expect too many commemorative stories of Hurricane Rita’s landfall, other than regional coverage. I don’t agree with that – but Hurricane Katrina stories will outnumber Hurricane Rita by a good 20 to 1.
And now Hurricane Katrina news coverage has jumped the shark – and we’re not yet at the 10 year anniversary of the storm. Chicago Tribune Editorial Board contributor Kristen McQueary wrote a piece originally entitled “In Chicago, wishing for a Hurricane Katrina” (not too long afterwards the title was changed to “Chicago, New Orleans, and rebirth”). In the story, she’s lamenting Chicago’s political and financial situation, wishing for some sort of event that results in widespread change to the city.
Actively hoping for your own local Hurricane Katrina? That’s just plain stupid. Now, I get the fact that she’s not wishing harm on anyone, but her method of illustrating her points was very insensitive. For those of you who know me, I’m not a member of the PC police, but good grief, this was a poor choice of metaphor.
As an engineer, it’d be easy for me to have said after Katrina, “Oh good. A lot of old buildings and infrastructure will get torn down and rebuilt better than ever.” It’s a little different though, when you’ve walked through homes where kids’ toys and dolls were scattered, ruined family treasures remain, and you could tell the family left in a panic. And you were wondering if they were ever coming back.
Almost all of my work relates to renovation and demolition – so I understand getting in and tearing things up in order to bring about change that is sustainable, solves a problem, and benefits our client. But these statements were made by someone who clearly appears well insulated from living through a disaster or its aftermath.
I don’t know anyone who’s experienced any kind of loss from Hurricanes Katrina or Rita (or any other) that would welcome the return of another disaster. And don’t forget, for a long time, many of us wondered how the region was going to bounce back – and this was before Hurricane Rita hit.
If you want to talk about infrastructure improvements, fine. Or improvements to local government and schools, I’m good with that. But you can’t make those statements in a vacuum. I get Ms. McQueary’s intent, but even though she never meant to downplay the human tragedy, there are some things you just don’t say, because there’s just not enough disclaimer information you can insert to explain your real point.
If a newspaper editor from another city posed the question about a new Chicago fire, would that be ok? Probably not.
As you might expect, critics quickly took to social media to get their point across. I’m hoping it doesn’t get too nasty, but I bet Ms. McQueary would write this story differently (or probably not at all) if given the chance at a do-over. Changing the title from “In Chicago, wishing for a Hurricane Katrina” to “Chicago, New Orleans, and rebirth” and issuing a “clarification statement” isn’t gonna cut it.
And her follow up column, designed to explain her viewpoint, fell a bit short on the sensitivity scale. I’m not saying she should be suspended, fired, or run out of town, but a genuine apology would be nice. I got her original point, and in a way can agree that a do-over is sometimes the way to solve problems. She might be one of the best people who’s ever lived, but she should’ve gotten up and walked away from her screen before submitting the article (getting away from the screen can benefit us all from time to time). But it’s her metaphoric event choice that brings about the chance of a do-over that’s a bit callous.
Anyway, prepare yourselves for occasional stories that talk about how Hurricane Katrina was, in the long run, good for New Orleans and for Louisiana. Like me, you’ll probably have to exercise some restraint when it comes to sending off a response comment, email, or Tweet.
To be sure, there have been some positive outcomes – for me, it’s mainly been the city’s recovery. Some things are better, some unchanged, and some maybe worse. The city is different yet still there. The people of the region are as resilient as ever – and as a group I love them. They’re some of the best people you’ll ever meet. But I’m not sure anyone would say Hurricane Katrina was a net positive for the region – more time must pass and more wounds must heal before anyone can reliably say.
Stay safe, my friends.
