Nova..The flood of 1936 (Connecticut river) WHITE looters..lots of 'em

[SoCalDem]

I finally saw this documentary on KVCR late last night (wee hours this AM, actually), and The thing that struck me about it was that this was a flood that affected primarily white people, and yet the similarities to NOLA were striking..

1. Lots of poor people could not afford to evacuate, and chose to stay home...necessitating manyu boat rescues

2. Looters swarmed in after people finannly were evacuated.Orders were to "shoot on sight"

3. Local and charitable organizations took the lead in caring for the displaced.

4. Many homes had to be torn down due to the flooding.

There were some glaring differences...The WPA and the CCC took charge rather quickly in clearing the mess and rebuilding.

This flood was apparently caused by "ice dams" forming due to an early thaw (back then winters were pretty wicked and the ice was amazing)..anyway, the ice chunks piled up behind bridges and then broke through, taking bridge after bridge with the flow. These bridges were like battering rams, destroying everything in their path..

The archival video was stunning, and the narration excellent. This flood evolved over days, and even with warning, THOUSANDS of people were caught by it..


from PBS.......(about the documentary)

Great Flood of 1936 00:56 APT
In March of 1936, one of the most devastating floods in over 300 years roared down the Connecticut River, inundating towns, destroying homes and bridges, and leaving thousands homeless. Using actual flood footage, archival photography, newspaper accounts, and eyewitness interviews, this program reveals the story behind the disaster, and its impact on residents of western Massachusetts. Starting at the Vernon Dam in northern Vermont, the program travels down the Connecticut River, stopping at landmarks hardest hit by the flood. One of the first stops is the former location of the Northfield Bridge, which was destroyed by raging waters on March 18, 1936. The program also contains dramatic underwater footage of divers searching for flood wreckage. R on 9/19 10pm; 9/25 11am


more about it HERE

[afdip]

1. rising waters do not discriminate against either white or black . . .

try reading "rising tide," about the great mississippi flood of 1927.

[SoCalDem]

3. Our "modern" media covered Katrina very differently than the "old"

media covered the 1936 flood..

[KamaAina]

2. Finders. Not looters, finders.

:sarcasm: You said yourself they were mostly white people, so obviously they just "found" the stuff floating down the river. :sarcasm: Naw, couldn't be looters.

Perhaps Conn.'s congressional delegation needs to be reminded of this, and of the 1955 flood in Waterbury, which did to the Town Plot neighborhood roughly what Katrina did to Lower Nine, so that they won't go to sleep on Katrina/Rita relief.

[maxsolomon]

4. CLASS, not RACE

come on america, WAKE UP!

[AspenRose]

5. "Wake Up," indeed

It's BOTH.

[RethugAssKicker]

6. are you serous?

[SoCalDem]

7. Exactly, but the poor in America are invisible

and ignored.. They are perceived (by government and media) as "responsible" for their own plight. To be candid, SOME are, but the vast majority have just had the rug pulled out from under them, time and again, and eventually they just cannot recover.

Lots of poor people end up poor because of geography. If you are born into a poor family and live in an area that has no jobs for the young, you will most likely end up poor..There are the "few" who do make it out of poverty, but they are the exceptions..not the rule.

If you have no money to move elsewhere, you just stay put, and try to manage the best you can,.

It always tickles me when people say.."Just move where there are jobs"...If you have marginal transportation (or none), and have no money, just HOW do you move?

People are creatures of habit, and are unlikely to move away from the only support system they have. Poor people with little to look forward to, often marry young and start families young..(or not marry, but still start families). A young family with a few kids will be even LESS likely to move where the jobs are".

[butterfly77]

9. Race has a part in it and its equal

[maxsolomon]

10. i disagree. race is a red herring. we waste our time debating it.

the issue of class has been consistently downplayed & suppressed & race has been highlighted. divide & conquer. "you're better than them, you've been born with white skin" - bob dylan, only a pawn in their game

poor people loot when given the opportunity. race has shit to do with it.

[cantstandbush]

8. But whites have a "right" to loot. Not blacks or other minorities.

You know that's what most white Americans think.

[maxsolomon]

11. define "most"

& do you assert that white americans "think" that conciously?