Considering that there was a 30-foot surge of water that came onshore in Mississippi and went in for over half a mile, makes me think a comparison to a tsunami isn't that sensational. This isn't something that happens all the time with hurricanes or the Florida Keys would have been wiped out years ago.

Also, the death tolls aren't even almost in yet. I know that it won't be as high as the death tolls of the one in Southeast Asia, but that doesn't mean it's unworthy of mentioning. Fuck!! A giant wave flattened a hube chunk of the coast in Mississippi.

and alot of people in this thread are talking about New Orleans even though this comment was made by the Biloxi mayor. What happened there is a whole other situation.

not to mention, without the hurricane warning, there would have been a much higher bodycount.

googused

Portland, OR

OLD SKOOL

AUG 31, 2005 02:01 PM

"I suppose if I had said television was more popular than Jesus, I would have gotten away with it. I'm sorry I opened my mouth. I'm not anti-God, anti-Christ, or anti-religion. I wasn't knocking it or putting it down. I was just saying it as a fact and it's true more for England than here. I'm not saying that we're better or greater, or comparing us with Jesus Christ as a person or God as a thing or whatever it is. I just said what I said and it was wrong. Or it was taken wrong. And now it's all this."

-John Lennon

spiderland

Brooklyn, NY

August 2005

AUG 31, 2005 02:31 PM

The mayor of New Orleans said today that the number of dead will likely be in the thousands. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Considering the relatively small geographical area affected compared to the 2004 tsunami, I'd say that calling it "our tsunami" is a pretty fair and justifiable statement. It's a disaster of epic proportions.

[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by spiderland]

reprobate

New Orleans, LA

December 2002

AUG 31, 2005 02:52 PM

n8tvegrl said:

NewYorkMatt said:
It could still reach Tsunami devastation...minus the number of dead.

Cigarette said:
A million displaced persons in America are no less displaced than a million displaced persons anywhere else.

I'm sorry... but I have to agree with Tuffy on this one. 118,000 dead bodies to deal with, not even mentioning the survivors who mourn them, is much more difficult than just the destruction of landscape and homes.

Not to mention that a million displaced American still have FAR more money and resources to deal with it. It's a hardship and I feel terrible for them... but it's definitely not worthy of a tsunami comparison. The only thing similar is that they both involved water and flooding.

America will survive, rebuild, and we will take care of those who were affected.

That "similar thing" being, of course more or less exactly the same.

A 30 foot wall of water came ashore and washed away hundreds of thousands of square miles. Its the same goddamn thing and I doubt seriously that you'd be quite so semantic about standards of living if you were standing in the middle of it. The official word on St Bernard Parish, straight out of the mouth of the governor of Louisiana is "Its gone". Not a house, not a street or a neighborhood, not a city, but an entire Parish simply does not exist anymore.

Thats not hyperbole, that's simple fact.

Shal

Los Angeles, CA

October 2002

AUG 31, 2005 03:31 PM

*cough*

4:11 P.M. - BANDA ACEH, Indonesia (AP) -- The scenes of devastation from the Gulf Coast are all too familiar to survivors of the December tsunami in Asia.

A World Bank executive in Sri Lanka says she prays and hopes not many women in the U.S. will suffer as she has. She lost her brother in the December 26 tsunami that raked over Asian nations. She and others have strong memories of the event when they see the destruction left by Hurricane Katrina.

The death toll isn't comparable, but the destruction is.

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

AUG 31, 2005 03:49 PM

AceTracer said:
Except it was their 9/11. Just like Spain's bombings was their 9/11. And this is our tsunami.

They're comparing experiences, not numbers.

[Edited on Aug 30, 2005 by AceTracer]

Man, I hate it when I click the wrong button. Look below for my corrected comment.

-TM

[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by thefreak]

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

AUG 31, 2005 03:52 PM

PRockG said:

"I can only imagine that this is what Hiroshima looked like 60 years ago," said Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour after touring the destruction by air Tuesday.

source

OK. Here's my theory. For some reason, many of us have lost the ability to describe the most poignant events without the aid of analogy. It's really just easier to express how hurt or shocked or damaged we are by aligning our experience with something in the collective consciousness.

I still think it's ridiculous. I wish people would stop doing it.

Hun, I'd hate to dissent w/you and possibly piss you off on this one, but YOU sit in his place and not do the same thing.

-TM

[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by thefreak]

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

AUG 31, 2005 03:58 PM

reprobate said:
That "similar thing" being, of course more or less exactly the same.

A 30 foot wall of water came ashore and washed away hundreds of thousands of square miles. Its the same goddamn thing and I doubt seriously that you'd be quite so semantic about standards of living if you were standing in the middle of it. The official word on St Bernard Parish, straight out of the mouth of the governor of Louisiana is "Its gone". Not a house, not a street or a neighborhood, not a city, but an entire Parish simply does not exist anymore.

Thats not hyperbole, that's simple fact.

^ Coming from a guy who has ties there ^

-TM

messyjessie

Marco Island, FL

July 2004

AUG 31, 2005 04:02 PM

sheeiiit... im just pissed that its an excuse to raise gas prices....
thats crap/

St_Expedite

New Orleans, LA

January 2004

AUG 31, 2005 04:05 PM

messyjessie said:
sheeiiit... im just pissed that its an excuse to raise gas prices....
thats crap/

Not to defend big oil or anything, but our refining capacity has been curtailed significantly. That's an incontrovertible fact. Saying that's just an "excuse" to raise prices is like saying cancer is an "excuse" for chemotherapy. There is actual cause and effect here.

[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by Lemonnier]

thefreak

NEWSWIRE

Gardner, MA

AUG 31, 2005 04:19 PM

AceTracer said:
Except it was their 9/11. Just like Spain's bombings was their 9/11. And this is our tsunami.

They're comparing experiences, not numbers.

[Edited on Aug 30, 2005 by AceTracer]

THANK YOU. To fucking call the guy a sensationalist idiot (in other words) for making a statement in his situation is ludicrous. Homes are totalled, people are dead or missing. Leave him alone

*edited because I realized who the quote was from*

-TM

[Edited on Aug 31, 2005 by thefreak]