Proof of entitlement

I certainly hope everyone thinks of this story before voting and casts their vote for the candidate less likely to encourage and less likely to enable this kind of behavior. Decide for yourself who that candidate would be.

laglen, I read that letter from the nurse other day. I can understand her frustrations. It would really upset me if I were in her shoes. I've heard lots about how the evacuees did in our state. They weren't happy with the 'free' food, their beds weren't good enough, and also they took their check to WalMart and bought things like televisions! I think most of the evacuees that prepared for the storm got out and went to motels or friends or family. They knew what they needed to take and it wasn't a last minute thought. I do believe government has made the Joe Q Public believe he is entitled to everything he can get. Why was there daycare for the kids whose parents were capable of taking care of their own kids? Would they not have had to take care of them at home? I would not blame her for not working at the next shelter if another disaster happens. Today, it seems people aren't thankful for anything anymore. There is no reason for you to work under those conditions.

It all comes down to one of "ParaTed2k's (Not So) Famous Sayings"... Victim=Respect. Because they are the victims and you are the volunteer, they aren't required to respect you, you are expected to respect them. Because they are the victims, it is disrespectful for you to expect anything from them, but they can demand anything and everything from you. Because they are victims, they are entitled to everything they think they are entitled to, because you are the volunteer, you are expected to provide it. As a person who has been on more than my share of disaster reponses and recovery operations, I do fault our charities and Emergency Management Offices. What do fire departments do for the community? Most people in America can tell you in pretty clear detail. What does the fire department expect from you... same thing. We in the business of disaster mitigation, preparation, response and recovery are not doing a very good job of educating the masses about what we do, what we expect of them and how our protocols effect them. It's my experience that most people don't even know their city, county and state have Emergency Management Offices, or that The Red Cross has limits to what it can and can't do in a disaster area.

I feel the same way about the people who are still living in both FEMA purchased and independently donated travel trailers since Katrina. Even though they were all new trailers which included owner's manuals and warning stickers that the occupants should insure proper ventilation because of the formaldehyde used in the manufacture of these trailers - many are now suing the government for illnesses they say occurred because they lived in them. Many were not working before and were basically squatting in the shacks where they resided. Now their squatting in FEMA trailers! They say they can't find jobs, but thousands upon Thousands of people from other states have been hired to go down there to do clean-up because the people that are there don't want to work. I also know that a number of organizations in Missouri grouped together to offer a home, a job, and resources to get back on one's feet during Katrina and had not one taker because the conditions required that the recipient secure and maintain employment. The conscientious people that live in the area where hurricanes occur, have a plan of action in place - they have a place to go planned in advance - they stay with a friend of relative and they make advance preparations to be ready when they need to evacuate - at their own expense. The rest wait for someone to make those plans for them and to pay whatever the costs might be. They treat people like the lady that wrote the letter as if they were their servants - pile into the shelters, get whatever free services/goods they can and then leave their mess behind. I have to also think of the other various people in our country who have been effected by droughts, tornados and floods - they aren't waiting around for someone to bring them a FEMA trailer - they aren't waiting for someone else to come in and clean up and rebuild for them to move back into their property - they're getting off their a** and doing it themselves.

There have always been those who believe that society owes them a living. I remember when the welfare system changed to Welfare to Work and the outrage of those who were third and fourth generation welfare mothers, living in subsidised housing, getting a check, food stamps and free medical care while doing nothing but popping out baby after baby to increase benefits. I don't want to generalize about people but many of those who end up in shelters during a storm are there because they're not willing to stand on their own two feet. Some truly don't have a choice and it's a shame that they and the caring people who come in to help have to deal with undesirables. But, I don't believe that helping facilitates this mentality. I believe that lending a hand can inspire others...especially the young. I would also like to add that the aftermath of a big storm is a very stressful time for those who have been displaced. Stress, anxiety and depression can bring out the worst in people.

Wow, this letter leaves me practically speechless. Unfortunatley, this is what has become of today's society. They have all learned that they don't have to do anything but sit on their lazy behinds and collect a check once a month. You'd think from some of the comments in the letter that those evacuees were HOPING for a natural disaster so they could have that FEMA check. I read an article right after Katrina hit New Orleans that had a picture along with it. It was a picture of an elderly lady sitting in a brand new apartment with a TV so big you could barely walk through the living room. The article was about this lady going to city council COMPLAINING about the new housing she was given. It was brand new housing!! The apartment looked beautiful from what you could see in the pic. Oh, and she was quoted as saying we, the taxpayer, had paid for her big screen TV! This subject gets me riled!

Thank you for sharing this, Laglen. When we 'walk a mile in another's shoes' we typically think of walking that mile in the displaced 'victims' shoes. Yet, if we are to glean real understanding from any situation then we must consider all perspectives. It is just as important to walk that mile as the volunteer as it is to walk that mile as the displaced victim. This nurse/author offers us a perspective that only a selfless volunteer would understand. I'm sure that as a nurse she is probably intimately familiar with caring for grumpy patients, as it's typical to be less than 'bright & shiny' when we feel crummy. However, caring for the infirmed is the job that she has chosen, bless her heart. Volunteering to assist the displaced is NOT her job. Volunteering means giving selflessly, where the real reward is in the giving. That there is any abuse of volunteers, or the taxpayer for that matter, in disaster recovery efforts is indicative of the how desperately our nation needs to reembrace a sense of civility, where we respect each other and The Golden Rule. I attended parrochial school through grade 12. It was the norm that we students, and the faculty would be engaged in charitable works of one kind or another. What stands out in my memory is that if anyone was as despicably disrespectful as the displaced 'victims' described in your post, they would have faced Sr. Catherine, Sr. Maureen, Sr. Lorraine, or Sr. Cordula (who closely resembled an NFL Defensive Lineman, and was just as tough!). We wouldn't have feared corporal punishment, as I never experienced other than an ear grab or a knucle-knock in all my time in Catholic school. Though, we would have feared the condemnation and the overwhelming sense of shame that would surely have accompanied such an egregious transgression. Respect (of self and others) used to be the cornerstone of society. If that's no longer the case, then what IS the cornerstone of society today? If it's greed, selfishness, or skullduggery then we all need to take a long, hard look at who we have become. If that is the case then perhaps it's time for serious introspection. Perhaps it's time to make some difficult decisions about what kind of people we want to be as we head into our tomorrows. And, perhaps it's time that we abandoned this foolhearty doctrine that passing judgement is a horrible offense against our neighbor. It's not! Judgement is what we employ when we decide not to put our hand on a hot burner. Judgement is what we employ when we decide not to get in a car with a stranger. Judgement is what we employ when we identify any behavior as 'reprehensible', and make the conscious choice to try to NEVER emulate it. To the nurse's specific question: The decision is hers as to whether or not she will help out in the next disaster. Though, if she does, I believe it is perfectly reasonable for future displaced victims to be required to sign a behavioral contract before being accepted into any sheltered environment -- public or private. I believe that it is more than reasonable to have to agree to a specific set of rules defining the treatment of each other, and the staff (not so unlike the rules of any homeless shelter in the USA) . And, I believe that one of those rules whould be the One-Warning-Only rule. If the displaced become displaced again because of their own abusive behavior, then they have no one to blame but themselves. It's called "Tough Love" and by golly it works!

Wow! I've never thought of it that way. I also read someone elses response about Victims and Respect. That made a lot of sense. I see both sides. I know it is horrible to be displaced, because I have been several times, but at the same time I know and my children know that we show respect to everyone and especially those that are taking care of us in our time of need. It's sad that everyone doesn't.

Laglen, you are right this is what some of society has become. I have had some of these same thoughts when volunteering. I have never been in the same type environment as she has, but it amazes me at how people that have nothing, aren't willing to do much to get something, feels like the world owes them everything. Thanks for sharing!