Thursday, September 01, 2005 Poor Mississippians Just May Revolt After Katrina Mitch Cohen Blog: "The gap between the haves and have-nots is perhaps nowhere as striking as here in Mississippi, where the poorest poor live in conditions most Americans would not believe still exist in this country... For what it's worth, though Gov Haley Barbour represents the absolute worst of MS, he also represents a good segment of the population, those who have convinced themselves that this abject poverty is no longer a truth here in this land of cavernous homes and private planes. To them, the Delta is not the Third-World, but rather fertile land from which springs forth Casinos, growth, and opportunity." Reuters: "That changed when Katrina came ashore, leveling 100s if not 1000s of houses, stores and commercial buildings and killing scores of residents. Poor and low-income residents complain that they have borne the brunt of the hurricane's wrath. Many of the town's well-off heeded authorities' warnings to flee north, but others could not afford to join them, either because they didn't own a car or couldn't raise funds for even the cheapest motel. Resentment at being left behind in the path of one of the fiercest hurricanes on record may have contributed to some of the looting that occurred in Biloxi and other coastal communities, & the number of private residences, including upscale neighborhoods, which were targeted." Yep, well fed and comfortable people do not revolt. Just read Marx. This is a wake up call to the haves. The downtrodden will only take so much, and when faced w/breaking the law to take what they need for basic survival from the haves, you can bet that the downtrodden will. The only ray of sunshine? Trent Lott lost his home to Katrina in Pascagoula, MS... Karma- it can be a bitch. |