KATRINA'S RAGE

[Col. Writ. 9/1/05] Copyright '05 Mumia Abu-Jamal

It is virtually impossible to witness the harrowing scenes coming out of America's Gulf Coast, without being stunned by the imagery of destruction, loss, and desperation.
For all intents and purposes, the bowl-like city of New Orleans has been blown off the map, remade part of Lake Ponchartrain, which broke its earthen bonds, and, fed by the watery fuel brought by Hurricane Katrina, spread its sodden affluence over 80% of the city.
Other gulf cities, like Biloxi, and Gulfport, Mississippi also suffered from the wrath of Katrina.
The natural disaster almost dwarfs everything that came before it, in recent memory, for the sheer devastation wrought on a major American city.
People, by the thousands, were stranded on their roofs, waiting, sometimes for days, until being rescued. Others waded in the water, walking through swirling waters that would've defeated the best of cars, in search of food, or water, or a dry place to rest.
But, as ever, disasters have a way of revealing deep truths about people.