Angry in Ohio
November 1, 2012 | Revolution Newspaper | revcom.us
Revolution received the following from a reader in Ohio:
I have read these stories of what a lot of people are going through in the wake of Hurricane Sandy, and it is sickening that the media and the authorities are ignoring the people in the low end neighborhoods and are treating people like they don't exist. The devastation of this storm has reached many parts of the US and the islands in the Gulf, as far as here in Ohio, and we have much damage, misplaced people, flooding, no electricity or water, and this is very much a danger to the elderly, disabled, and others who have lost property and even loved ones through this storm. I am very worried for my relatives in NYC, as I have tried to communicate with them, but the phone lines must be down. But the worst feeling I get is when I read how the city officials are more concerned with people looting than concern for human life, just like with Hurricane Katrina, with what people went through with getting through the storm.
I am also angered that these people in these lower neighborhoods are not getting any services and is being penalized because they "ignored" the evacuation order from the mayor, as many didn't get the order, and then had no shelter to go to or wasn't well informed of any shelters around their areas. Also I am very angered that for the ones who found shelter was treated like "animals", and how the homeless was considered not to be "real' people. And I am very angered by how the police just patrol the people and are not concerned about the lives of others, still serving and protecting the interest of the powers that rule the people, or as one gentleman on the audio said, "we are well kept slaves."
The damage caused by Hurricane Sandy is devastating enough, and it will take a long time for many to pick up the pieces and grieve for the loss of many lives along the Atlantic states and other areas of the East Coast and as far as Ohio where I live, but the most devastating thing of all is the indecent ways of this system that have no respect for poor and disadvantaged human beings, and the treatment of these human beings that holds no merit nor honor for the ruling class, the media, or law/military enforcement. Even in the mist of the "perfect storm", people are being degraded, humiliated, harassed, and criminalized by this system. I am so sickened by it, I am very close to tears, but is too angry to cry.
So as I ponder upon what I have read from many of these statements, talks, (here and there), and the outrage of many, and the yet many more to come out of the storm, I come to know without a shadow of doubt and it is very clear as Bob Avakian stated in BAsics 3:1, "Let's get down to basics: We need a revolution. Anything else, in the final analysis, is bullshit." Now I proclaim loudly, as many people are suffering needlessly and is struggling to hold on to life, while the ruling class is holding on to theirs, restricting all from basic human needs and showing no dignity for their troubled lives. I know words could never express enough how much I feel for all who have lost loved ones, property, treated with disrespect, and is still going through their miseries and sickness, especially when much of these disasters could've been handled better if we had a system that gave a fuck about the people rather than their self-serving interest.
A sad postscript is that I still have yet to hear word that my family and friends in NYC have survived or need help. I wish the best for all of NYC. I know for me, I am more than ready to fight the power and stand up for morality and humanity, 'cause as these people are helping themselves and others in trouble, I know we can do much better than this.
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