Tuesday, August 28, 2012

But I'm Being Negative #1859

I'll be glad when this month is over. As if just being who you are doing what you do wasn't enough to keep you busy and awake at night, now people want to talk about the anniversary of Irene. Well, color me stupid but I really don't wanna hear about a parade to commemorate a disaster. I don't want to rewrite history into a pablum of looking on the bright side. It's still pretty fresh to me and I can't imagine how bugged out the elders here are. One of them still hasn't gotten her FEMA claim sorted, and she lost the most- nearly everything she owned, including her cat. Some of them are in nursing homes forever after the shock of this mess took them down a few rungs. There are people who have lost everything, whole houses floated away in Irene. And we're supposed to be yippeekiohing because it was a year ago today that so many people went through so much?

No, that shit's for the people who heard about it, lookie-loued some of the damage and went home to their normal lives, unscathed. Those whose homes, belongings, livelihoods and pets hung in the air for weeks, some that still are up there, don't really want to want to remember. Because they haven't forgotten.

7 comments:

Geo. said...

I don't think you're being negative. Consulted Wikipedia's recap of August 27 news from 2011 and found one positive (I guess) non-disaster headline: "In rugby union, the Australian Wallabies defeat the New Zealand All Blacks to win the 2011 Tri Nations Series". I'd sooner go to a parade about that than a hurricane one.

Elephant's Child said...

Since when has realism been being negative? Your attitude sounds more than reasonable to me. Parades are for winners and for celebrations, not for commemorating a disaster.

Anonymous said...

Not negative...sensible. Leave unpleasantness in the history books where it belongs. If you want a parade find a happy reason for it.

North Bay Nipissing Life said...

Frankly I think it's stupid the way people "anniversary" every darn disaster that comes down the pipe. Not to say that some things should be honoured in a special way but EVERYTHING? Especially natural disasters? Sheesh. Move on people. Get a life.
How's that for negative??? hehehehe

Susan Flett Swiderski said...

The last time I participated in anything that, at least to me, was a celebration of a disaster, was a 1995 "memorial" get-together a year after a very dear friend died. For all intense purposes, it was construed as a party, but I didn't feel much like dancing or yukking it up. So I drank chianti, which he and I used to drink when we all got together. And then threw up. Whether it be the loss of a single person, or the loss of all that's destroyed in major disasters, I don't see any reason to celebrate its anniversary, not with a party, and certainly not with a parade.

Twisted Scottish Bastard said...

I gree, having a parade to "celebrate" such a thing is just plain daft.

BTW Geo, speaking as a New Zealander, that sporting defeat was also a disaster...never mind though, we beat them in the world cup 2 months later.

Austan said...

Well I'm glad I'm not alone in thinking the whole idea of celebrating a disaster's anniversary is nuts. The arrogance of making things appear just ducky while people are still putting their lives back in order! What a nerve! There was a lot of ugly revealed once the water receded. That isn't gotten over in a year. Thanks, everyone.