Most of us who have lived beyond the teenage years, know that there will always be opportunist like those spoken of in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina, who have chosen to take advantage of this unfortunate situation to satiate their own needs or wants. The regrettable consequence is that in so doing, they not only hurt themselves but others even more deeply. But I must agree with Representative Jesse Jackson Jr., D-Ill., who, according to the Associated Press said “too much focus has been placed on the looting, taking away from what should be the priority: getting food, water and stability to the tens of thousands of displaced victims.”
Certainly, it pains us to know that many who would make donations to the hurricane victims are being discouraged by the behaviors of the looters. But we cannot allow thoughtless acts of the selfish to deter us from reaching out as best we can to the thousands of hurting and truly devastated humans who are broken in spirit and crushed under the weight of despair. What is desperately needed is man’s humanity to man.
Before judging folks, we must understand what desperation does to us humans. The “survival of the fittest” kicks in and “every man for himself” mentality triumphs for many. Desperate times result in desperate behaviors. But our attention should be on the real crisis and not the petty. Yet, it seems that there is a lot of petty, insensitive foolishness going on.
LEONARD PITTS JR., a columnist for the Miami Herald, offered this commentary:
The city is flooded, people are homeless and hungry and scared and dead. Shouldn’t this be a time for giving money and saying prayers? Should we really care about the color of the people looting in the hurricane zone? Or that Louisiana is a red state? Or that some of the dead are gay?
Apparently, that kind of thing matters to some of us. It matters, for instance, to a black man who posted a note in an online forum saying he is embarrassed by news footage showing that most of the looters are black. It matters to the white people who have sent me notes daring me to explain why blacks are “running amok.” It matters to the author of a note circulating on the Internet who says it would be a “problem” for a liberal in a blue state to send relief money to a red state.
And it matters to a group called Repent America, which has issued a statement saying the storm was God’s way of canceling a gay festival that was to have taken place in New Orleans this week.
What the victims of Hurricane Katrina need is man’s humanity to man and not man’s excuses, blame, or bigotry. The poor has gotten poorer. In the twinkling of an eye, what little they had vanished into sheer nothingness. What is to become of a people in such pain and terrible circumstances?
We thank God for all the agencies, individuals, churches, celebrities, foreign governments who have joined to give aid to the thousands of people devastated by Hurricane Katrina. We thank God for all who are contributing in whatever way they can.
An elderly woman who resides here in Florida, said to me, “I am on a fixed income and don’t have much myself. I am 89 years old and can barely see. But I must send what little I can to the Red Cross.” A “little” wrapped in love is magnified. The same God who took a few fish and loaves of bread and fed 5,000 can take our “little” and feed many.
Of course, there may be some of us who are not able to contribute financially but we can encourage others and we can pray. Jon Lind, President and CEO of the Presidential Prayer Team, urges an unprecedented pray mobilization. He asks “all to help us mobilize additional millions to focus on calling for God’s grace and mercy in saving our fellow Americans from the cruel impact of the hurricane.”
Sanity’s Challenge
When we can no longer spread the hope
Of racial harmony,
Or extend a hand in friendship
To all humanity;
When we can no longer give of ourselves
To those in dire need,
Or support those lost in helplessness
And the weak, to intercede;
When we can no longer wipe a tear
Or share in another’s pain,
Then we will know most assuredly
That we are no longer sane.
Excerpt from the book: “Room Beneath the Snow”
Rev. Saundra L. Washington, D.D., is an ordained clergywoman, veteran social worker, and Founder of AMEN Ministries. She is also the author of two coffee table books: Room Beneath the Snow: Poems that Preach and Negative Disturbances: Homilies that Teach which can be reviewed on her site. Her new book, Out of Deep Waters: My Grief Management Workbook, is expected to be available soon.
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