Turn on the TV, go on the internet, open a newspaper, and one of the first things you will see right now is pictures and/or information on Hurricane Sandy; this is no surprise considering the size of the storm, its potential destructive power, and the nation's memories of Katrina. As I was searching for more information on the storm, I came across this article, and was immediately interested because I recently finished reading Timothy Noah's The Great Divergence.
The article takes two things that seem completely separate (natural disasters and economic inequality) and explains how they are related. According to the author, inequality increases the amount of damage natural disasters like Sandy can do because so many people lack the resources to support themselves in a time of crisis. Normally, this is not a connection many people (myself included) would make; however, when you think about it, it makes sense.
If you just consider the families could be potentially "devastated" by a natural disaster, many of them would probably be low-income. This does not mean that the storm would skip over the houses of high-income families; it simply means that they would have the money and resources to live elsewhere, make repairs, etc, whereas low-income families could not. Although both types of family would be equally emotionally devastated, the low-income families would lose more comparatively.
On the other hand, one could read this article as kind of a stretch in order to raise awareness of the potential damages economic inequality causes. The title "How Economic Inequality Makes Hurricanes More Deadly" certainly caught my eye and made me want to read on. Perhaps it just seems like a stretch because it is not natural for me to connect natural disasters and inequality in my mind. Either way, the article presents a very interesting argument, especially after reading Noah's book.
Randy, sufficient timing of this post in regards to both issues. Actually, as I was reading your post, the news on TV discussed the situation that homeless people must face during this storm, since there's quite a number of them in NY area. Even though people might feel powerless against nature, you bring a valid argument that, once again, the low-income families might suffer a greater damage. On the other hand, low-income families might be more mentally prepared for the worst, with practicality of their survival skills. They might already know what it takes to survive on very little food, no heat, etc. Comparing that to the spoiled rich who might find themselves at a greater distress went it comes to basic instict survival...another irony, I guess.
ReplyDeleteRandy, great post. Have you ever seen Spike Lee's documentary "When the Levees Broke: a Requiem in Four Acts." It is a great movie that takes the viewer through the events before, during and after hurricane Katrina. It shows how the poor, underprivileged residents of New Orleans were mistreated and ignored by both state and federal authorities. This storm certainly hit this population much harder than if it were to hit a more privileged city. The more resources you have, the bigger safety net, the better equipped you are to deal with a natural disaster.
ReplyDeleteRandy I really enjoyed your post and thought it really was quite insightful. I touched on the hardships faced by the different social classes as well and surprised the little exposure (at least that I've seen) that the media has shown.
ReplyDeleteReplying to Aiste's comment- I think it is so hard to gauge the feelings that the homeless faced from this superstorm. I do think they are used to having to deal with what mother nature gives them, yet at the same time they are faced to deal with a situation where they have absolutely no control. Where shelters open for them at that point? I sure hope so.
Hey everyone! Thanks for your comments. As I was looking over this article again, I realized that I did not even link it to the article. I updated the post with the article linked in case you would like to see it.
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