Comments on: Worth A View: Spike Lee's Katrina Film

American Prospect: Documentary Is A Poignant Examination Of What Went Wrong

[foobarbaz-2009]

I hate to put the brakes on the "let's blame Bush" party y'all are having but president Bush went to congress and secured federal funding for disaster relief 4 days before the hurricane made landfall. He, like many others, believed the state of Louisiana and the local government of New Orleans had a disaster plan in place. And they did. Unfortunately for the people of New Orleans that plan was only for the mayor, the governor, and congressmen to get out of town. Or, have the national Guard truck you to your mansion so you can get the $90,000.00 cash bribe money you have stashed on your freezer then get out of town (willaim jefferson). Complaining that Bush is corrupt and evil and blaming the federal government for not giving you a big enough handout fast enough is getting tired and worn out. The government doesn't owe you anything. Self reliance doesn't even seem to be in spike's vocabulary. You can see a great example of this sort of thinking here...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1iaNaYT4wc

[familymin]

I AM FROM BATON ROUGE, AND I MUST COMPLIMENT HIM ON HIS WORK. THERE ARE ALOT OF PERSONS OUT THERE THAT WEREN'T EVEN CONSIDERED A FAIR CHANCE TO MAKE ANY FORM OF LIFE DECISIONS OVER THEIR LIVES, EVEN IN THE MIDST OF THE CONFUSION, AND TURMOIL. IT IS SUCH A BLESSING TO HAVE SOMEONE OUT THERE TO GIVE THE CITIZENS A FAIR CHANCE TO SPEAK UP AND OUT FOR THE NATION TO HEAR.

[threedjuly10]

I a born & raised New Orleanian.I was 4 years old when Betsy hit.I remember it well.We were at my Grandparent's home on Marais St & my Mom came back crying because she saw dead bodies in the waters.Even back then I remember grown-ups talking about how the Levee's should have held back the surge.So for our government to say they didn't know is an outright lie!Shame on Bush, Governor Blanco & the Army Corps of Engineers! One thing that does bother me is that everyone thinks that it is only poor, African Americans that were affected by Katrina.I am a middle class white woman with a very large extended family.We all were affected to some degree or another.If you had major or minor damage the emotional devestation has hit us all.Everywhere I go there are people who are depressed, angry or just plain desperate for our lives to get back to normal.It makes me so sad to see houses that have been here for over 100 years get demolished.To me there is nothing like the old shot gun houses with their unique architecture and to see them completely unfixable is the hardest thing for me to imagine.One year later we are no closer to have our problems resolved.My husband is a plumber & he has been working non-stop.He is also a born & raised New Orleanian and the devestation he sees is starting to get to him mentally.The crime is steadily increasing & the schools are deplorable.Thank you Spike Lee for not letting the world forget what happened here. I could not stop crying thru-out the entire 4 hours.

[emancipated1]

Applause...Applause...someone finally realizes the power of the press,other than Fox News,that is. Spike presented a delicate subject before some goverment department pronounces it partially deceased or files it away in a known inefficient storage depot where a water-down treatment occurs and something unrelated to fact is spit back for some commission to conveniently muddle through.
Here we have it, the patent pending successive round for round *** whoopin' of an underdog who deserves it. Believe it or not there are still some people in the audience who are cheering the underdog on. Hopefully our ears are not the only ones left ringing after the initial jeers had let down and subsided. I believe Spike has laid a sound enhanced reality check that may loop until heard and then some. Right On, Spike ! 40 acres and a mule,Baby............By whatever means necessary !

[statsdoc1]

A great documentary all in all. I think the thing that most forget is that government failed at all levels. The first response should have been from the city, the state and then the Feds. Lee spent about 3.5 hours pointing out problems with the President but about 5 minutes pointing out things such as the one gentleman saying (paraphrased) "there was a disaster plan but I'm not sure if the mayor ever read it". I've been right in the middle of Frances, Jeanne and Wilma; the first people we saw were local authorities. We didn't complain; we just did what we could to get by. Most people in the coastal regions sure as heck didn't ignore the evacuation warnings. We sure as heck didn't go to the shelters and defecate on the floors. We didn't loot and we didn't shoot at the cops and one another. While I realize that's a small percentage of the people in New Orleans, the general population needs to accept part of the blame; they could start by getting rid of both the mayor and the governor. It's easy to pass the buck; if you're an elected offical, at any level, you need to stand up and be a leader.

[mjv2944]

Well worth watching. Shows the American people just how screwed up this country has become. Bush and his cronies don't have a clue, in fact they would have to go to WalMart and buy one. If it don't pertain to big oil or big business, it just don't count. What has happened in the Gulf coast is criminal and someone should go to jail, starting with the Corps or should that be corpse, as they are definitely brain dead. I don't think New Orleans will ever be the city it once was. That is a real tragidy.

[collegegrad3]

I just want to say that Spike Lee's documentary on Hurricane Katrina was as moving as it was powerful. It's so obvious that the U.S. governments' slow response was done purposely. They knew years ago that the levees were not ready for a storm such as Katrina. It's tragic that racism , greed, and lame politicians have come together to destroy these peoples'lives. The conspiracy is to get all of the African Americans away from the Port so that industries can build, because everyone knows that New Orleans brings in oil, sugar, and many other resources. That's where the greed part comes in. Every human being in existence needs to watch this film. I also want to tell every New Orleans citizen who own a home to fight hard to keep your land. This may be a possible issue in the future. Don't think the government won't try and pass a bill to keep it. It's time for our young African Americans such as myself to uplift each other, provide better education to the little ones, and decrease crime and poverty. Thanks again Mr. Lee for opening the eyes of all Americans young, old, black, white, poor, or rich.

[iamnxtc]

I too, thank Spike Lee for not letting us forget our friends. We moved the same weekend as Katrina last year and found a family from Slidell in our hotel, we paid for their lodging and felt pretty good that we had contributed along with making donations to the Mississippi fund raising efforts. But, yah, know, I have my own bed to sleep in tonight, and perhaps others don't. I will go to my staff tomorrow to see how we can help ACORN and adopt a family...if our government won't help surely we can....if nothing else,,,remember,,, at the polls,,,DO WHAT IS RIGHT!!!

[katyrichard]

Thank you, Spike Lee, for this film. It needs to be seen by every US citizen including every representative, legislator, senator, congressman, supreme court justice and of course the president, his entire cabinet and staff. This is real, this is still happening to our fellow brothers and sisters - citizens of the United States of America. How can we stand by when these people are being ignored and forgotten on purpose!!! We must stand up and let our government know that we won't tolerate the injustice that is being perpetrated against these good people. We must lend a hand to our brothers and sisters - we must not let New Orleans go on without it's native people!!

I commend Spike Lee for having the guts to show the leaders of the U.S. Government as the dumb, blind fools that they are. President Bush should be impeached for the lack of leadership he showed before, during & after Hurricane Katrina. Hiding behind his stupidity, racism & his %u201CWho cares about poor people in New Orleans%u201D attitude, Bush showed the rest of the world that he will go all over the world to fight for oil but he will not help the people who HE works for in their time of need. Bush failed in so many ways that I believe Americans, if they have not been brainwashed by this %u201CHunt for Oil%u201D scam, should raise their voices in out right outrage and shame over his actions. FEMA, local & state government officials should be ashamed of themselves for their lack of action throughout this ordeal. Calling the victims of Hurricane Katrina %u201CRefugees%u201D is a slap in the face of all Americans. How can you call American citizens %u201CRefugees%u201D?

Americans should NEVER forget what happened in New Orleans, the government would love to keep the American people distracted by the so called %u201CWar on terrorism%u201D in Iraq. I hope we as a people free to express our feelings can somehow express them in a way, non-violent towards the government to let them know that WE will never forget Hurricane Katrina and the aftermath of %u201CThe Failure of Our Government%u201D.

God Bless America & Long Live "The Big Easy"