Much support for India but 0 support for the Gulf Coast.

[Dillon 2,197]

Avsim may not be the main culprit of this hypocrisy but I distinctly remember all the support Indian Ocean area got in its time of need but see no mention and little support for the millions of Americans suffering right now. Something could at least be said on the front page of Avsim. We are a community that can show great support but have no mention of a crisis that's actually affecting all in the US. Where's the Flightsim fund being raised (I can donate to) for the people and simmers of the Gulf Coast of America that are displaced??? Our community is in this part of the world just like it is everywhere else... :-hmmm P.S. I would guess this is going to get moved to the 'Hanger Form' so little or no one sees it. 'Simflight' just deleted my post on the subject so I guess I got my answer from them. Suffering is Suffering no matter where in the world you live. No one should be biased on an issue like this. Our community is worldwide, you can't show support for one group of people and look the other way with another group... :-roll

[Guest panda234]

The big reason is probably that Katrina pales in comparison to the tsunami in Asia. Confirmed deaths so far are 100 compared to 200,000 in Asia, and the storm surge was a fraction of the Asian one. Overall damage is microscopic in comparison, especially when considered as a percentage of GDP required to rebuild. Katrina is a disaster in its own right, but if we're talking about comparing it to the Asian tsunami, which I assume we are, let's stop now because there is no comparison. billg

[TonyB 1]

Well, as this is a domestic disaster, there are many more very easily accessable places we can help. Every TV and radio station, is telling us what we can do. With disasters overseas, many folks aren't sure where to go to offer assistance. Just a thought. In this case the disaster is still unfolding, where other disasters were over in a matter of hours and then mentally we all moved into helping out mode. Again, just a thought.Finally, the scale of destruction and death so far seems to be less than India and South East Asia. I don't mean to minimize it, but overall it could have been much worse.Edit: I forgot this is an international community here at Avsim. Tony=http://www.flightsim-bevs.com]

[Dillon 2,197]

Bill New Orleans is virtually destroyed. That's a major US city all but gone. Gas prices are now $3+ dollars at the pump and climbing for most Americans. Many are going to die from the toxic water and pollutants in the waters of the Big Easy. What more needs to happen???

[Guest midibyte]

Can someone please remind me of the disaster that happened in India. Sure it was India?

[Dillon 2,197]

Yea but to have no mention of something like this in our community is wrong. Why is it a sin to support Americans just as much as we do all around the world for others???Guys I'm done, I just feel a little bit of something is better than a whole lot of nothing (at least say something)...:-hang

[Guest]

While India was hit hard with the tsunami, the most devastation was in Indonesia.

[Dillon 2,197]

I hope you

[Guest panda234]

Dillon, I wasn't trying to minimize the damage in New Orleans. That was not my point at all and I don't even want to go there. It's hard to describe in words after seeing the images, and because it's so close to home it is natural for the emotions to be more intense. But if you force yourself to look at it objectively (to the extent that we can do that) the Asian tsunami was much worse. These were people whose own governments couldn't provide them with food and water and bedding and medicine, thus the outpouring of international aid. I hear what you're saying, but the fact of the matter is that Americans don't need any help to pull themselves out of this. If they did, I'm sure there would be long list of countries eager to help. And my country, Canada, would be first in line. billg

[Guest Toni Rauch]

DillonThere was talk of this at Avsim - and many were praying (and posting)before the storm hit. So to suggest that nothing was said here is simply wrong.Just because there isn't a 'front page' item on it (and other world disasters that happen every day) doesn't mean nobody cares. But Avsim isn't the right 'media' to be reporting such news or whipping up pratical support - the main agencies do that far better.(And I don't agree with your suggestion that hundreds more will die from drinking polluted water etc - according to the news we're getting on this side of 'the pond', pretty well all survivors are or have been moved to safe shelters where food drink and medical assistance is readily available. I'm not belittling what's occuredbut it can hardly be compared to the tsunami victims where no immediate assistance was available.)My thoughts and prayers are still with all those affected by this tragedy, wherever this thread gets moved to.("...Gas prices are now $3+ dollars at the pump and climbing for most Americans." My heart bleeds for you - try buying gas in the UK. You need to mortgage your house to fill the tank up!!!)Toni.

[RFields5421 1]

To the people involved, either disaster is overwhelming.A comparison of scale is not really useful - but a dozen cities with populations the size of New Orleans were destroyed - damage worse than New Orleans has suffered.The tsunami wave which hit Phuket Thailand was greater than what hit Biloxi and Gulfport by a factor of 8 or 10.The significant difference in these disasters is the capability and prepardness of the nations involved.Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, India do not have the infrasturcture, the emergency management professionals, the construction resources, the food distribution network, the transportation system of the US.The US can and will get most of these people into temporary housing, get them food, clean water and financial support and relatively quickly. Significantly more quickly than most other countries.When Andrew wiped Homestead Florida off the map, the US Federal Emergency Managment Agency moved 20,000 large trailer homes to south Florida. They will do it again.Could we use financial support from other nations? Certainly.Though just the previous week disasterous floods killed 45 people in Austria and Switzerland - did the US send help then? Did Swiss and Austrian flight simmers come on this forum asking why the world was not helping?Frankly, the US people do not want a bunch of foreign military troops flying in to keep order in New Orleans and on the gulf coast.We do not want to hold up relief efforts until food, blankets, clothing and supplies can be shipped in from around the world.Finally, the US was not the only nation which contributed to the relief efforts in the Indian Ocean. We certainly made a large contribution, which I believe was greatly appreciated.But on a proportional basis, the Australian nation made a greater contribution. They also did not take a week to get the process moving.France, Germany and the UK were among the nations making large contributions, both financially and materially. They each sent aircraft and troops to help.Their total contribution probably exceeded that of the United States. France alone contributed almost as much money as the US.The US has tremendous capability to move materials and supplies. We also have one of the strongest economic engines in the world.The US also is filled with a gracious and kind population who are generous and willing to help those in need.President Bush has received many calls from leaders of other nations offering condolences and support if requested.What more do we need?

[Guest sfoofficer]

I agree. Nothing could prepare me for the recent footage and reports coming out of the Gulf region. Luckily, the death toll is low, but that doesn't make this particular event any less devastating than the tsunami that struck the nations in the I-O (thankfully, we had good advanced warning - if we hadn't as had happened with that tsunami...). As has been said, you look at an image of New Orleans, with the majority of that city sitting underwater and hearing that there's no fresh water, no electricity, tens of thousands of displaced citizens turned refugees, ongoing rescue operations... to say that the Gulf Region is small potatoes in comparison is rather short-sighted.On the other side of the coin, I don't believe it's fair to say that this disaster isn't on the minds of the community. Yes, I would've liked to have seen a more active ongoing show of support on the frontpage, but I'm sure many an Avsim member have the victims of this event keenly on their minds, showing their support in their own respective ways.BTW - dilloll0: Pls check PM.Regards,

[Guest dimbo]

Imagine if fully half the population of New Orleans was killed and the entire population of Los Angeles was left homeless and you get an idea of the difference in scale of the two disasters. I'm not trying to take away from the tragedy in the Gulf Coast, but the US already has disaster response plans and assets available to respond quickly to something like this whereas most of countries affected by the tsunami do not have near the resources which are available here. I agree that it a good idea to maybe have a link to organizations you can donate to (all of the internet news site have these if you need guidence) but I think when something happens here Americans already have some idea of where to turn if they want to donate whereas they wouldn't have any idea where to donate to help people in Sri Lanka. By the way, NO is still there, it is just flooded. It was several small towns on the gulf coast which were destroyed.

[Dillon 2,197]

Toni first off don't believe everything you read on that side of the pond (people are still in the dome, city, in attics waiting for help or dying) and second like I said Avsim is not one of these sites that puts disaster news on the front page most of the time but this is something that's going to affect every American that uses Crud Oil. Just wait until the winter months set in as the rise of Americans below the poverty line has increased greatly in 2004/05. It's not just another fly by night disaster that'll have little or no impact on others outside the affected region, this is BIG (or shall I say huge). The true effect of this disaster is something that will set in over time. I just thought something on this scale could at least be mentioned because this will affect all Americans (from driving to work to booking airline tickets).On a more humanitarian note just like other parts of the world, there were many many people in this area already below the poverty line like you would see in other areas of the world, now they have to deal with this. The myth of everyone in America being rich is just that a myth and a tragedy on this level is just as devastating as it would be in any other poor region of the world...

[Guest]

I agree both tragedies are overwhelming, but at least the people here had a warning of some sort while the hundreds of thousands who lost their lives in the tsunami had nothing of the sort.