if i was in new orleans, whether rich or poor, black or white, i would've attempted to weather out the storm as well. it's only a storm after all.

put on the news these days and i've got plenty of things to fear other than a storm heading my direction. there's radical islamic fundamentalists attempting to destroy my way life with dirty bombs, subways explodings and all sorts potentially devasting scenarios were told to prepare for. not too long ago, we were told to fear saddam hussein as supposedly he had wmds and not afraid to use them. then there's of course bin laden and his buddies still on the loose plotting the next attack.

ontario courts made a deal with the devil giving karla homolka by offering her plea bargain and now 12 years later, one of canada's most infamous manslaugter's is free. though allowed to resume her life, the television says she's not rehabilitated and so i have a right to fear her. supposedly, i most know that she's been working in a tool store somewhere in quebec.

let's not forget there are pedophiles and all sorts of sexual predators roaming our streets all of which we should equally afraid of. though serving their time, i have the right to know what they look like, where they live as simply registering as a sex offender is not enough. humiliation on their part and fear on my side.

there's of course child abuctors. murders preying on college girls. typically attractive, rich and blonde.

gun violence on every corner of the street. gang turf wars ending in bloody images on the newspaper frontpage. bystanders caught in the line of fire and their friends and relatives weeping on the six o'clock news.

throw in there warnings about mad cow disease, sprinkle it with west nile virus deaths and everything/everyone is out to get me.

this pervasive sense of insecurity and vulnerability portrayed makes me think a storm is just a storm. i've got enough on my plate as is. i have no need to fear it but be entertained by it. reflect on the past few hurricane coverages and it gets to the point we're desensitized from the victimization and suffering that is to come once the eye of it passes through. leading up to the coverage, i looked forward to watching clips of tv journalists being thrown around by the eye of the storm. it served as sort of source of entertainment. the potential of a tree crashing that douche bag geraldo rivera got me all excited and hyped for katrina to hit the gulf states. but as the storm began to brew, not too many networks sent their reporters into the field. and in cowardly fashion, the brave rivera whose covered a hurricane or two (not to forget the iraq invasion) decided to sit this one out. sadly so.

the same reporters that over the years have been telling us to fear anything and everything around weren't there to warn new orleaners to get the fuck out. or simply the citizens had enough of the hurricane coverage already that could've cared less as a similar storm was heading their direction. i refuse to buy into the whole "we're poor and couldn't get out" defeatism.

past hurricane coverage failed to portray destruction mother nature can lead to. typically reporters tied themselves to a tree, showed how brave they were to dodge flying debris and next morning packed up awaiting the next storm to hit. that's the message we came away with and certainly many new orleaners felt the same way. they stayed home or packed themselves into a football arena with some degree of belief, life would return to normal in a day or so. last week's coverage left a powerful image that radically altered that state of mind when it comes to natural disasters.

we should fear storms just as much as the terrorists and pedophiles. everything's out to get you.