Is it in poor taste to call the BP oil leak “draining”? Maybe. But it is — moreso than Katrina, I think.
True, there are a number of similarities between the two: both Katrina and the BP oil leak are man-made disasters, and both have brought out some journalists’ Calvinist disdain for our city and its economy of entertainment. But at heart, the two are very, very different.
At least with Katrina, we felt a small sense of empowerment. In the absence of leadership from City Hall, we took matters into our own hands. If something was wrong in our neighborhood, we called up some friends, and they called two friends, and so on, and so on, until Richard Angelico showed up and the problem was fixed.
But unlike the fallen trees, downed power lines, and black mold that followed the storm, the BP oil leak isn’t right here in our neighborhood. Furthermore, we’re powerless to do much about it except protest and, if we have time, volunteer for cleanup duty. Worse, the BP disaster is ongoing, with no end in sight. At least Katrina had the decency to move on after 12 hours or so.
That may explain why I haven’t talked much about it here. Other sources are doing a great job of covering the BP/Deepwater Horizon disaster and the various fucktardian responses to it, and I don’t think adding my two cents would be worth a nickel.