Take Care... Of Us and Them

Aiight, let's stop the self love train for a minute and wax poetic on the real...

I know you've been watching the news feeds from down south. Watching our kinfolk and close associates struggle to make it to tomorrow. The media has named our family members refugees. A bunch of folk displaced by Hurricane Katrina are homeless, some being bussed to another state to sit and wait in an unused sports facility for what some say will be months.

There is no school this year for the kids.
There are no jobs for the parents.
Police that were assigned to rescue folks are now on loot patrol (they have been replaced with FEMA agents and military personnel).
The water has been standing for 3 days now and it is infested with waste and disease.
People have taken to the streets and have made their own laws.

It didn't have to come to this.

Most of our people did not have a plan. A lot of our kinfolk thought that the category 5 storm that hit the coast would temporarily hinder the daily grind, so no money was saved, no travel plans hatched and no emergency procedures were implemented. And now we must react. It is already costing us lives, and guess what happens to the living? We pay for the dead and sick.

Now, I am not complaining at all. I volunteered to go down to the Big Easy and help with relief efforts and I hope I'm chosen. I have already donated a portion on my current paycheck to the Red Cross (something I suggest we all do) and for me, that doesn't feel like enough. What I need to do is holla at y'all and hopefully we get some good feedback on how we can be proactive and protect ourselves and also how we can help the fam down there at the same time. After Oklahoma City, September 11 and now this, can we stand another catastrophe without being prepared?

As families, we need to create an emergency plan. Just like the good ol' fire drill, we need to sit down and plan escape routes, meeting places, have proper communication (that extra cell phone) designated CPR persons and also gather emergency rations and medical supplies (insulin, pain relief, stuff for motion sickness, feminine hygiene products, antibacterial stuff, and of course baby stuff) that we can grab on the fly and also put together a little cash and maybe a special little debit card if we have to travel on moments notice. Renting a car or truck or snatching up a plane ticket is not an easy thing if we are not prepared. We can no longer be left behind.

Now as far as helping the folks down south, there will be telethons, auctions and all types of drives and means to donate money, tangible items and time. I will do my best from this blogspot and my blackisms website to keep the streets and the nigganet informed on how and what we can do. Also, in the next couple of days, I will have my own fundraiser popping up (and yes, it will be a legal IRS 502c reportable charitable organization, so stop frontin!!!) and I will probably solicit YOU, so prep yourself for that. I will do my best not to let my people suffer. I hope you feel the same way.