Dangerous Hurricane Dean

[The Chairman]

My prayers to those who are in harms way here. If you can LEAVE, I would suggest you do so NOW!

 

[DandyDon]

Yep, I know people in Texas taking complete strangers into their homes, etc. Many regretted it, but so many were very giving in that way, so many others dropped what they were doing to go help, etc.

Anyway, mucho kudos to Continental for putting an extra flight into Cancun and I think one into Cozumle today. The 30 Canadian high school kids and sponsors I helped talk into leaving booked the Coz flight, and I booked the Cancun flight - in that airport now waiting for noon. Wanted to get here early to make sure I did.

Many slept on the floor here tonight, some will again.

 

[rjsimp]

That's just about the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted on Scubaboard. The people of this country (outside the few the newspukes found who were whining - and you know where they all were) did hit the streets with brooms and shovels and chain saws and help for their neighbors. The entire Southeast opened their doors to the displaced. More money and help came from independent churches and other charitable organizations and donations from people across the country than all government aid combined. The Governor of Mississippi put it best - "When something like this happens, we cry, then we sweat and rebuild."
You have insulted all those who bent their backs and opened their wallets to help the victims of storms here, including the victims themselves, the vast majority of them that busted their tails to help themselves and their neighbors (and still are, by the way) and we don't appreciate it one bit.
And we are not ashamed, despite the mainstream media's efforts to paint a false face on reality.
Rick

I guess you saw something on TV or in person different than I did.. What I saw was people that ignored the evacuation orders, then sat on their roofs to get rescued. I saw people sitting around the stadium waiting to be rescued and who had absolutely no initiative on their own to take care of themselves and virtually trashed the stadium so bad it took millions to refurbish it. They were even willing to stage (for the media and us to view) a nice little demonstration..

Did the government screw up badly on the aid and relief? Yes, most definitely. Starting at the Mayor of New Orleans (Who was re-elected which I couldn't believe), to the governor, to the FEMA Director, to the President. But I also know that there were looters, scamers, and dead beats that came out of this also.

No body said everyone was that way and I am sure there were many heroic situations. However, there sure seems to be sense of "entitlement" from the New Orleans' displaced residents that is different than the attitude you see in other places such as Mexico which was the point of the post.

 

[Jinjer]

That's just about the dumbest thing I've ever seen posted on Scubaboard. The people of this country (outside the few the newspukes found who were whining - and you know where they all were) did hit the streets with brooms and shovels and chain saws and help for their neighbors. The entire Southeast opened their doors to the displaced. More money and help came from independent churches and other charitable organizations and donations from people across the country than all government aid combined. The Governor of Mississippi put it best - "When something like this happens, we cry, then we sweat and rebuild."
You have insulted all those who bent their backs and opened their wallets to help the victims of storms here, including the victims themselves, the vast majority of them that busted their tails to help themselves and their neighbors (and still are, by the way) and we don't appreciate it one bit.
And we are not ashamed, despite the mainstream media's efforts to paint a false face on reality.
Not only that, but after a disaster in Mexico, no other country on earth will show up with more aid to the victims than we will. It's who we are, and those who try to paint us otherwise have been duped.
Rick

I think the point we were really trying to make here is how the people in Cozumel that were affected by Wilma pitched in and worked to clean up and help their neighbors instead of sitting and waiting for the government or someone else to come and do it for them. In fact we saw evidence of that same attitude on the island starting on Thursday as everyone was working to help others prepare for Dean.

In contrast, in the US many people ignored the warnings and then waited for someone to come and clean it up for them afterwards. There is a big contrast in the attitudes between the US and Mexico, and that is what everyone was trying to point out.

No one was trying to insult the good-hearted individuals that were willing to help those in need by donating money or taking them into their homes.

 

[Jackie]

In the even that you are all impacted by the hurricane, could you please let us know in advance (or just send me a message ) how and when to get donations to you to help in the aftermath. I am sure that your DMs are going to be hit hard by this as well.
Should there be a strike or near miss it may be hard to make contact for a while.
I have a philosophy that I prefer to help people directly rather than going through charitable organizations.

 

[DiverDonn]

I wonder if those are the same people that called me...haha! It was actually a group of 4 that called me and said:

Diver: "We got here today and found out that our dive shop is cancelling dives for the rest of the weekend so we're trying to find another shop."

Me: "Well, why do you think they cancelled the diving?"

Diver: "They said because a hurricane is coming on Tuesday. That's still 3 days away though."

Me: "You obviously have no idea what a hurricane is or what kind of preparations are necessary. Right now, everyone's priority is to protect their families, homes, and businesses becaue if we don't we will have absolutely nothing to come back to. You should not have even come considering that we are trying to get tourists OFF the island. I suggest you go back to the airport or get on the phone and figur out a way out of here. The best case is that we won't have any diving until Thursday or Friday...and the worst case isn't worth discussing."

Diver: "Is ANYONE still diving? We came here to dive not to sit around."

As we say in New Jersey: "And these people can vote, too"
Our thoughts and prayers are with everyone down there and all of our friends in Jamaica & the Caymans as well. God Speed. DD

 

[Marvel]

This is more than a personal choice of how much risk people are willing to take...it's about respect and consideration. These divers are nothing but selfish. Forget that people need to prepare their homes and businesses for the impending storm..."this is our vacation and we want to dive!" Unbelievable!

Fortunately, they don't HAVE a choice because NO ONE is diving until this thing is over.

Trust me, we wish we were taking people diving as well...this isn't OUR (spekaing for all dive ops and tour providers) choice either!

I agree, Christi. It is disturbing to read of divers who opted to stay a few days longer knowing that Dean was coming because the diving was still good. If they were really unable to get out for a couple of days (which didn't seem to be the case) their time would have been better spent pitching in to assist those who were trying to prepare- nailing up plywood, moving items indoors that pose a risk, organizing supplies, etc. At the very least they could have minimized the need for the locals to continue providing services to them.

 

[TheRedHead]

And we are not ashamed, despite the mainstream media's efforts to paint a false face on reality.
Not only that, but after a disaster in Mexico, no other country on earth will show up with more aid to the victims than we will. It's who we are, and those who try to paint us otherwise have been duped.
Rick

I wasn't referring to Mississippi and not even to that particular event. Just a general belief that the federal government should be able to fix every natural disaster.

I was in Coz a few weeks after Wilma and the people there were awesome. I watched them gather rubble and cement it back together to rebuild the walls, one little chunk at a time. I've never seen such hard working people. My hat is off to them.

Keep safe, Christi and those of you living in Cozumel!

 

[The Chairman]

to come and clean it up for them afterwards. There is a big contrast in the attitudes between the US and Mexico, and that is what everyone was trying to point out.

I agree with Rick, this is simply NOT TRUE! In Central Florida, we endured THREE hurricanes in a single summer, and there is no way to measure all of the volunteer man hours as neighbors helped neighbors dig out from under the debris. I would suggest that the real difference lies in your PERCEPTION of those attitudes. In the US we call this a prejudice or bias. In the not too distant past, Mexicans were wrongly stereotyped as being lazy and stupid. I would suggest that there are lazy people in Mexico just as there are lazy people in New Orleans and in Central Florida. The same can be said about industrious citizens as well. Don't expect those who are being stereotyped to take it pleasantly.

 

[Marvel]

In contrast, in the US many people ignored the warnings and then waited for someone to come and clean it up for them afterwards. There is a big contrast in the attitudes between the US and Mexico, and that is what everyone was trying to point out.

To be completely fair, there were many people who simply lacked the financial resources to do anything other than sit tight & pray. Their options for escape were extremely limited. I think that we sometimes don't recognize that fact. If we have never personally been in that boat it becomes hard to imagine the feelings of despair & sense of futility that can crop up & paralyze someone. I'm not excusing everyone who stayed, nor anyone who continued to display a sense of entitlement after the fact- I'm simply pointing out that many people lacked some of the options that the rest of us have.