Your Comments

Not only was the response to Katrina horrible, but so was the coverage of the disaster since.

I was in Jackson, MI during the storm as a student at Jackson State University. It disturbed me greatly to continually read and watch stories about the negative impact that Katrina victims have had on the communities they now reside in. Give me a break! I will concede that with an increase in population comes an increase in crime, but for cities like Houston (who were all too happy to try to use Katrina evacuees for cheap labor) to place their crime issues at the feet of these people is shameful.

Jackson's population swelled after the storm as well, but we did not receive the press coverage for the full coliseum of people we housed. We did, however, get to be featured as the site of multiple cases of FEMA fraud. How interesting that a city who did more than their share to help during and since the tragedy would only receive negative press while other cities received lots of “good white folks helping blacks” stories. I guess our mayor and city council aren't press friendly.

Dr. Dyson - thank you for stating the truth in the national media that a majority of New Orleans residents were NOT simply sitting around "collecting checks." I am more than fed up with these broad stereotypes of people like me: poor black folks.

I heard Dr. Dyson's speech at the Blake School's annual Diversity Symposium.

WOW! What a great message!

Thank you for your words and your book.

Larry,
retired white liberal clergyman

The government's response sucked, plain & simple.

There was no government response for 2 days because they were not prepared for the magnitude of the hurricane.

Also as you say, Mr. Dyson, Bush doesn't care about the poor of any race.

I had the pleasure of hearing you on the radio today, and I wanted to send you my thanks for having the courage and the eloquence in speaking out. I hope many many people hear your message.

I love your passion and your sense of moral justice.

This is such a sensitive story because so many lives have been affected. I don't believe race played an issue in this case, even though many politicians want you to believe so. This was due to poor management starting from the local officials to the Federal Officials.

I believe that most of the responsibility should be placed on the Mayor and Governor. They should have known about the people they represent and should have had a plan to displace the people before the storm had hit. But even a well prepared plan would have flaws because the need was very great.

The media covered the story to make it seem as if race politics played a part on what decisions were being made to rescue the people. I am very saddened about how this country is still divided politically, racially and economically. Remember the old saying, "United we stand, divided we fall." Katrina really showed how poorly we are standing, and we are continuing to fall.

The complete failure of the Federal, State and Local infrastructure during and following hurricane Katrina illustrates incompetence on the part of big government.

The inherent inefficiency of bureaucracy is an unavoidable flaw of any form of government. What is the answer? Higher taxes, more government, empowering legislators to redistribute wealth. The only viable means to reducing government waste is to reduce government.

As we continue to increase the authority of the government society as a whole has suffered. Our system of government provides a level of control to the common man over all forms of government unprecedented in history. Until the public begins to pay as much attention to the direction of our nation as our beloved celebrities, politicians will not be held accountable for their (in)actions.

The federal goverment is not a responsible deparment when it comes to the lives of Americans. We should no longer think that the goverment is going to be concerned with the lives of poor people. They have showed time and time again that they are dysfunctional.

It's a shame that we live in a place where the value of life is not the same if you are poor. When our goverment puts the same value on all life, the citizens of this country will follow.

I think that the Katrina Hurricane and subsequent disaster brought out so much that we need at least 50 books written about the subject. What was glaringly revealed was the amount of poverty and suffering that Blacks endure everyday that contributes immeasurably to our lack of enthusiasm and confidence to respond to everyday systematic oppression. Hence, since we usually don't do anything when trouble comes, when an actual, immediate threat is present, we are lethargic to evaluate and formulate a response. But we need the stories from people who were there. Why don't we here much from them? They're tired.

Most importantly, Katrina and the subsequent debacle showed us that we can't keep waiting on God to come from the sky to save us. Or, more accurately, God lives in us, so we don't have to wait on the roof for the white man. Unless... we can't cooperate enough to save ourselves.

Please, black people with expertise, help us that don't know how things (government, politics, economic revolution) run by including us in the loop. Dumb it down, but pass it on. Everything doesn't have to be learned anew by each generation.

And, please, Black people, strive for self-sufficiency.

I truly believe that the leaders of this nation have shown that they really do not care for the race of people who have made this nation great. Katrina was just the footage to show how whites in power really feel.

I think it's a shame that the US does so much for other countries but so little for our own.

We hear more on the news about one young girl who disappeared than we do about the thousands who suffered and continue to suffer from Katrina.

I am ashamed of the way our government has handled things, although not surprised.

Oh the utter horror of it all... that the first link that I hit is Evan's from Chicago, IL! And after feeling such a sense of history AND hope upon reading Come Hell or High Water.

Thank you for your chronicle and contextualization of this truly tragic and unnatural disaster. Louisiana was my home for 11 years, yet my experience was so distinct and different from poor black folk living in poverty throughout the region. Your words have help me understand just a little bit more about those Americans, their fellow citizens, their government and myself.

Thank you for your continued courage to detail and discuss difficult issues and ideas. Your voice is valuable.

The national response to Katrina shows us that this nation is still very racist and does not care about the plight of Black America.

The fact that they took so long to get help to those people because of there race and economic class is a shame. I guess if there would have been some oil at those houses they would have been there very quick. When our government can send help to Afghanistan and Iraq and cant help its own citizens we really have a problem.

They have displaced the people of New Orleans from their homes and have made it almost impossible for them to come back. I pray that if this was a master plan to get Blacks out of New Orleans that when the white people take it over, and the most likely will, there is a Katrina every year.

You know the old saying, "God don't like ugly." This is an ugly situation.

I'm reading your book, Come Hell or High Water, and I just read your analysis of the two photos (pg 164)- the black "looter" vs. the resourceful white.

What struck me was where you went from there, to a secondary analysis, showing the difference in using the word "citizen" for the whites and only "a young man" for the black man. I have seen and recognized the earlier racial tactics to demean images of blacks, but this issue of belonging as a citizen, as a member, was too subtle for me. You could write an entire book on this concept alone - all of the implications behind that omission. Language is so powerful, and I appreciate you pointing that out to me as a reader.

This is the first book of yours that I've read, but I'm sure it won't be the last.

Thank you,
Vanessa

The national response to Katrina was a Grover Norquist moment. The administration looks upon poor people in America as a social problem. Mr. Norquist's philosophy is to kill the monster. In this case, the national agency responsible for rebuilding disasters is the monster. This past weekend, Republican Senators were calling for the end of FEMA. These right wing fascists’ view in America is one of a free market, a combination of government and big business.

This notion that our national government is bad for America is a bit radical. Our government is of and for the people of America. The problem is that our national government has no progressives to continue the legacy of FDR.

This will change in November.

It is not only my opinion, but my belief that if this traumatic life altering experience would have occurred in some other state such as Utah, Wyoming, Oklahoma and the like, our national government would have been more eager to help.

Instead, our predominantly black city never had a chance.

Despite the setback, the people of our city are resilient.

The national government response sucked big time, and still continues to be. All this time, we in New Orleans thought we were Americans - how wrong we were!

A major American city is 80% destroyed, and instead of providing anything remotely like adequate assistance, the government just throws away our tax dollars in Iraq, of all places. It's just insane.

The three words that come into my mind when I think about Katina are unjust, unfair, an unethical. Individuals in hiearchy positions were aware of this travesty yet failed to relay and prepare the residence of New Orleans in a timely fashion.

I'm not saying that every life could've been saved; however, if the citizens of New Orleans were warned in advance to vacate the premises, more of God's children could've survived this event.

Adra

Dr. Dyson makes great points and can handle himself well on nationally televised talk shows. I admire his ability to get his point across even though I may not always agree with all of them.

The point that I would like to make is the same point that Spike Lee opened up one of his films with: Wake Up!
Katrina showed that as black people, we have no one looking out for us. I saw people smiling when they spoke of the catastrophe in N.O. It was disheartening but also sobering.

We think that the common good of man would invoke some feeling of compassion, but this country holds and harbors a lot of venomous hate. Impoverished black people are going to have to learn how to fight for their rights and not expect a lot of help. Frankly, many people, be they black, white, asian, latino, or any other race, do not care as much as they should.

I live within 60 miles of what is left of South Mississippi and in the days following Katrina there was no TV. I worked with my church and we just prayed to keep our heads above water, as we were feeding about 2500 people every day.

My main question for the media is "Why are you not still reporting the facts in this book?" We are still hurting and we have about 4 weeks to get ready again for another wild hurricane season.

The national response has been and is a disgrace.

All our tax money is going to a needless war, Iraq, improvements there (oil rich nation) and to the wealthy people in this country (tax cuts, provisions for them).

Katrina victims, their recovery, rebuilding their homes should be a national priority - it is not. Shameful. I feel like I live in a third world country.

I feel that our government can blow up a country and rush to help them, yet stand back and let the people of our country just die in the streets like animals and say they didn`t know what was going on.

I think it's time to give back the government to the people. I feel that our leaders have let us down and we as a people have let ourselves down. It's time to pick up where the Panthers, Dr. Williams, and many others left off. The struggle still goes on, just on different battle fronts.

As we all saw, the government doesn't care about us and, for the most part, we don't care about ourselves. I wish we stuck together as a pepole when we needed to the most. Instead, my people were raping and killing others and stealing. I'm not talking about the food and water that was taken, but the TVs and video games. What did they think they were going to plug them in to?

Mr. Dyson,

Perhaps you should watch yourself when you make overly broad generalizations about race and Hurricane Katrina. I know that my home was destroyed by the storm, and we didn't get fully compensated by insurance. The government didn't help my family escape, and it hasn't done much to rebuild my hometown either.

It's easy to sit above the carnage (inside your Ivy League walls) and complain about the government's racist action towards blacks after the storm. But the reality is that race was simply not an issue in this case. And despite how you attempt to make Katrina about black suffering in New Orleans, you cannot change the fact that it was bigger than race or class.

I look forward to you coming to speak at Rhodes in the next few days. In the meantime, forgive me if I think that your book is a complete joke.

David
Rhodes College
Class of 2006

Dr. Dyson is the most brilliant and articulate public character I had the chance to see in over twelve years since I’ve been in America. While I commend his activity as God’s shepherd, I simply deplore many of his other preferences such as: rap music, masculinity and multiculturalism, feminist thought and gender relations, popular culture and postmodernism.

There is no doubt that historically, blacks were subject to an abject and genocidal treatment in America and elsewhere but a religious man should remember two things: one is that social justice and economic wellbeing are not the necessary premises of happiness on Earth or hereafter and the other is that humanness has no color when it comes to its sublimity or its baseness.

Finally, we must say that it is sad and disappointing to notice that an individualistic complexion and a promethean propensity became life’s creed of such a superb intellectual and religious man.

I am David who frequently calls your show. Let me say from the start, I strongly disagree with your political ideals, which is what makes this the greatest country on God's green earth. However, I also acknowledge you are fair minded when it comes to allowing your callers the chance to confront and engage you with a differing viewpoint. Having said that, this Katrina crap, is just that: “crap.” For the longest time, President Bush has been hammered on many issues, including this one. This is appalling.

It was the Democratic party that first colorized the map with a red/blue color code designation differentiating the states between those that voted Republican and those that voted Democratic. Suddenly tossed into this mix, is the city of New Orleans. The last time I checked, LA was part of the red state/Republican voting electorate. To imply that there was evidence the levies was bombed, as Rev. Farrakhan claims, is not only blatantly ridiculous, but it further harbors a racially motivated divide in this country. There is not one bit of concrete evidence the levies were bombed.

Mayor Nagin, who openly spoke of a desire for a "Chocolate City", deserves to shoulder much of the blame. First of all, if you want to talk about racism, that reeks of it. Secondly, he allowed all those school buses to sit in the lot, and refused Amtrak’s offer to take many of those people out of New Orleans. The Governor of LA, another Democrat, also allowed much of this to occur.

This lame attempt to try and say President Bush allowed this to happen, or allowed the Blacks to die, is absurd. There is NO basis or factual evidence he approved or signed off on any of this. The fact that New Orleans has been run by Democrats for more than 60 years speaks volumes. For over 6 decades, the Democrat's stranglehold on New Orleans has proved just how destructive Democratic ideals have been. Look at the poverty throughout the "Big Easy" and you will see 60 years of failed policies.

Stop with the Bush bashing, and own up to the root cause of the problems. Do I think there were no mistakes made during this rescue effort? Hardly the case. Yet the blame should lie firstly on the Mayor and the Governor, the first line of defense for the people of New Orleans. If either Nagin or the Governor were Republicans, you bet your posterior that we would have heard how the evil white politicians/Republican conservatives allowed this to happen.

Nagin showed his true colors when he spoke of his desire of a "Chocolate city." If you think this is okay, I wonder what you would say if you heard a white mayor speak of a "Vanilla City"? Would the race card, once again come into play? The other notion that Bush allowed this to happen because he was racist, or that he allowed the deaths to occur because New Orleans was mostly black, is appalling. Last time I checked, almost all of the rescue workers were white. Am I imagining this?

I do not wear rose-colored glasses that have me live in a phony world. I deal in facts and issues. The root of the problems here were a lack of response from both the Mayor and the Governor: NOT the President.

I would welcome your response.

Thanks,
David

I am a 20 year old white male. I believe that the response and the way the government handled Katrina shows how much racism still exists in America.

I am a big fan of Tupac Shakur and I have read almost all of his books. I believe what he says about the young people of America not having way out of their lifestyle. I think that the poverty in this country is growing rapidly and there is nothing to do to stop it.

I also watched Dr. Dyson on Bill Maher's show and I thought he ran the show. I call on Dr. Dyson to run for president because he is so great at speaking the truth. He would have my vote.

I was in Katrina and experienced the flood, the Super Dome, the wait for the bus, and the Astro Dome with my 34 year old son who is in a wheelchair. He was left with my two nephews(9 and 11) who are from East New Orleans: "the bad side of town" as they say, or the 9th ward poor black people.

If it were not for the so called "thugs" that took over the city and Superdome to help and protect these poor people and look out for my son, we would be dead. I am alive because of him and his people. There is a time and place for everything, and Katrina was not the time or place for thugs. They knew that it was about survival.

In my opinion, the national response to Katrina was terrible. I heard that Amtrak volunteered some seats to evacuate some of the American citizens and our officials let those empty seats leave without being occupied. I'm very disappointed with the way my city and I were and still are being treated.

I strongly believe it's another example of how the black and poor people of this nation are treated. When you look at the facts and realize that a great deal of the population of New Orleans was poor, so poor that they didn't even own a car, how can a nation sit by and give an order to evacuate and NOT think about those who had no means to evacuate?

In essence, the federal government, state government, and, yes, the city government failed these people miserably. No one had to die.

I feel that the President acted very irresponsibly when this disaster took place. There were hundreds of buses waiting to transport people out of the eye of the storm, but FEMA refused to let them through.

Last time I checked, we are living in America. So many lives were needlessly lost because America refused to help.

I can only understate the degree of disrespect that this administration has demonstrated for the African American/poor people in the response to the Hurricane Katrina tragedy.

However, this will be heightened by the plans for the reconstruction of New Orleans. The faulty plans that will turn New Orleans into a resort will add insult to injury. The property is already being bought for phenomenal amounts.

It’s going to be like the Martha’s Vineyard of the South. Stay tuned.

Bet there won’t be an infrastructure problem then!

I live in the West Sonoma County Area, which, in a small way is subject to repeated flooding and is home to the poor, the drug addicted, the elderly, the mentally ill and gays--in short, marginalized people (who are primarily white) and are frequently victimized by all the forces that victimize the residents of New Orleans.

Our current administration doesn't care about anybody who needs help. I am older than you and less sanguine that anything can be done. The self help doctrine will never work once the society casts people out. Those who can help themselves have done so. The rest of us have are prey for the stronger among us.

May you succeed in your endeavor in saving some. The Republicans want us gone.

The mayor of New Orleans failed the citizens of N. O. He had 4 days warning that this disaster was likely to happen, and did nothing. Then he screamed, "Where was the government to help?" He was the government, and totally inept. A disgrace. Then he claimed racism. This happened to all citizens of N. O., black and white.

Moving the victims to the Sports Arena was also a disaster. TV coverage showed citizens stranded on the US 10 freeway with no help for days, while our federal government rushes to help foreign nations within hours. What in the hell is going wrong in America?

Looting for food during an event like this shows that people will do anything to survive in these situations. However, looting stores for items other than food only shows the lawlessness of African Americans in situation after situation that causes white citizens to want nothing to do with blacks. Blacks are their own worst enemy. This has to change in America if blacks are to be respected. If blacks don't respect each other how do they expect others to respect them? It's time for civil behavior if blacks want Civil Rights.

I felt so strongly about the victims of Hurricaine Katrina that I wrote a song about them.

It's called, "I Shoulda Left When I had the Chance".

Disaster preparedness is every citizens' responsibility at this time. Black people, as well as all people should stay informed, have cash and emergency supplies available, keep a working vehicle (at least 1) and should be prepared to move out at a moment's notice.

During World War II, British citizens, preparing for impending aerial bombardment from the Germans, dug bomb shelters, stored canned food and drinkable water, and purchased wireless radios and flashlights.

During the current climate of terroristic threats from abroad, storms, and constant threats of civil unrest and martial law, people in this country should make the same provisions for themselves.

Since your premise is that Government cannot be relied upon to make these provisions for us, perhaps we should educate ourselves about the kinds of provisions we should be making for the next big disaster.

This would be a more fruitful use of your time on the air than bellyaching about the government's failure to provide for underprivileged Blacks during the last disaster. Don't cha think?

I first would like to say about the hurricane Katrina victims that I am deeply ashamed and sorry that the type of government we live and work for thought nothing much of them and my deepest condolences go out to them and their families for their losses!

I also would like to say that life is good and everyday is a gift from God. I still am not seeing in my everyday paths and travels in this country that people respect that. Today in this country I only see a lot of hate and it needs to end.

To quote the very brave Tupac Amaru Shakur, "It ain't about black or white 'cause we're human, I hope we see the before it's ruined!"

Thank you for taking the time to read this. Peace & love.

I began to read "Come Hell or High Water" prior to a business trip to New Orleans this March. Once I knew that I would be going to New Orleans, I stopped reading the book, so that I could have a "white paper" visual of the impact of Katrina.

Once I saw the Lower 9th myself, the impact of Dr Dyson's description of Hurricane Katrina was dramatically impactful. He probably captured with complete accuracy not just the distruction, but pre and post far reaching structual racism issues that still circle the Lower 9th.

Interestingly enough, I found it unusual that many folks from Russia and other countries were working in the very Hotel I stayed at in New Orleans, and these folks ceratinly had a place to go home to after their shift.

Dr. Dyson

I have a couple opinions. I recently heard you lecture at Butler University in Indianapolis, Indiana. I wanted to contact you with a few concerns and am glad to have this opportunity to share my feelings via email.

I am gravely dissappointed with our Nation's response. But I was not totally surprised, the regard for poor to average lower class people who happen to be black folks is certainly not a proiority.

The African American community also does a poor job of making our law makers accountable. I am ready for our commnuity to have a proactive agenda prepared for the lawmakers and insist resolutions. We need a body of serious leaders to breathe down their throats everystep of the way to ensure quality solutions and progress.

Dr. Dyson you are a dynamic speaker, without a doubt. You are mesmerizing in fact! I must say I respect your passion and your authority. You are our living 'Silver Tongue Bandit'! I commend you for taking a stance, because is a difficult task.

I believe in hindsight the Booker T. Washington and WEB Dubois conflict in their final analysis were not much different beliefs. I contend that they both wanted the same outcome.

I think you are making too much of Bill Crosby's opinion, frankly. I would like for us as a people to get to a point where we do not need to operate as divided cells because we do not have the same views.

Specifically I want to know what you are doing. I hear your eloquent words, and they are poetic. What is your action plan is it published or public? How do we move forward?

Is it good to capitalize on crisis?

Is any portion of your book's proceeds going back into the trenches of Louisiana or the "Katrina" disaster in any capacity?

I believe with thought and opinion should follow solutions or recommendations. We should more than just sit down and talk, but rather create inroads to attack our challenges with solutions. I wish we were building.

I am just getting tired of the dialogue. I am glad we are talking but I would prefer action.

I will anticipate your response.

Respectfully
Tracy

I haven’t read your book, but I saw you on Book TV on C-Span. Being a gay, white male, I appreciated the way you addressed gay America and the stated that we as gay Americans have a lot of the same struggles that black Americans have.

I am a converted Republican who thinks that this party is going in the wrong direction in terms of my beliefs and life in general. The Republicans are no longer a party of a smaller government that stays out of the bedroom.

Your talk encouraged, inspired, and confirmed my new found "light" and perspective, although I was a little disappointed that you did not reference “The Covenant with Black America” by Tavis Smiley. I take him seriously and appreciate his initiative for unity!

Thank you for your time, Dr. Dyson, and for loving me and mine from a distance...and for saying what you said!

The travesty that the government is perpetuating on the black citizens of Louisiana is by no means unexpected, but no less sad. As a born and raised Louisianan, I have been displaced in North Texas since the devastating hurricane. Being here in the cradle of George Bush has not been very reassuring either. I have been faced with pious contempt, both overt and covert racism from the denizens of Texas.

But what I think hurts more is the way that we are treated by black Texas residents. If I had a choice, I would not have come so far from home to be treated so badly. This cuts to the bone. I have had black Texas residents say to myself and friends that they wished we would just go home. Home to what? If I had just a shack, I would gladly go there. But I did not come looking for a handout when I came to Texas, as I have been a hardworking person all my life with a very strong work ethic instilled in me by my father.

I resent the fact that they assume that everyone from Louisiana was from New Orleans or that everyone is lazy, on welfare, or lives in government subsidized housing. Finding a job is a joke once it is determined that you are from Louisiana. I went on an interview for a front desk position at a hotel and was well qualified for the position. I had to suffer the humiliation of a second interview with the GM, who stated that he was looking for someone in the hotel field with hotel experience, and that with my qualifications, my old job in Louisiana should be trying to get back “such a valuable employee.”

The few Katrina victims that are seen on TV are accepting the largesse and being taken care of. This is the exception. The rule is that Katrina victims in the state of Texas are being treated very badly and are not so subtly being told to leave.

I just watched Mr. Dyson on Book TV.

I am amazed that those who came to the rescue of the people stranded by Katrina went straight to the poor whites and left the poor blacks to suffer. That is the impression I get listening to him. He is now defending looting. How can you defend criminal behavior of any kind?. He had the balls to say that if he was there he would have “got a little five finger discount also”. Stealing TV's, shopping carts full of clothes, meat coolers full of meat (with no way to freeze the meat without power) is not justifiable. It is not a life or death situation if your color TV gets ruined.

The response to the New Orleans would have been the same, black, white, brown pink or blue! We are talking about the Fed Gov't. They screw everything up. Everything bad that happens to blacks is not because of racism. I am sick and tired of being told how much I hate black people just because I am white. Mr. Dyson complained that many blacks didn't leave N.O. because they were natives; their family lived next door. That is a huge problem with all races that populate poor areas. No matter what color they are, they need to get off their butts and go where the work is! The work doesn't come to you. I'm tired of the whining. I have seen the same situation in the Pacific NW with white loggers, where it seems to be better to live and raise your children in poverty than move away from mommy & daddy.

My suggestion for Mr. Dyson would be to concentrate on being American instead of being black. He just said Louis Farrakahn is one of the most honorable blacks today. Farrakahn is one of the MOST racist people in America. Listening to Mr. Dyson, I learned in short order he is as much a racist as the whites (which appear to be all white people) he complains about. There are good people and bad people in this world and race has nothing to do with it. The sooner we start calling ourselves AMERICANS and start taking advantage of all it has to offer instead of blaming one another for everything that doesn't go our way, the better off we will be. Each of us has to take ownership of our lives and stop blaming someone else for our bad breaks. The only people that can improve our life situation or circumstance are ourselves.

With honest sincerity,
Don

I think it was more of an issue of poverty than race. Poor whites were left out to dry too. The common theme everyone had was they where all poor. There is a huge class issue in America, and this was just another example.

The government came off vacation early for Terry Schivo. They did not for the thousands of people left out to dry after Katrina. There was no political reason for them at the time. By the time they came out, it was too late.

It is a shame to see our leaders not care about my fellow countrymen. They only care about money and votes. The only way to fix this is for people to get out and vote these guys out of office, and to not forgive. This goes for the state and local level.

I think that president Bush should be impeached on his handling of the Katrina Fiasco. We (or I should say the public elite) elected him to run our country and protect our people. He alone carries that responsibility. To blame Michael Brown, Fema, or worse, the low income people who could not get out of the storm’s way is not only irresponsible, but down right criminal.

As a former member of the armed forces, I swore an oath to protect the U.S. from enemies both foreign and domestic as does our president. But how does one protect the country when the enemy is the same who has sworn to protect it?

I'm a firm believer that we all descended from Africa, as the first man came from Africa. Although my skin is white, I felt the same fear, anguish, heartache watching my African American "brothers and sisters" die because of an inept administration. I believe that the reason so many died was not because of the hurricane, but because the only way our government elite can retain power is to keep us everyday citizens from coming together as a people.

I feel that we need to start questioning the motives of those in power. It's time we took back that dream that was once America. An America for the people by the People. No longer should we allow the power elite control our destinies. As a final thought, I would like to thank Mr. Dyson for having the courage to say the things that even some of us "white brothers" have been wanting to say. How can you blame lower income families for being so angry? I say good they should march on Washington and demand they bring the entire government before the world court on crimes against humanity.

Dear Dr. Dyson,

Katrina reminds me of Nixon and the Watergate scandal in that it isn't what the President did, but what he did afterward that was appalling. It was awful of Bush and his administration to bungle the response but that could have happened to any incompetent administration. The truly shameful aspect of Katrina was that the Bush Administration hasn't asked Congress to impose some massive reconstruction of Katrina and to address the problems of Race in general but also, more importantly, the problems of Class and urban decay in our cities and what can be done about it.

Thanks,
John

PS: I have been reading Arthur Schlessenger's biography on RFK and it's as though George Bush is his perfect polar opposite . . . which is a depressing indication of what state our country is in.

Dear Sir,

I needed to write this to you because your appearance on Bill Meyers show was one sided.

Sir, I am sorry, but hurricanes are natural disasters and are very hard to deal with. It is not a race issue and if you think so please tell me how victims of Rita and Hugo where the strength of the hurricane was the same if not worse.

Your blame on this President is unfounded. If I remember correctly, our President for both hurricanes was president Clinton and I also remember services and basic humanity was lacking to say the least.

All I ask you sir, is to not use a national disaster to promote your political views. Because face it: Bush did not cause this disaster. It is hard to get relief to a disaster area. It is ultimatly our resposibilty to take care of us and family and not the governments.

Cameron

I just finished watching a rerun of Bill Maher on HBO.

Sir, I find your attitude repulsive. As it is quite obviously a determining factor to your judgement and opinion. Yes, my skin color is white. I have not read your book and after seeing you on the aforementioned program, I really don't care to do so.

Your hate filled racism cannot be disguised, or apparently contained. I am color blind and in fact, more of my friends are black than are white. But after witnessing your inner rage and hatred, even I could dawn a sheet!

You are a divider filled with hate. I pity your angry existance. A terrible waste of real talent.

If only New Orleans was in the Middle East. I'm not sure if you remember, but a little while after Hurricane Katrina, there was an earthquake in Palestine. There was aid and relief sent the next day. This is very ludacris.

Mr. Dyson, I really enjoyed your responses on Politically Incorrect. I enjoyed your strong spirit and the wonderful things you mentioned about your belief. From one "Jesus Freak" to another. God Bless You. Hope to meet you one day!

Dr. D,

Are you a 33rd degree freemason?

Jesse Jackson is a 33rd degree freemason.
George W. Bush is a 33rd degree freemason.

What's the difference?
I fail to see why you won't talk about them.

Secret Societies continue to dominate our future.

The national response to Katrina was a disgrace. It was a reflection of deep-seated institutionalized racism and class oppression.

The Bush administration appointed a former head of an Arabian horse trade association to head the Federal Emergency Management Administration. This political spoils approach to filling an important post is emblematic of the current administration's contempt for human rights and human dignity.

Along with the disgraces of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, the Bush administration;s inadequate and incompetent response to Katrina is further evidence that Bush should be impeached.

It should be publicly noted that the people who were left to suffer and die, and who are still suffering and dying in the wake of Katrina, are of the SAME DEMOGRAPHIC as the people who were systematically turned away from the voting booths in Florida in the stolen 2000 Presidential election.

They are not Bush's base, nor his brainwashed apologists. They can do him and his minions no good. So the Bush government's attitude toward them is, "let them die" and "turn them away."

The response to the victims of Katrina is in no way shocking to me. Being an Afrikan born in America, I have seen the overt and covert racism that is systemic of this capitalistic system. It is apparent that it is a case of the "haves" and the "have nots". Those with the economic and material means to leave did so, and those without could not.

Local and state government got caught up in the bureaucracy of red tape and poor people suffered. We have to understand that even when the people tried to pull themselves out of that desperate situation, they were met by "protectors of law” (more so, protectors of the property) with guns who turned them around from escape and placed them into a more desperate situation.

But now we have members of our family blaming the victims for trying to escape. Crime did not bring the hurricane; crime did not prevent them from leaving New Orleans; crime did not get FEMA to act quickly. Let’s not blame a cripple for having polio and not being able to wheel into a restaurant without a handicap ramp.

What Katrina did was a mass gentrification for the gulf coast and the federal and state governments are now signing off and the economically viable residents who have returned are now in a position to profit from the victims who are not able to return. As Don King would so eloquently say: "Only in America, only in America."

In the aftermath of the Hurricane Katrina disaster along the Gulf States, we now see that we live in a business society, where if you do not have the means to contribute to commercial life, your life is something less than saving. How painful it is to have to wake up to the horrible news of babies and elderly dying on the streets because they are poor. News flash: this is happening everyday in the poor communities of America. These people were ignored because they didn’t have enough money to contribute to Corporate Americas pocketbooks; therefore they were not worth the amount of money it would cost to save them. There is a term for this, and it is opportunity cost; the amount of something you are willing to give up in order to get something else.

We often see this happening in third world countries. In many third world countries, corporations open manufacturing plants and pay their majority poor employees peanuts of what that company earns off of their labor. That is well known, but this is what is not widely focused upon. The companies pollute, corrupt, and destroy the lives and environments of the areas in which they operate. Over taxation, minimal pay, and over demanding labor keep the poor - poor, and the wealthy - wealthier. This happens in all poverty stricken areas of the world, not immune to and including in the United States.

In a way we have partially set ourselves up for this type of catastrophe and partially been duped into it as well. Many who are of the knee-jerk mentality would read that last line and throw their hands in the air in disgust, so I ask you to hear me out on this. We know that the people in New Orleans were set up for this to happen. The city and National Guard had made it known that there was need for concern about the levee system, yet they were ignored and the funding that was available for the levee system at one time, has been diverted to help fund an unjust war. That however is another subject in itself. So we see here that the citizens of New Orleans were duped. They were given a false sense of security, the levees were old and out of date, but they “would do” should a hurricane hit the city.

At the same point this disaster was in a sense, self-inflicted. We the people, the inhabitants of this nation, the backbone of our capitalist machine, the batteries which make this country work are entirely too dependent on the government and state systems. Those people in New Orleans should not be waiting for the government to save them; they should be able to save themselves. They should be able to escape eminent death from natural disasters when given proper warning, many who could afford to did. Those who couldn’t afford to simply didn’t. Not so much because they couldn’t in the physical sense, but in the mental. These people were not prepared for the possibility of self preservation in the face of an intense situation. They didn’t know where to find food, water, medicines, or even how to conduct themselves in an organized fashion. Crime erupted, available food and water were horded and not rationed, and the sense of humanity was almost non-existent in the people inside and especially outside of the city.

We people as a whole were not prepared for this magnitude of a situation, but consequently, we minorities in this country were ill-prepared for anything like this. We know that the system of government, law, and justice are not set up for the benefit of minorities in this nation. So why is it that we feel so compelled to expect the state and federal governments to take care of our economic and social needs in times of crisis? Some people would say that it is the job of the government to provide this to us as citizens, but the government really only owes us its inhabitants, the responsibility of safety from foreign attack and the protection of our rights as Americans (both which have become less reliable). Neither of these were in jeopardy under the circumstances of Hurricane Katrina.

That is why we the people are to blame for this situation; we expected the states of Louisiana, Mississippi, and the federal government to rush to save the people affected by the storm when it was not their job. Although, they could have made a more conscientious effort to do so, simply because the people of New Orleans contribute greatly to the state and governments generation of revenue.

I believe this was planned. Everyone knew eventually the city would suffer from this type of crisis.

What better opportunity to allow such a massive extermination at once. New Orleans is an international attraction. The problem was, there were too many blacks in the way.

This should serve as a wake-up call for all blacks. We are hated! We must begin to accept the fact that if we don't begin to unite, we will disappear. The process has begun.

I live in Toledo, Ohio. Toledo is 21% black, Toledo Schools are 52% black, 9% of all teachers are black. Of the 9% black teachers, 98% are black women.

Black men are trying hard to teach here. But TPS won't hire them, period!

I operated the "Troopers for Christ" after-school (urban) Boot-Camp for Boy's in Detroit for 4 years prior to relocating to Toledo. Detroit school administrators welcomed my services with open arms.

Upon presenting this concept to Toledo Public Schools, I was denied access to the entire district within 2 days.

Since 1990, I have spoken at over 130 schools, in 4 states. Toledo Schools also banned my motivational services to the youth of the district.

We are crying out loud for national attention on Toledo, but the media here are in a strong click. THEY WON'T LISTEN. Blacks here are treated very wrong and are not given a chance at all, especially black men.

From Toledo to New Orleans, from Philadelphia to LA. We are hated.

Hurricane Katrina only highlighted the truith.

My question is: what we gonna do?

The national response to Katrina was horrible.

The United States government can move mountains when other countries need help. Why wasn't there more done for the victims of Katrina, who were mostly Black and/or poor?

The disaster Katrina will forever resolute in my mind the proof, ALL Americans needed, that we haven't come too far, have we? Where is Bill Cosby now? Haven't heard any of his comments on Katrina!!

This proves once and for all, we either get together to do for ourselves, as all other ethnic groups do in this country to have a voice, or we give up. Katrina brought back for me all of the tears, anger, and yes hatred of those who are in power and do nothing to help black people.

This also reminded me of the war depicted in "Hotel Rwanda". As long as they are black people, they can die. They always send in the best that the armed forces have to offer to extract the whites, and leave the rest to fend for themselves. I was also infuriated at hearing how many black people were forced to leave and not able to provide help.

Hurricane Katrina should be an eye opener for those who believe racism and "class-ism" do not exist.

You cannot tell me that if the victims were white and rich that there would have been the same lack of concern.
Granted this country has come a long way; however we still have a long way to go.

I believe God is testing us on how we treat the poor and downtrodden when catastrophe strikes. Guess what? We failed with a capital F!

As a survivor of Katrina/Rita/Wilma, I can only say that we here in Mississippi are learning to do for ourselves. We have established a Southwest MS Recovery Network (Faith-Based/Non-Profits) to work together and workout malfunctions, disparity, bureaucratic malfeasance, etc and help our residents. The old African proverb "It Takes A Village To Raise A Child," and expound that "It Takes a Whole Community" to resolve the issues that we are now facing.

Yes we need to look at Local, State, & National Governments to provide equitable leadership and develop the necessary program/funds to do their thing. But until then, we have to do the work ourselves.

Katrina was not the beginning, nor will it be the end. We live in a time that our nation is being controlled by oligarchies that want to control the resources of the entire planet. When we have only eight nations that make all the decisions for the world's economies, needless to say, Katrina victim's and survivors are the slings and arrows of misfortune.

Fern

I believe that the response to the Katrina disaster was shameful. Initially, when the flooding began, I was appalled to hear and read about the response (or lack thereof)...of the federal gov't.

To find out the President actually knew the levees were weak after saying, "no one anticipated the breach of the levees" was downright sickening.

We are not living in a nation with any respect for human rights on a governmental level. Witness the decades of the erosion of the right to survival, here and elsewhere on our beautiful planet. Look back to centuries of genocide and theft. See the most probable death of the biosphere if current human ignorance and destruction continue.

The levees were for many years known to need repair and redesign. We need to make communities and structures which allow us to meet our needs and to be loving neighbors for each other.

Our collective economic life is failing as the levees did. It wasn't the hurricane, but the greed of men (spending our money on war) that caused the river to flood. The people from New Orleans are facing the same horror that all homeless people have faced for decades, with much the same reaction and much the same causes. It is not local and specific; it is worldwide and general. It is so sad, and so unnecessary.

I am a former resident of Baton Rouge, LA. When the hurricane hit and evacuation was mentioned, the first place I thought of was Fort Polk as a safe haven. Troops and other equipment were already in place.

The response was an eye opener for all the world to see and we should never forget it. This was and is an example of the working poor. Wake up America.

I think the government definitely responded too slowly.

I also think that response was probably due to the fact that most of the people trapped in that situation were the black poor.

The Katrina tragedy continues way after the water has gone.

I think it's racial reaction as usual. If this would have been a bunch of white folks floating, the reaction would have been visibly different.

I was not at all surprised by the incompetence and callous inadequacy of the response to Katrina. I was lucky enough to be on vacation myself the week that Katrina struck and said to dinner companions on the Thursday before the hurricane hit New Orleans that I didn't see how it wouldn't be catastrophic.

I should note that I am not a scientist or a disaster expert, but I have worked for 30 years battling child abuse, homelessness, and other social ills in the City of Philadelphia, and am well aware of the governments indifference to the daily struggles of poor young African-American women and children to survive the chaotic, dangerous and crumbling neighborhoods they live in.

It was painful to me to watch the young black men and women left behind in New Orleans trying to access food and water and being called looters when I know first hand the kind of struggles they incur everyday in the course of their normal lives.

I watched with cynical amusement as Charles Gibson and other news personalities "discovered" poverty in New Orleans, at the same time as sadly knowing that this "discovery" would disappear in the wake of the next sensational sex scandal or traffic accident or fire that occurred the next day.

I commend Dr. Dyson for continuing to shine a light on America's passion for blaming the poor for being poor and for his relentless advocacy efforts.

I am from the disaster area. I escaped the levee waters, and I was in a position to leave. But the US Government and Fema were very nonchalant about the storm. 8 months later, they continue to mislead the mass of the evacuees about what's really going on.

Overall, I think the people all over the USA were great in aiding and assisting the people in other cities. But when it came to the people who were left behind for 1-2 weeks, the government definitely failed.

There are many stories to be told, and I hope someone is recording this for the history books. Everybody wasn’t in the superdome and the convention center, but everybody has a story and a plight. I am one of them.

Our government's response to the Katrina disaster was shocking. Not in a sense that our government failed us and left us with a sense of surprising irony, but shocking in a sense that the perceived incompetence was so blatantly displayed and truthfully revealed as total disregard for the immediate safety and well being of our Black and poor people.

Those people that argued about how racism is not as prevalent or not a factor were clamoring in the most desperate context to dismiss race as the ultimate culprit for the ridiculous response by our government. However, I am re-invigorated by the response of our community to the needs of the people affected by this National Disaster. My church pitched in, as did many other churches, community groups, social organizations, individuals, etc.

Now we are faced with the residual challenge of protecting the property and voting rights of the displaced people of New Orleans who, in most cases, do not have the financial means to immediately challenge the governing entity that desires to expedite the restructuring and reorganization of New Orleans.

Again, it is so obvious that the aristocratic controllers seek to create a New Orleans that excludes many of its original inhabitants. It proves again that the American aristocracy is frightened by the inevitable shift of power in this country. We must continue to support each other and evaluate our own individual direction with the intent of self improvement for the ultimate goal of collective progress.

You did not have the courage nor moral uprightness to post the truth. Wherever you promote Hell, God will be watching as you promote "untruths" uttered by some Creole sell-outs and a few real survivors of Katrina.

God has a way of exposing the truth and Hell is full of statements by persons who flew out of New Orleans way before Katrina-hit. When I see those lying sell-outs, they will get a piece of my mind. You need to expose to statements.

I am really considering contacting the publishers and having them ask you to retract those lies made by persons who were no where near home when we took that hit. Rev. Bierreyae's church was "locked down" for the seven days we roamed the streets uptown.

Where in the hell was he in New Orleans? I bet all the money you make pimping our suffering that most of those folks were not in New Orleans. It is shameful that you would stoop so low as to pimp our suffering.

I think contacting the publishers and networks would bear this whole hypocritical book’s soul to the world and the people stupid enough to purchase it. Remember, God hates hypocrites and High Water is rife with hypocrisy-rife with it. Shame on you!

I will pray for you as God is not playing with those whom pimped us. Only Oprah and Tyler Perry stepped up in the real for us. You need to donate those profits to the survivors. Bet that will never happen.

I just think it's odd how no one talks about the people held at gun point and were made to stay in the projects when they should have been evacuated.

They really tried to pull an extermination down there and they are getting away with it.

I saw you on CSPAN and was inspired by you and your report about the real facts behind the government/media response to Katrina. I look forward to reading COME HELL OR HIGH WATER. I am not a follower of the mainstream media and it was great to hear the truth as you see it and say it.

We need more "representatives" like you who bring a more balanced and brilliant insight to this complicated country in which we live. Thank you for your clarity and wisdom. You really are an inspiration. I am 55 year old and, man, you give me hope. So many "leaders" don't and it's incredibly refreshing.

Keep on keepin' on.

The horror I viewed when Katrina struck still burns in my psyche till this day. What I found even more disturbing was how it was quite simple for anchors to do broadcasts from the Superdome yet when you saw Pres. Bush he was watching from Air Force One or in Mississippi. Neither he nor his wife came anywhere near the 9th Ward.

Truth needs to be told to all the misinformed, as Dr. Dyson is doing. Just look how long it took for America to finally realize that the President too has lied to the American people from day one. The Gulf Coast is being ignored now that the cameras are off. Can someone explain why are bodies still not accounted for and being discovered in homes over 6months later? Is the media reporting that? Or are we waiting for yet another Oprah investigation...in Houston?

Democracy Where? Citizen who? Is this really the America, Martin King died for? We are all dreaming if we think America has really changed when it come to the treatment of Black folks.

This is how I feel about the lack of response to the people in New Orleans. Maybe we need to show our support by marking our tax return that says "Support Katrina Victims, Not War." Delete war and Iraq out of the line item budget and add support for Katrina survivals in the budget instead.

Excellent topic. I think Mr. Dyson should be commended on having the courage to address an issue that is staring us all in the face.

America suffers from what I call the "Toilet Assumption". In other words, what we don't want to face or take responsibility for, we flush down the toilet. It did not go unnoticed by me that when we bombed Iraq, the US military forces had planes loaded with supplies to air drop to civilians that they knew would suffer the impact of the bombings.

Yet, the poor stranded in the Convention Center went for 5 days without any assistance. There were thousand of people stranded without food or water, no means of extraction could be formulated, yet, administrative forces were able to formulate and activate a plan to have the "Zoo" animals evacuated. The most critical concern that I see is, what are we doing about the victims now? Rebuilding efforts seem almost at a stand still, people don't have homes, food, or jobs. So I say, yes, America's response to this disaster was a disgrace, but so is its so-called rebuilding efforts to date!

I am survivor of Hurricane Katrina and the response was horrible and disrespectful.

I left 2 days before the storm hit with my husband, our three children and some of my in-laws. I, like everyone else didn't expect for this to happen. The hurricane didn't cause this to happen. It was the government; from the president down through the pipe line. No one wants to take the blame.

Not everyone agrees with this. Some people say that it was our fault because we waited until too late to leave. Growing up in this city, I knew how hard the economic life-style was. You’d have to know this to believe that this was going on.

Those who were not financially fit were deprived of an equal way of living. It was like living below the Mason Dixon line.

A city less than ten feet below sea level should have been secured long ago. History has always been the clear method of explaining why things are the way they are. Since a break in the New Orleans levy would primarily affect black people, enhancements were neglected.

However, I believe that the levy strength was fine. The levy only flooded New Orleans because of explosives. I can hear Dr. S. Steele now: “You’re worshipping at the altar of racism. You’re afraid of freedom. Therefore, the black people of the ninth ward victimized themselves.”

What people like Dr. Steele and Bill Cosby fail to realize is that freedom is inert if one lacks the means to exercise freedom. They also don't realize that their rhetoric is on a par with the most destructive rhetoric of black hip-hop artists. Black hip-hop artist don't express them selves as victims. On the contrary, they come off as Gods. They take responsibility for their own plight in this life by any means necessary. If expressing destructive fantasies to down trodden black people gives them the means to exercise their freedom by realizing such fantasies, the ends justifies the means.

Just as Dr. Steele and Bill Cosby are willing to incorporate themselves with Eurocentric values that deny black people at every level gives them the means to exercise their freedom, the ends justifies the means. In both cases, there is intellectual masturbation occurring to justify the levels they are willing to stoop for economic success.

In regard to all of the stranded 9th Ward citizens, here is a quote from the Times-Picayune who interviewed 5th District captain John Bryson: “We saw a worrisome hurricane tradition playing out in the streets of the 9th Ward. People were out there barbecuing. They had ice chests everywhere. People were having a great old time.” Officers were sent through the area with bullhorns warning residents to get out.

This is from the Sunday, Dec. 18, 2005 paper. You need to know all of the facts and not just the ones you want to know. Your book presentation on CSPAN2 had several misrepresentations of what occurred in New Orleans before, during and after the storm.

The looters are another example. They were not stealing big screen TVs to negotiate a ride out of town. The thousands of homes that were looted had personal items stolen - not food. Those people were thieves. Plain and simple.

The national response to Katrina was not a response. How can we go into another country and tell people what to do when we can't and won't help our own just because it is all about the color of ones skin?

Bush is the worse leader that we have had. Men and women are dying. Loved ones have been displaced for months and years and he just keeps smiling. What is there to smile about, I ask?

America, we need to get back to caring about each other, not killing each other. Bring the Pride back in our life. To the people of Katrina, I pray that soon you will know peace in your life again.

Peace and Blessing to you and your Family.

G. M.

I would first like to thank Dr. Dyson for writing so eloquently about the causes and effects of the response to Hurricane Katrina. I live in the San Francisco Bay Area, and when I saw those poor people during the Katrina catastrophe, I had to pledge what ever I could.

It is our responsibility, (those of us who can), to continue to help rebuild New Orleans. The Katrina victims who relocated to the bay area are overwhelmed by the high cost of living here, and I don't blame them for wanting to go back to New Orleans. I think when New Orleans is rebuilt, a lot of people who once lived there won't be able to afford to go back.

It is up to us, "the black community", to help ourselves. As we saw with Katrina, we can not rely on the government, federal or local, to help us.

What's new? Whites and others in this country rarely live up to their obligation to Black Americans. Why would this be any different in this case?

The only thing Black America can expect is what Black Americans can do for us.

I just wanted to say, based only on Dr. Dyson's appearance on the Colbert Report, that I feel that he is a tremendous force for honest and intelligent debate and discussion in this country.

Even on a satirical show he was able to bring an extraordinary message home. I know very little about Dr. Dyson's biography, but a thinker and a speaker such as himself should most certainly run for office and set out to make a change in Washington.

Unfortunately, it doesn't surprise me that this administration has done very little to help out African Americans involved in the Katrina catastrophe. Bush has done very little, if any, to help the cause of the African American community.

It's still amazing that we have these types of issues. In Kansas City, we are fighting over stadium improvement. It shows how much the government is out of touch with reality.

We must take matters into our own hands and stop being our own worst enemy. We need to stop looking toward the government to help us in our time of need. Instead, we must make the government realize that they need us. Because of our economic resources, we provide income for many major companies in America and abroad.

I think that the response for Hurricane Katrina was dangerously slow. Had there been mostly white people in New Orleans, the response may have been faster.

I caught Dr. Dyson on C-Span and it was fantastic. I totally agree with him.

I think that the way the victims of Hurricane Katrina were treated, and are still being treated, is a absolute disgrace and does not reflect this country in a respectable and fair way.

How could George Bush and his "crew" allow for our own people to be left out in the dark? These people waited for days as the media was back and forth down there exploiting them, more focused on getting the "big story" rather than trying to save lives.

Seeing all those children and elderly people made me literally sick. Do I think it was a race thing? Hell yeah, I do. If they were a bunch of white people suffering down there, Bush would have gotten off his ass and done something sooner.

George Bush is a disgrace to this country. He is one of the most ignorant human beings on the face of this planet. I live for the day when we as a nation can all say together, "Free from Bush, Free from Bush. Thank God Almighty, we're free from Bush."

I saw your speech about Come Hell or High Water on BookspanTV. Boy, did I enjoy hearing you speak and minister the truth to the people. Your comments about gay or straight, black or white, were eye openers. Some people refuse to accept reality for what it is.

You were right when you said that the government could have done something sooner to rescue our fellow neighbors. They have aircrafts that can reach the other side of the continent within a few hours or so. So much has happened down there and so much has been overlooked, covered up, and ignored. And you were right that it could of happened in other cities as well.

You are the kind of minister that can reach out to people of all walks of life, due to some of your life experiences and also share a lot of your great knowledge. I do hope that there is other good brothers like you that I hope to meet one day. If you speak in Chicago soon, let me know!

My criticism and analysis of the national response to Hurricane Katrina asks the question: Had Hurricane Katrina hit San Francisco, would the national response and/or our perception of the victims been the same?

Although there is no way to know for sure whether the response would have been different, my perception is that incompetence and negative labels have a preference... toward people of color.

I mean can you imagine the media blaming the local government for not handling such a catastrophe with limited resources in San Francisco. Or would the media have been more inclined to treat the local officials like heroes for mobilizing the city in times of great tragedy, as with the mayor of New York during 9/11.

Can you imagine the national gov't receiving notice of an immanent category 5 hurricane crashing into the City of San Francisco, patiently waiting to actually see the storms results, and then responding slowly to the terrible aftermath. Or after receiving notice of such a disaster would the gov't have provided resources in anticipation of such a disaster or at the very least been on standby with resources to help those that couldn't help themselves.

Can you imagine the media characterizing displaced individual in a total state of chaos as criminal because some are using unclaimed material possessions that they feel are necessary on some level to help them survive those circumstances. (The inherent bias against people of color is so strong that there are those reading this right now that I think I am making an excuse for criminal behavior simply because they are imagining a black face committing these acts). Or would the acts of all San Francisco's citizenry during such a catastrophic event be seen as civil disobedience or self preservation and care for family?

There are no doubt other illustrations of how the national response to Katrina was inadequate and racist. But it is always surprising to me that Americans know that we have race issues but if ever one tries to articulate these problems... "you’re playing the race card".

God Bless America!

This was like the Rodney King incident on steroids. The response on the national level to was the same as a public lynching.

America was shocked and was forced to watch something that was ugly and had no reason for happening in a supposed modern industrial nation in our own living rooms.

Saw you on Book TV.

For context, let me tell you that I'm a white guy in media. I don't know how much cred. that gets me. I'm not a spokesman for anyone. But, with that intro, I want to say that I think you are, possibly, 100 percent correct. Maybe 99.

All these white folk in media keep saying, "How can this have happened in America?" I want to answer with a question to all the Anderson Coopers of the world. The censored version goes, "Where have you been? Those folks in New Orleans have been treated like throw-away people all their lives."

I'm not sure how you learned how white people think, but you got them nailed, man. Indifference and fear, not raw hate, are the big offenders. Keep speaking it, Doctor.

The new New Orleans will never resemble the old one.

The reassignments of Blacks to various regions of the country will legitimize the rationale for re-building and renewal (i.e. removal of poor Black and Whites).

The hurricane that exposed America's indifference to poor people does not leave me surprised or baffled.

I'm actually disappointed in all of us, the middle and upper class especially, because we did not come together to use the momentum of the government's screw up to capitalize on changing the common person’s plight.

Another example of just how much work still needs to be done. Racism continues to be an integral part of our economic and social structure.

We can hope to make progress towards ending racism not with dramatic dictates from our leaders but with honest work towards equity.
We need to elect better leaders. Honesty being one area of significant deficiency for Mr. Bush.

NO, this voter was not fooled by our current adminitration.

How do I feel about the Katrina response?

I think the hoods have come off in this administration!
In this “White House” people of African descent or any other non-whites need to hear the wake up call!

I don’t know what else it’ll take for America to see the danger we’re in! Are we going to wait for the crosses to burn in our yards again? Oh, that’s right. We’ve sold that little land that we used to own.

I’ve heard at times that “land in the south is so far away from everything.” I guess we can’t go very far from a mall. I’ve even said, “If you don’t want the land, just give it to ME!”

The forty acres and mull we won’t even fight for. The bad part is that this land was earned a second time by the blood, sweat, and tears of our parents!

I think it’s very sad to see how many of us aren’t even fighting for our Brothers and Sisters. Just think about what has happened to our CHILDREN in Katrina? The children got displaced from their parents at the MOST horrifying time, after the hurricane finally left.

The response by our Government has been so very sad. We as a people didn’t even get together to show our outrage! It’s almost like we are waiting to get permission from the MASTER before we will help ourselves.

The area I live in has had several trucks of donated items collected. That part makes me very proud - to see the children giving off what they had.

I have more to give. Where have the trucks gone? For some of us, our thoughts haven’t changed.

This White House and this Congress have allowed this disaster to just flourish like a cancer. Nothing is being done to change the root of the problem. Poverty! Our countries resources aren’t being accounted for!

Our communities aren’t being able to support themselves. And that’s not just in the black communities!

It’s like Dick Gregory said “When America gets a cold we get pneumonia”.

I believe that Katrina has just been a warning, America! If America let’s this happen with out making a change NOW then our future as a country is in jeopardy!

This Government, This White House’s response to Katrina shouldn’t have ever been about Politics. It should have been about decency, integrity, and morality. For those Americans that haven’t got it yet maybe they need a few more Enron’s or Halliburton’s to wake them.

I was down in New Orleans on spring break with Habitat for Humanity in conjunction with Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) from Bowling Green State University and I was exposed to the widening social, political and economic gap within society.

The second day there, my group and I toured the 9th Ward, which I was told was the last all-black community in the country, as well as the poorest neighborhood in the city. That was where I thought we were going to be working; instead, I was told by a student from MIT that FEMA and the Federal Government just overlooked the area and planned to demolish it, despite the arguments that there are still bodies unaccounted for.

Where I was working was the middle-class/upper-middle class area, which was predominantly all wealthy and white. I was arguing with our supervisors for a reason why we couldn’t go into the black neighborhood. They responded by saying that it was structurally unstable and they wouldn't know where to begin.

Unlike 9/11, whose man-made events united this country as one, this event caused by Mother Nature, split this country. The common question I heard down there was "where is our government?" I was mixed with anger, fear, sadness, confusion and paranoia. I wanted to help the black and Latino community so much, but the powers that were dictating our work kept us out of there. Personally, this event and its repercussions have taught me that no matter how advanced mankind can get, Mother Nature will still have that dominance over us.

I found the images from Katrina deeply disturbing. I began to pray for the people who were truly "left behind." I would never have imagined that incompetence would be a national standard. There is no administration in the Administration -- no plan, no goal, no follow through. Now as we prepare for yet another deadly hurricane season, what will become of those that are still waiting for help?

Makes me wanna holla', throw up both my hands!

I'm originally from New Orleans, but have lived in Atlanta since graduating from the University of New Orleans in 2003. I saw you on Cspan and was awed. I've never seen or heard anyone that I agree with completely.

I am extremely encouraged that we have prominent blacks out there willing to address homophobia and challenge the black church, where I now go only for entertainment and to study our culture.

I saw you before on Bill Maher and enjoyed you then, without really knowing who you were. I'll be ordering all of your books and reading them on my flight to and from Spain this summer. Thank you for being so right.

Hi Michael,

Saw you on C-Span 2, and thought you were engaging, humorous and eloquent. For the record, I am a 43 y/o, white male, Republican (but I don't agree w/ all things GOP and detest the slick-haired Christian right), and have a degree in Sociology. I also have many black friends.

You made a lot of valid points, but here's some I disagree with:

1. Tookie Williams deserved to die. Why is it the people who supported him never, ever mention the horrible murders he committed (of course, most will tell you he was innocent). He bragged about killing the young father and wouldn't help police I.D. other gang members. "Yeah, but he wrote children's books." Gee, isn't that sweet? It's like he didn't even commit the murders, people just brush that part off.

2. You made a few jokes about Ray Nagin (ie, P. Funk), but didn't really mention him as being part of the problem. FEMA was the 3rd responder. Its City (Nagin), then State (Kathleen Blanco), and then FEMA.

3. FEMA was slow b/c most of New Orleans is black? Did you mention that 4 out of the 5 parishes surrounding N.O. were predominantly white? Last time I checked, they were completely flooded (as was the entire Gulf Coast of Mississippi) and they received no help just the same.

4. If you think the levees were bombed, then they were (according to your conspiracy theory in which whether they were or weren't isn't what's really important, but if you can conceptualize it, it's true). What kind of horse hockey is that?

5. Most rap is poison for the black youth. I heard a 6 yr-old repeating what they heard on a song and calling another little, black boy an M-F-er. I personally like the part of rap that belittles, degrades and disrespects women (bitches and hos). Cosby was right on that one...where are the parents (yes, I know they're working...so was my single Mom)?

6. Rev. Farrakhan and Jesse Jackson are wealthy parasites who prey upon their own people and are perpetuators of racial tension.

7. 12% of the U.S. population is black, 50% of the jail pop is black (and no, they ALL weren't racially profiled). 70% of black kids are born out of wedlock, 50% of black kids raised in single parent families will go to prison. You do the math and figure out where the black community needs to start helping itself.

Sincerely,
Barry

I watched Michael Eric Dyson discuss his new book on CSPAN and heard many things that the major media outlets did not report.

I remember the reaction of my Manager at the time, who was a former Special Operations specialist during in the Afghan operation after September 11. He supports the invasion of Iraq and was a big supporter of George Bush.

His reaction to the Hurricane Katrina disaster that hit this country was one of indifference. Being his subordinate, I wanted to scream out the irony. He "cares" about Iraqi "freedom", but doesn't care about protecting Americans who have been hurt by this terrible disaster.

I wasn't a proud American at this moment, not only because of his words but my inability to speak up. Powerlessness is an excuse, but it is what I felt at the time.

I watched your program on Cspan and want to wish you good fortune in your quest for justice. Maybe something can come from it to help rebuild the lives that were shattered. It would have been a drop in the bucket of the defense budgets to have rebuilt all of this. I am very ashamed of my government for not doing it immediately.

I have been reading a lot about the events that happened on 9/11 and I must say that your causes might not just be taken up by the black voice.

If it is really true that the WTC were bombed and that the elections were rigged, we have a much more serious situation that faces all of us. I am not prone to conspiracy theories, but I do feel it really is time to vote them all out.

It was a travesty, in no small sense of the word. Just the mere fact that we have to have this discussion, once again, leaves us in the position to have to ask "massa" for permission to proceed with out lives. All of a sudden, FEMA was confused and disoriented and didn't know what to do or how to get started.

Funny, that didn't affect them when those rich white folks in Florida were hit a couple of years ago. As we now know, they were informed long before the hurricane hit the potential for disaster. Yet they sat back on their fat asses and said, “oh well”.

Those are my funds sitting in the United States Treasury Department as well as so many others, why must "we" always have to get "special permission" for any and everything that goes on when it pertains to us as a people? And, no matter what we try to do it is always suspect. When the white people were breaking into Wal-Mart and other stores they were trying to find sustenance. When the black people were doing the same thing they were "looting". I am so sick and tired of this bulls-it!

In many areas predominantly African American areas, nothing has been done to clear the way for rebuilding except for what the people with the wherewithal to do for themselves. There are still cars in trees and on top of homes. When does this madness end? ENOUGH ALREADY!

I am encouraged to find a copy of "Come Hell or High Water". I only hope it holds less ranting on the "white Southerner" mindset, about which Dr. Dyson makes such sweeping statements.

According to Dyson, Timothy McVeigh, America's #1 terrorist, comes from Oklahoma and is a product of this stratum of Dyson's world. I would just like to point out to those in other worlds that McVeigh was born in, grew up in, and flipped burgers in upstate New York (Lockport). It was in Dyson's home state of Michigan that McVeigh often visited fellow-loser Terry Nichols at the Nichols family farm. And we all know what evil was subsequently born on that Michigan farm. I look forward to reading more truths from the world of Dr. M.E. Dyson.

The response of the U.S. government to Katrina is yet another example of the incompetence of the Bush administration. It borders on malicious, but it is probably just stupidity and a fixation on cost benefits.

I think that Bush is a clear danger to our country, which is why I think the U.S. should pull out of Iraq. He can only make matters worse.

I listened to Mr Dyson's book presentation on C-Span. While I thought there was some wheat in the message, most of it was chaff. I am a christian-conservative-anglo who believes that it is not the federal government's job to offer charity to its constituents. That is the job of the church and local governing bodies. I am not a supporter of the Bush administration because it hasn't been true to conservative principles, such as staying out of foreign wars, lowering debt, not illegally wiretapping, and not stopping illegal immigration which takes away job opportunities from the rest of us (black and white).

Mr. Dyson calls himself a minister and criticizes those of us, including some of his own black audience who he labels as homophobic because they want to distance themselves from gay and lesbian issues. When is he going to realize that the gay rights issue is a millstone around the necks of blacks and their legitimate causes. As a minister, he is self deluded to think that the Bible doesn't condemn homosexuality, and as soon as he defends this issue, guys like me and Christian blacks will no longer be interested in listening to him. Mr. Dyson and others like him need to understand that the Bible doesn't teach racial discrimination, but it does condemn specific sexual sins including homosexuality.

In one response, Mr. Dyson admits that there isn't enough unanimity among rich blacks to collect and disperse funds for a Katrina charity. Why then would he want to take the country's tax dollars and spend them on something even blacks wouldn't agree on? He says that it is the poor black man's tax dollars as well, and I agree. But I also