On the Twin Genocides

There have been many cases in which we have said, "Never Again." Never again should a race be attacked for just that; the same with religion; the same with nationality. But "Never Again" continues to be iterated in the case of two genocides.

You may be saying, "What do you mean, Daniel, which is the second?" The first, of course, is that of the disgraceful and disgusting high crimes of murder and rape by the Janjaweed towards those in Darfur, which has been condemned by many members houses of legislation and execution of law(but nothing has been physically done by any of the two). But there is a silent genocide; a genocide not talked about much in the media anymore. It is that which graced the latest issue of TIME Magazine, it is that which has been spoken about on the Huffington Post for a year-and-a-half by comedian Harry Shearer on The Huffington Post, and it is that which has been talked about every once in a while by presidential candidate John Edwards. It is that of the post-Katrina New Orleans, where the suffering from the poor and middle class continues.

The situation in Darfur I think you already know about, but here's a brief introduction unto the topic if you've been stationed in Iraq or have been on Air Force One(or you're just a moron) who's been watching solely Fox News for news coverage: the government in Khartoum has been allowing a proxy-war for years in the region of Darfur, which has been heightened with the desertification of Lake Chad(which probably was caused, like many other acts of desertification, by global warming-another story for another day) and the Darfurian citizens have taken up arms in rebellion. Thus, in order for the proxy-war to continue, the Khartoum government has allowed Arabian forces, the Janjaweed, to attack the rebels, with amnesty for rape and plunder. Thus, the genocide in Darfur.

However, the United Nations refuses to call it a genocide. The reason of which is such: if the UN calls it a genocide(which they finally have with UN Resolution 1657), they must deploy the blue beret-wearing UN peacekeeping troops. The US doesn't want to get in on it, because, as I have said time and time again, there is no oil under the Darfurians' feet to fight for. Thus, the terrible act of genocide is reduced to, in the words of William Daniels, 'piddle, twiddle, and resolve,' in houses of legislation around the world.

The second genocide is that in New Orleans; the US Army Corps of Engineers didn't finish the levees that would save the Crescent City from a hurricane, and what came-a hurricane! Destruction of the entire city ensued, and evacuation in the city did not occur for four days. However, in e-mails later recovered from former FEMA director Michael Brown shows that that was done conscienciously. President Bush gave a famous speech in the city square of New Orleans. Little do many know, however, that, after the speech, power was turned back off in the area. They turned them on, did the speech, and turned them off. Due to recovered documents, along with my personal opinion, we know that the lack of help in New Orleans was done intentionally, leading to my statement that it is genocide.

And the genocide includes today. The levees have not been rebuilt. Houses are being built in New Orleans for the rich, and the poor are being pushed out. The Ninth Ward of New Orleans is still not rebuilt, destroying a great and historic part of the city. The public school system has been virtually destroyed, replaced by several private 'charter' schools, which do not have unionized teachers(which is exactly what the Republican Party wants). Finally, the New Orleanians have continued to be ignored in their pleas to increase provisions against hurricanes, as the money and staff of the CoE has gone to Iraq.

And the genocide will continue, until we mean 'never again,' instead of just using town squares as photo-ops and using hot air.