For the last three days we've been inundated with television news coverage of the flooding happening in Chicagoland. There have been plenty of pictures of people being evacuated from their homes because of rising flood waters. Rescue crews have been mobilized to save these helpless victims from mother nature's fury.
Bullhockey.
What's wrong with these people that they need to be saved from six inches of water? TV news producers, writers, editors, and reporters are trained to show us the most dramatic and important video that comes in that day. So what do we see? People huddled in rubber dinghies being pulled to "safety" by firefighters who are simply sloshing along in ankle-deep water. People bemoaning their misfortune that they have all of nine inches of water in their basements. These people need to suck it up and get on with their lives.
The storm that brought the flooding to Chicagoland was the remains of Hurricane Ike. When Ike crossed from the Gulf of Mexico to Galveston Island it brought 21 FEET of water. And what did the people of Galveston Island do when Coast Guard helicopters came to their rescue?
They said, "No thanks. We're fine. We can take care of ourselves." With water up to the second or third-stories of some homes these people are taking care of themselves.
Meanwhile, the soft-and-doughy Chicagoans are freaking out at mere inches of water that might make the legs of their foosball tables soggy, or require wee water wings for their precious tiny dogs.
Seriously, Chicago: Grow a pair.
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