You are not the only one having problems with what they keep showing over and over...
Here is a letter received from my husbands boss:
"From: Giff Daughtridge
Sent: Sun 9/4/2005 9:57 AM
To: All Users
Subject: Katrina Support and Help
This is certainly a troubling time for our country as we all watch the efforts and pictures from the Gulf Coast. The size, location and ferocity of this storm made it unbelievable in the mess it left in it's wake.
This message is about another way we can help. We already have a way to double the impact of your donation with our matching program; which I hope everyone has given serious consideration to on your way to making a decision about helping. There is a truck parked at Food Lion in Ahoskie that is being loaded with non-perishable goods to head down to Alabama's Gulf Coast. New Orleans dominates the airwaves because of the effect on a huge population of people, but the devastation in Mississippi and Alabama is no less severe. The truck will leave on Tuesday morning so if you get a chance between now and then, this is another way to help.
I can't help but comment on what I have seen on the TV and the unintended consequences of the broadcasters looking for sensationalism. You cannot have avoided the stories of looting and people rushing to find blame if you have watched any coverage at all. It is hard to find a very giving mood when you see people in the worst light possible, stealing, taking no responsibility, and caring more about blame than helping.
Personally, I do not think this is the story of Katrina at all. The TV stations want viewers so they show drama not necessarily the whole story.
My thoughts when I think of people along America's Gulf Coast affected by this storm, are about people who worked hard at their jobs and who worked hard everyday trying to create a nice life for their families. In one afternoon, these people lost everything they had worked for and every thing they had of value. These folks did not loot and they did not find a TV camera and complain that 700,000 people could not be fed, clothed and accommodated in a matter of hours, so it must be someone's fault. What they did was gather what they could of their families, helped their neighbors and worked to survive, as they try to figure out what the rest of their lives will be like.
In an amazing government, charity and private combined effort, help poured into the Gulf coast in the last week. This does not make good TV so we don't get to see these unbelievable efforts and the people, like the team at the Red Cross, giving of themselves to try to help. This is boring, repetitive, tiring, hard work- hardly the stuff of great TV.
Please try to look past the dark side of the few people that are getting airtime and consider the vast majority of folks in La., Miss. and Ala. who need help and resources. We can make a difference and through the matching program, we can double the support we provide.
Sorry for the long message and the editorializing, but it was either this or throw a shoe through my TV. My wife thanks you for your patience in reading this e-mail.
Remember the truck in the Food Lion parking lot in Ahoskie for non-perishables of any kind, and please make a thoughtful decision on donating to the Red Cross.
Thanks, Giff"
I think he summed it up pretty good!