Progressive Minds

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2005/8/31

The Least Among Us

@ 08:17 PM (51 months, 13 days ago)

Hurricane Katrina has disproportionately affected the poor in New Orleans.  One-third of New Orleans' residents live below the poverty line.  More than 700,000 reside in mobile homes, many of them African-American, and unable to afford transportation out of the city in advance of the hurricane.

http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/HurricaneKatrina/story?id=1081329&page=1&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20050901/ts_nm/bt_weather_katrina_poverty_dc

Ring wing radio has been filled with the conservative "you're own your own" crowd who say these people chose not to evacuate, and the government is under no obligation to help.

Perhaps they forgot Matthew 25:40 "...Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

 

Comment(s) »

  1. Maybe they forgot the Biblical principle that if you want to eat you have to work.

    Comment by — 2005/09/01 @ 10:36 PM — (Reply)

  2. I think your comments are totally racist. Are you implying that African-Americans do not work? Because they do, thank you.

    Have you ever heard of the term "the working poor?" You have many working poor in today's society, those who work 2, or maybe even 3 jobs, and yet still can't make it above the poverty line.

    And what about those who are too sick to work? And the elderly who have long since been retired, and are on fixed incomes? Do you expect a sickly 90-year old to work?

    Comment by Shalana— 2005/09/02 @ 08:26 PM — (Reply)

  3. I am all for helping the poor and elderly and those too sick or old to work.
    Jesus said the poor you will always have with you. The tragedy in the Gulf Coast is neither a black or white issue, it's an American one.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2005/09/03 @ 06:21 AM — (Reply)

  4. You are absolutely right. Christ did say that "the poor you will always have with you." And I believe that is why he also said Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."

    That was his admonishment to us, to do the right thing by the least among us, by the poor that we will always have among us.

    And it is the poor, it is exactly those people who Christ admonished us about, that have been impacted by Hurricane Katrina. You can't ignore that reality.

    Comment by Shalana— 2005/09/03 @ 07:19 AM — (Reply)

  5. No you can't ignote the reality. People are hurting. But there is certainly enough blame to go around...not just the federal government but the local and state as well. The environmentalists have lobbied several past presidencies and state government's to prevent the levies from being rebuilt. There was also the issue of confiscating people's property for rebuilding them, not to mention the cost. So it wasn't a popular political decision on anybody's part (republican or democrat)

    The verse that the other commenter was referring to is 2Thess. 3:10 "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat." I am not sure what he meant about it but thought you might be interested in where it can be found.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2005/09/03 @ 08:19 AM — (Reply)

  6. I still cannot understand why you are quoting the scriputre "For even when we were with you, we commanded you this: If anyone will not work, neither shall he eat."

    What relevance does that have in this situation? It seems racist to me, because you seem to be implying that you don't think African-Americans (the ones affected the most by the hurricane and who could not afford to leave) don't work.

    Comment by Shalana— 2005/09/03 @ 08:21 PM — (Reply)

  7. I did not write the comment. I was simply trying to show you where it was in the scripture. I do not find it relevant either.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2005/09/04 @ 07:43 AM — (Reply)

  8. Well if you did not find that particular scripture relevant in this case, why did you repeat it? Just because someone else might have used it as a reference point in something they wrote, doesn't mean you have to repeat it, if you feel it doesn't have relevance to what we were discussing here.

    When you repeated that scripture here, it led me to believe that you don't think African-Americans work.

    Comment by Shalana— 2005/09/04 @ 07:26 PM — (Reply)

  9. Shalana,
    NO it's not that at all, I merely wanted to point out where it could be found so that a reference could be given. Like any argument or discussion it's good to have a set of references rather than just an opinion. I merely pointed out the reference so you might see where the commenter was coming from. NOT as a point of relevance. There are many scriptures relevant here but that one is not.

    Comment by Elmers Brother— 2005/09/05 @ 09:50 AM — (Reply)

  10. thanks

    Comment by ceza— 2007/04/29 @ 08:18 PM — (Reply)

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