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Really?

Dude, I'm all sypathetic and everything about Katrina.  It was bad, it was sad, there are those with PTSD over the whole thing.  It's serious.  I get it.

But really, it was 4 years ago.  Surely folks that suffered and lived through that horrible catastrophe realize that they have to move on and out of FEMA trailers, right?

Apparently not.

This part kills me:
Jenkins, a disabled 53-year-old, is afraid the Federal Emergency Management Agency is scheming to take the flimsy box away. So she keeps a handwritten note taped to the door, asking officials to at least call her cellphone so she can come back and get her stuff.

No kidding.  A cell phone.  Priorities y'all.
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A. Nonymous said…
The anxiety that comes with PTSD is nothing to sneeze at. Your life becomes different and very disjointed. Things from your life prior to the event(s), tend to trigger in differing ways than they used to. The desire to at least have the chance to remove belongings is a fair request.

Hurricane Katrina wasn't just bad. It was really bad. For the great many, there was no insurance to allow them to rebuild their lives. And the absolute joke that is FEMA, only proves they are a bottom-line organization; as opposed to the for-people agency they should be.

PTSD isn't something that goes away just because you want it to. It sits down next to you at every meal. It rides shotgun on every trip. You try to eliminate all the unknown factors that might cause it to "flare up" on you, but in the end there isn't anything you can do. All humans attempt to control their little corner of the world. There isn't anything wrong with such behavior, but to have such a callous opinion of PTSD sufferers borders on the inhumane. What next telling combat veterans to "just get over it"? The government failed these people, and has done little to redeem itself since. We had resources inbound for the tsunami in less than 48 hours, but we couldn't get the same organizational skill together for people in our own backyard.

Use your humanity when you think of these people. Even the bible has the golden rule: Luke 6:31 "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.".
5/7/09, 1:56 PM
eichak said…
Allowing individuals to have time to deal with their PTSD is appropriate. However, there comes a time when giving them time to deal turns into enabling. There comes a time when society requires "normal" behavior from its members. This happens in most mental health issues as well as some physical issues. People only tolerate need for so long. Families only tolerate total dependencey from "able" individuals for so long and then the individuals must fend for themselves. 4 years of support IMHO has turned into enabling and these people need a shove to get on with their own lives.
5/8/09, 12:42 PM
A. Nonymous said…
I can think of a few Vietnam veterans who were either rushed through treatment or outright ignored with regards to their PTSD. I shall pass along your heartfelt humanity to a few vets I know. I am certain that they wont feel like their sacrifice was wasted.
5/9/09, 12:19 AM
BellsforStacy said…
Careful, she's been a military wife for 30 years and probably has a better handle on vet affairs and benefits than you do. We should always be sympathetic to those in need. But individuals who choose to pay cell phone bills before they find permanent housing draw little sympathy from me.

Further, it's easy to critize or look down on the opinions of others from an anon soap box.
5/9/09, 10:43 AM
A. nonymous said…
I have served my country for over 15 years. Currently living with PTSD. Military did nothing for it, and has no plans to do anything for it in the future. My senior officers told me to just "suck it up". There are reasons my sleep is so interrupted. I have seen first hand what PTSD does to people, as well as how it is "handled". I know well the destruction it wreaks on families and friends. I will back down from no fight with regards to how veterans are treated.

I was merely drawing the similarities between the "just get over it" opinions that exist in this country with regards to PTSD.

And sometimes an anonymous "soap box" is the only way to be taken seriously.
5/9/09, 11:48 AM
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