Tilted Forum Project Discussion Community - View Single Post - The mayor of New Orleans is coming unglued... NOW with a poll!!

analog · 09-07-2005, 02:07 AM

Regarding the "sending police on vacation, and to las vegas" bit:

They'd had 2 suicides, one being a high-profile spokesperson. They'd had 200+ officers leave from the stress. In addition to the police force are all the EMS workers. All those that stayed, worked about 20 hours a day, every day, seeing nothing but dead bodies- stranded, hungry, thirsty people they can't help- people roaming the city with guns, fires, countless wounded, sick, dying people, in endless streams. These people are traumatized by their experience. We give those in armed services our respect and reverence, and our help, from trauma disorders. I think what these people have been through, based on their usual tasks and job responsibilities, has been a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. There's only so much a person can take, even a professional, before the mind and the body start to wind down from stress, lack of sleep, and the relentless horror.

Being critical of decisions in an orderly and well-articulated argument is one thing...

...being a crass, sarcastic jackass about police officers and other EMS workers being "sent on vacation" is a bit much.

They're there to try and forget the hundreds, maybe thousands of people they've seen dead or dying, those they couldn't save, and the destruction of their own city, their own homes. As it is, most of these people risk their lives and push the limits of their human workload on a regular basis as it is, and they're not getting rich doing so. But on the whole, they are proud to do it. After what they've been through, you're going to shit on all of them by bitching about a 5-day rest? It did mention that counseling was part of it, btw, and most of them will need some form of it, even if it's second-hand from a friend, colleague, or maybe just a stranger and fellow victim.

The military has taken over policing, and there are plenty of medical resources at their disposal. To this point, there is an article on cnn.com that had some NOLA official saying they had plenty of medical personnel, but only 10 boats, and that was slowing their rescues. They have the help they need. At some point, you have to rotate exhausted people out and let fresh people in to the core. Pretty much no one can carry on indefinitely.

09-07-2005, 02:07 AM	#71 (permalink)
analog Banned	Regarding the "sending police on vacation, and to las vegas" bit: They'd had 2 suicides, one being a high-profile spokesperson. They'd had 200+ officers leave from the stress. In addition to the police force are all the EMS workers. All those that stayed, worked about 20 hours a day, every day, seeing nothing but dead bodies- stranded, hungry, thirsty people they can't help- people roaming the city with guns, fires, countless wounded, sick, dying people, in endless streams. These people are traumatized by their experience. We give those in armed services our respect and reverence, and our help, from trauma disorders. I think what these people have been through, based on their usual tasks and job responsibilities, has been a nightmare of unimaginable proportions. There's only so much a person can take, even a professional, before the mind and the body start to wind down from stress, lack of sleep, and the relentless horror. Being critical of decisions in an orderly and well-articulated argument is one thing... ...being a crass, sarcastic jackass about police officers and other EMS workers being "sent on vacation" is a bit much. They're there to try and forget the hundreds, maybe thousands of people they've seen dead or dying, those they couldn't save, and the destruction of their own city, their own homes. As it is, most of these people risk their lives and push the limits of their human workload on a regular basis as it is, and they're not getting rich doing so. But on the whole, they are proud to do it. After what they've been through, you're going to shit on all of them by bitching about a 5-day rest? It did mention that counseling was part of it, btw, and most of them will need some form of it, even if it's second-hand from a friend, colleague, or maybe just a stranger and fellow victim. The military has taken over policing, and there are plenty of medical resources at their disposal. To this point, there is an article on cnn.com that had some NOLA official saying they had plenty of medical personnel, but only 10 boats, and that was slowing their rescues. They have the help they need. At some point, you have to rotate exhausted people out and let fresh people in to the core. Pretty much no one can carry on indefinitely.