Hurricane Sandy - Part 2

The sign should have read "THUMP"

Most people already know more than me, and probably a lot more then they want to know about Hurricane Sandy.  I haven’t kept in touch as much after escaping New York; out of sight, out of mind. In a way, I feel guilty for escaping, leaving others stranded with their broken homes - water damaged, wind damaged and or fire damaged by the century’s worst act of nature on the East Coast.

The damage done to me from the storm was trivial by comparison, and is barely worth mentioning.  My cruise ship was not allowed to dock in New York and we had to scramble to get to the next port by driving almost 800 miles from Ronkonkoma, Long Island where we picked up the car to Charleston, South Carolina.  We did it in a 24-hour period.  Actually, I was less angry with Sandy than I was with Crystal Cruise’s staff who were oblivious to the many calls I made warning them that there was no way that the ship would be allowed to dock and to insist on some reasonable plan before the 11^th hour.  That did not happen and there were many horror stories from folks much less resourceful than myself regarding their ordeal.  Anyway, I am writing this from the ship comfortably docked in Key West on my way to the Panama Canal and hopefully my worst discomfort has ended. 

I suppose no one realized how catastrophic the hurricane’s damage would or could be.  Certainly I have my own stories with hurricanes and bad weather living in Hawaii for 35 years but I have witnessed no act of nature that has hammered the earth with this degree of devastation.  People on the outside cannot possibly understand what hundreds of thousands of people are going through at this moment.  Power still out, houses under water, decreasing temperatures at night, block long lines at the pump, remaining food in the refrigerator spoiled, looters taking advantage of the situation adding insult to injury.  Who the hell are these looters?  Just people down the block that have also lost power and sitting in flooded living rooms just like the houses they are looting????

We can never be prepared for such acts of nature.  We do not live our lives worrying about every conceivable catastrophe.  But we are a society that has learned to take so MUCH for granted that this hurricane exposed our vulnerabilities and how dependent we are indeed on civil engineered based artificially crafted technology…..electricity, water, sewage disposal, proper water drainage, etc. Ironically, the technologies that have been considered less dependable in the past like cell phone and other wireless services were the ones that remained intact, at least to some variable extent.

But there are deeply seated societal norms that predisposed to the misery of these people.  Not attempting to be all-inclusive, you can add points to strengthen my argument.  I will just begin one argument.

We live in an increasingly electronic world dependent upon cell phones, internet, remote control devices but let’s not forget cars, garage openers, elevators, TV’s, computers, lights, toasters, refrigerators, electric toothbrushes, etc.  Everything has been made to reduce the effort of living; too much in my view.  There isn’t one function of life that has been unaffected by modern technology; we have taken them ALL for granted.  This has created the couch potato mentality where doing less is more, and those with the most money and resources can make their lives as physically effortless as their dollars will extend.  If it can’t be done with a plug, you can hire someone to do it. 

Now, I don’t just want to say this; I want you to think of the last time that utility services has let you down even for a day and remember how LOST and HELPLESS you felt.  People cannot conceive of living without basic elements.  But this is exactly what these folks are being faced with at this exact moment. In contrast, if this Hurricane had occurred in a remote island that lacked most of these comforts and amenities, the potential for adaptation would have been much different indeed!

What I’m suggesting is that Hurricane Sandy has created more than physical devastation.  It has created greater mental and physical human suffering beyond what would have been expected; these have their roots in centuries of social and socioeconomic development.  And being in New York does not help.  New Yorkers are vocal and demanding, some are downright rude, some obnoxious, and one neighbor may be a life savor while the next one might be unsympathetic and mean spirited.  So many different variables are involved in how east coasters cope as compared to say a homogeneous community of Japanese - as when they experienced the ravages of last year’s earthquake and tsunami.  The community banned together in ways that would be unlikely for the East Coast.  Indeed, did anyone hear of any looting occurring in the aftermath in Japan?  Doubt it!

I invite others to comment.  I believe those severely affected individuals who survive the ravages of Hurricane Sandy will do so as permanently changed humans.  It remains to be seen whether the change will be for the better or for the worse.