The race rats are back on their rat-races, pointing fingers at President Bush, distracting from the real issues that need addressing in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.

Professional race baiters have already mounted their hobby horses. Those who make a political living by preying on the worse fears of minorities are in danger of creating a backlash among heart-broken Americans who are opening their bosoms, their homes, and their wallets to reach out to the refugees of Hurricane Katrina, who have lost everything. The fact that there are people who still have received no relief three days after the levies failed in New Orleans is an outrage. Race, however, was not the reason for it. Poor planning by all of those involved in formulating a response to Katrina caused this problem, and to introduce race at this time not only inflames the situation it distracts from the actual issues that need addressing.

The news media has rightfully concentrated on the plight of the citizens of New Orleans, particularly those who gathered at the Super Dome and the Convention Center, because tens of thousands are involved in a fight for their lives. We need not forget, though, that there are cities up and down the Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama Gulf Coast who are also waiting for help from governmental agencies. New Orleans is a majority black community: It is logically consistent that the vast majority of those in the inner city of New Orleans who need help are black. In the same vein, the majority of the people in cities like Slidell, Biloxi, and Gulfport are majority white, and that is why the majority of those awaiting help in those places are white. I have heard some say that “if those people were white they would have sent the army in there to be sure they got everything they needed.” Well, those people in Biloxi, Gulfport, Slidell, and many other villages and hamlets that have not even been reached by the cameras of the news media yet are white: Where is their help?

Heads need to roll. FEMA, who is in charge of these sorts of post-disaster operations, dropped the ball on this one. This isn’t the first time the poor people of Louisiana have been snubbed by FEMA. I work in a small community that was struck by a killer tornado which destroyed practically the entire town of Olla, Louisiana. After examining the horrendous destruction, they decided that no government help would be in order because not enough houses had been destroyed. The town didn’t have enough houses in it to meet their standard. Something should be done with FEMA to correct these issues and the current issues. We do not need the distractions of race to deal with this. I have heard many of the professional race baiters blame President Bush for not being prepared to help because he does not care for black people. Is that why Ray Nagin, the black mayor of New Orleans, wasn’t prepared to help these people? Is that why Kathleen Blanco, the democrat governor of Louisiana, wasn’t prepared to help these people? Is that why the majority black police force of New Orleans wasn’t prepared to help these people?

Those left behind while others evacuated were mostly the poor of each of those cities, whether black or white. The issue should not be race but poverty. Some people died simply because they did not have twenty dollars to fill a gas tank. Some have no vehicles at all. It was stupid not to have a plan to evacuate the poor, black people of New Orleans, a city surrounded by levies built only to sustain flood waters up to a Category 3 hurricane. But it was also stupid not to have a plan to evacuate the poor, white people of Slidell, Biloxi, and Gulfport.

Honestly, the scope of this hurricane was beyond anything our government has ever seen. In the past, FEMA and other institutions have dealt with a single city, struck by a hurricane or ravaged by a tornado, where immediate help could be delivered by quick and easy access to the limited field of action. Most times, it isn’t even an entire city but a neighborhood or two where all that is needed is a chainsaw to gain access to those in distress. This is different: A major American city is destroyed and must be evacuated. The size of the city of New Orleans and its surrounding suburbs is daunting. There are no roads for easy access. Water covers everything. Add to that the fact that the resources must be shared with other entire cities all along the Gulf Coast, expanding to include an area stretching through Louisiana and Mississippi all the way to Alabama. Reasonable people can imagine how the logistics of such an operation would make this situation different than any other in American History. Even 9-11 was limited to just a relatively tiny area compared to the vast expanse of this tragedy. It is a shame that finger-pointing and race baiting have become the headlines while there are still desperate people clinging to roof-tops awaiting heroic first responders to get to them in time.

I will not let these purveyors of fear and suspicion ruin the beauty and unity I see in the actions of the American people in the wake of this disaster. You want proof that race is not an issue here? Look at the record amounts of money pouring into the Red Cross and other private and public organizations reaching out to the victims of Katrina. Witness the mobilization of the faith-based community which is opening up churches and homes to take in the refugees. Visit the thousands of make-shift community relief centers set up in every city, small and large, of Louisiana and the open doors of the surrounding states.

Help should already be there for all of the poor people of the stricken region. The president, as well as the governors and mayors, will have to answer for the failures of governmental agencies in the Katrina aftermath. But also, Rapper Kayne West, the Congressional Black Caucus, Al Sharpton, Jesse Jackson, and democrat political opportunist who insist on attacking President Bush can ask themselves this question: Why did it take you so long to help these people? Bush was at least able to get to New Orleans before you could get to a camera to demagogue the issue. Let’s pray for the victims of this unprecedented tragedy, and let’s pray that the negative attitudes of the few do not diminish the giving nature of the vast majority of Americans.