In Alabama we are hurting

[Hyper_Eye]

I posted this in response to a video post but I wanted to repost it here because I feel more people should see it. After reading more comments I feel quite dissapointed in DU which is a community I have felt a part of for many years. I guess I am mostly hoping to see responses from the good people here on DU that make this site great.

Here is the post I made:

"The Gov. asked for federal assistance the night of the storm and Obama approved it quickly. FEMA is here. They are helping. The President came. People were grateful for his attention. I can tell you I haven't heard one word about politics. Many people are dead. Many many homes are leveled and seeing them with my own eyes was heart wrenching. Right now my family and I are just glad to be alive and have a home. We have already cleaned up the mess around our home but there are many who aren't so lucky. Politics will heat up here again but there is no place for it ATM. We are neighbors first and that is what we need right now.

In Madison Co. we have been completely without power since Wednesday and we probably won't get any until Tuesday. We are cookng everything we have in grills so it wont spoil.

Just rememberber that there are a lot of people out here trying hard year after year to elect good representatives. It is hard for us but true libreral progresses, like myself, do exist here and we are doing the best we can. Regardless of the politics of this State I would hope DU would feel about this disaster the same they do about any other. Many good people died and when that happens DU cares!

Cell phone service is bad and data is very slow so hopefully this will post. Hopefully things will be a lot better on Tuesday."

[malaise]

1. DUers support the vast majority of the people of Alabama

I think you're confusing our demand for help for all of you with the breathtaking hypocrisy of ReTHUG Southern governors who suddenly remember the role of government when it suits them.

:grouphug:

[MineralMan]

2. Please know that most DUers are very concerned with what has

happened. Only a few are showing their insensitivity by bringing politics to this disaster. They're best ignored.

[Frances]

3. I have been thinking of all of you

My college roommate's son and family live in Tuscaloosa. I have been waiting to talk to her because I'm sure she is overwhelmed at the moment.

I am so sorry about your suffering.

[Pacifist Patriot]

4. A couple of the comments have felt like a punch in the gut, but...

I've tried to keep them in perspective and realize they are really a small minority of posts and come from a place of disgust with Republican policies and influence.

I'm sitting here in shock. I lived in Huntsville from 1979 - 1982. I attended Mt. Gap Elementary/Middle School and would have gone to Grissom High if we hadn't moved to Georgia. I'm still awaiting word on an old family friend to see how they are doing.

The only tornado I've experienced personally was when I lived in Huntsville. It hopped over our street (my sister and I trembling in our cement closet on the ground floor while our parents were at work) and walloped some neighbors. Freaky stuff and I've had a more than healthy respect for the beasts ever since.

When I was a junior in high school my best friend was a year older than me. I remember touring Tuscaloosa when she was considering attending the University of Alabama. I can't picture it in such devastation.

Personally, I don't care what political views someone holds. Suffering is suffering.

While there is nothing I can do to be of assistance in person, the people of Alabama, all the people of Alabama, are in my hopes and good thoughts.

Be well!

[CurtEastPoint]

5. How we [fellow southerners] can help you...

Red Cross takes donations, of course, at their website but I see that they have in-person donations being accepted at all PUBLIX stores and REGIONS BANKS.

[TomClash]

6. In spite of . . .

. . . Richard Shelby and other Alabama politicos trashing NYC, especially after 9/11, Alabama must get all of the assistance that can be provided as quickly as possible. I hope power is restored asap.

[asjr]

7. I used to live in Huntsville and still

have friends there. My 81 year-old friend has no power except for her landline phone. She is a plucky person and will survive but it is difficult I know. We are all with you.

[LiberalLoner]

8. I apologize for the hurtful posts you've seen here. I've kept you all in my

prayers since this happened and I am shocked and horrified at the rising death toll and the photos of utter devastation. Even for people who didn't die or get hurt, if they lost their home and all their possessions, that's a horrible loss more than most people can imagine. I lived in a house about a decade ago that burned down due to a lightning strike (we were out of town which was lucky, otherwise we might have been trapped in the fire) and it was tough to not have all the old photos anymore, not have the afghans crocheted by my mother and sister and grandmother. My heart truly goes out to you and all the people of Alabama who have been hit with this horrible devastation.

[wellstone dem]

9. I've been thinking about my neighbors in Alabama

so much. Here in Minnesota we will face the power of tornadoes later in the season, but they will come. The absence of warning makes the devastation impossible to avoid. Blessings on those who need so much right now.

[Botany]

10. i am so sorry

this has nothing to do w/ politics and everything to do w/ being human
please post the name of a charity that is helping and i will send them $25.00

i wish you and EVERYBODY who was hurt by the storms well.

[Coyote_Bandit]

11. I'm a Red State Dem from Tornado Alley

Don't let the bastards get you down.

You're right this kind of devastation isn't about politics - it's about rebuilindg lives and families and communities that have been destroyed.

Sending warm thoughts and prayers your way. Along with a few $$$ donated to a local relief agency that is there to assist.

:hug:

[seabeyond]

12. people are people hyper. compassion for pain and loss has nothing to do with

location or political affiliation.

i am glad you are safe. sad you experienced such a huge disaster. the best to you

* i just posted this on ripleys post. i am now posting on yours. i am totally unaware that anyone would deny compassion for the pain and loss and hardship du to anything political. or it being the south. it is sounding like others are. i am not interested in that behavior. callus and unworthy of us as a people

[cordelia]

13. Hyper, glad you're safe. ALL people in Alabama

and elsewhere have my best wishes for a full and rapid recovery.

Condolences to all who have suffered losses in this catastrophe.

[Ripley]

14. Glad You survived Hyper_Eye

Never seen such horror on the radar maps that afternoon. Watched 3 large violent tornadoes coming right at Tuscaloosa at one point.

Take care.

[redwitch]

15. I am so sorry you are having such hard times.

The videos of the tornadoes are frightening, I can't imagine what it feels like to live in the devastation. The photographs are heartbreaking!

[myrna minx]

16. My heart goes out to all of you.

:grouphug:

[dixiegrrrrl]

17. I have seen too many times people here falling into the very mindset

they blame Regressives for.
TPTB that are stirring this shit pot must be very pleased how well keeping us divided as a nation is working.
Finding common ground takes a little bit more effort and thinking than does
knee jerk reactionary name calling, to be sure.

Blue Dems living in red states have enough problems without getting bashed by "our" side.
That is, of course, assuming those here doing the bashing ARE on "our" side.

I really do not give a rat's ass about the religious/political/economic/racial background of
any of the 258 people so far who have been listed as killed in our state alone,
or of the total 350 people who died in the 170 tornadoes that hit 21 states this week.

I do know whole towns were scrubbed from the earth,
and I do know many many of the people are much poorer than I am,
so rebuilding will be a major hardship. For a long long time.

[Rowdyboy]

18. What she said!

Times 100.

The tornado that leveled Smithville Mississippi didn't care how any of its victims voted in the last election.

[tnlefty]

31. I knew something bad blew through MS, but I was a little

preoccupied Wed. as the warnings started here around 9 a.m. and it was basically all day and into the night. Pleasant Grove, AL was decimated, there are so many areas around me that are damaged, severely damaged or decimated that it's overwhelming and I'll admit as of yesterday, trying to distract myself from it a little bit.

Not for long as there is much clean up to be done, but as the shock wears off, I need little breaks now and then, and I suppose others are that way.

I was still so stunned Thursday that even though I KNEW what was blowing around was powerful and very destructive, I couldn't wrap my head around finding something in my yard from Ft. Payne, AL. Rainsville, AL is another small community that was hard hit, and folks are finding items from there, too.

A local news channel, wrcb, has a report that Bradley Co., TN was hit by an EF4 and I know from what my husband has told me, that it's really bad there.

I need another break.

edited to add: Then there are stories like this http://www.wrcbtv.com/Global/story.asp?S=14546547 and I have to focus on something else.

[blondeatlast]

29. From the future Alabama 1957 (Arizona), thank you, DG. Somebody's sibling, SO, parent,

or child died today and when that happens I stop caring for whom they voted.

My heart and a meager donation are headed East today--if I could offer my hands, I would. I can offer my arms electronically: :hug:

[Withywindle]

36. +10,000

I just want to see this repeated.

Somebody's sibling, SO, parent, or child died today and when that happens I stop caring for whom they voted.


:thumbsup:

[duhneece]

19. Sending prayers, good vibes, wishes for comfort

for all of my Alabama brothers and sisters (especially liberals and progressives...ooops, sorry God for asking for preferential treatment).

My heart is with you ...I wish I had money that I could send to help, but know that I'm sending all I can.

Keep your head up and know I am with you.

[barbtries]

20. it did post.

i feel nothing but compassion for the people of AL and indeed all of the victims of these deadly storms. i'm in NC and 4 little children died not far from my home. the disasters are spread far and wide but AL has had the worst of it no doubt.

can't we all just get along? aren't we all just human beans on this planet together whether we want to be or not?

[bluestate10]

21. I contributed to the Red Cross today. I advise everyone that can to contribute.

At the end of the day, it was only money to me. But that money is needed and will do more good than I could have gotten out of it. If you don't want to give to the Red Cross for tornado relief, another excellent choice is Mercy Corps.

[Keith Bee]

22. K&R

This is a good post, and more people should read it.

[klook]

23. I used to live in Tuscaloosa

and am very familiar with a lot of the areas that have been devastated.

I've met a lot of really good people throughout West Alabama in my lifetime. I am stunned by this disaster and so anxious for you all.

Hang in there.

I have sent $$ to the Red Cross and am also contributing to the West Alabama Food Bank.

Hang in there, all of y'all.

[TygrBright]

24. Please know that our thoughts and prayers are with ALL of the people of AL, and GA, and TN and VA...

...who have been devastated by the storms.

I have a close friend in the storm zone; fortunately she and her family are okay although their next-door neighbor had a pin oak land on their attached garage which has probably damaged the house as well. They are without power and water, and will be for some days. She is deeply concerned for a friend elsewhere in the storm zone who is partially paralyzed and has been out of touch since Thursday. She's keeping me updated via short texts from her cell phone.

The neighbors on their street are all working together, pulling debris to the street for pickup, helping out with food, etc. Those who have a generator or power are helping others with charging batteries, emergency needs, communications, etc.

When you and your neighbors are hurting from something like this, politics and ideology become the last things on your priority list. And that is as it should be. It's time to put aside and just help. Not make snarky jokes about bootstraps or how much better one kind of help is than another kind. ALL help is needed--from neighbors lending a hand all the way up to FEMA and everything in between, including the Red Cross and churches and people all across the country donating to emergency services and giving blood and helping out however they can.

We are all neighbors, we are all keepers of our brothers and sisters, regardless of ideology or accent or color of skin or sexual orientation. When my neighbors in Alabama are hurting I am hurting, America is hurting. That's what it's all about. I hope this becomes vividly clear over the coming days and weeks.

I'm going to make a prediction: I bet that as cleanup starts in earnest, and it is safe for volunteers to start working in the worst-hit areas, you are going to see a lot of people traveling from Louisiana to help out. Because they know, intimately and vividly, how devastating it is to lose everything all at once. They'll be there for you because they KNOW. Hopefully the rest of us will be there for you, too.

Stay safe, keep in touch, let us know if anything is needed.

encouragingly,
Bright

[juajen]

50. I didn't know you were from Louisiana. You are so right, we know devastation and hunger, and

we have some really great compassionate people here. Louisiana gets an undeserved bad name from so many people.

[TygrBright]

56. I'm not a Louisianan, although I have cajun relatives.

But I have spent time there and I know how strong the sense of community and compassion is.

And it is natural when you have survived a terrible disaster to turn that community and compassion to others undergoing the kind of misery that you've survived.

Every state in America has many, many, wonderful people who are intelligent, caring, and thoughtful. And every state in America has some real assholes. I'm rather tired of people making assumptions that they know about everyone in a state based on some well-publicized few.

equably,
Bright

[Uncle Joe]

25. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Hyper_Eye.

[Snoutport]

26. Our (VERY) Republican family is in Harvest...and we love 'em even though they don't vote the way we

like. Same as all our Southern brethren. :0)

We'll make a red cross donation this week.

[DontTreadOnMe]

27. Hang in there

Help in on the way. Post here on DU if your need anything!

[Joey Liberal]

28. I'm a Lib in the reddest of the red states

No hate for Alabama when something like this happens. And just like Alabama, there are some Dems in Oklahoma too. Praying for you and everyone in that state.

[Taverner]

30. What can we do?

I sit and watch TV and I want to do something, anything...

This is a tragedy on par with the Gulf Oil Spill, Katrina and the floods that visited the midwest a while back

[yellerpup]

32. My heart is with you.

I've helped friends sort through tornado wreckage of their homes in Oklahoma and the feeling of it is overwhelming. Sorry you are suffering now, but so glad that you survived. Do you have an idea of how we can help? In the meantime, take good care of yourself. Know that you are not forgotten.

[RebelOne]

33. Sorry for what has happened to you.

I am in Georgia just down the road from Cartersville, a hard-hit area in Bartow County. There was a lot of devastation there. Luckily, the tornado skipped over my county. But I was freaking out because the tornado sirens were blasting. That is scary enough, but when you are hit, I sure it is terrifying. Fortunately, you did not have any heavy damage.

[MasonJar]

34. How can we help? I am in Kentucky and I know how devastating

tornadoes can be. We were lucky this round. Next week it may be we. We have basements here. Do y'all? They are certainly live savers in many cases.

[Firebrand Gary]

35. California stands with you Alabama.

Everywhere I go, people are talking about what is taking place in the South. Our hearts are broken, we are standing with you.

[proud patriot]

37. +1

Californian here sending my prayers

[freshwest]

38. We don't need place of origin hatred breaking the hearts and spirits of progressives in red states.

We need to lift you and encourage you. All our best to you and your neighbors in this traumatic time. No region is immune to disaster.

:hi: :fistbump: :hug: :loveya:

[tavalon]

39. I saw the video and was horrified

It was the middle of my work night and I didn't write anything back. I am so sorry for your fellow Alabamans, and am glad you have made it through relatively unscathed. I'm very sorry my fellow DUers made the mistake of mixing the tragedy with Republican hypocrisy.

[pinstikfartherin]

40. I see many posts that want to know how to help us...

Donate to the Red Cross on behalf of tornado relief.

Visit http://www.facebook.com/pages/Toomers-for-Tuscaloosa/127019264041188
Toomers for Tuscaloosa is a facebook group that is updating constantly on ways to help, places around our state and in other states that are taking donations, groups coming in to help, etc. People from other states can contact them and they can try to connect you with other groups near you to donate supplies. They are on the ball with getting information out and connecting people.

My mom's home was heavily damaged by trees downed due to the tornado that hit Eclectic, Santuck, and Dadeville. Luckily she is alright. One of my high school classmates was killed in that tornado. One of my best friends and another close friends cousin were in the Tuscaloosa tornado and luckily survived. It is horrible here and the stories are heartbreaking. Everywhere you go people are talking about how they know someone effected, how they are helping out. Cities and towns are coming together to help out. Auburn football team members and staff members traveled to help out. The way everyone is coming together to help those in need is truly overwhelming and gives you hope. Politics does not matter right now. Those who have a heart and were effected put these differences aside to do what needs to be done. My republican family had nothing but gratitude for the President visiting so soon. I guess from the outside looking in you just cannot understand what is happening here.

[klook]

42. Toomers for Tuscaloosa - very cool!

Thanks for posting that link. This is a great resource, and very encouraging.

So sorry for all the misery everybody is going through, and I hope you're getting the assistance you need.

[lunatica]

41. ((((((( Hyper_Eye and Alabama )))))))))

I'm so sorry to see such devastation!

[teabaghater]

43. Jeez,

God must not be on the "Bible Belt's" side. What would Falwell say?

[coalition_unwilling]

44. Students, blacks and the poor have all been disproportionately

affected by these tornadoes. Your post smacks of Pat Robertson's initial take on 9-11 that God was punishing New York City for its tolerance of homosexuality. I hope you will retract it.

[nolabear]

45. My Alabama-born heart goes out to you all, Hyper Eye.

I never really live there except for visiting grandparents, but I was born in Sylacauga and it was my mother's home. I know the people there are just people, and y'all have been through hell. I hope you get all you need, monetarily and emotionally, to get through this.

[denbot]

46. Vibes for all of Bama

We are one, including the ones we don't agree with..

[Hyper_Eye]

47. Thank you for all the responses.

Just for clarification, in case there was any confusion, my home was not struck by a tornado. No tornados touched down around my home. We are very fortunate as tornados tore houses apart in neighborhoods nearby. The day after the storms we saw clearly the destruction that had been done and saw families staring at piles of rubble that were their houses, shelter, and comfort the day before. It was also obvious that not everyone could have made it out of those homes. It was hard to see. At my home there was an apparent downdraft that tore some large branches from our trees. My wife and children ran as they thought a tornado was approaching. The site and sound of trees suddenly bending and branches ripping away scared them really bad. Those branches were what we were cleaning up the next day.

There is still no electricity and the estimates have been revised. We are hearing it could be Friday before we have power. We will have to empty our fridge before then. I already feel that we should start throwing things away more readily. Luckily nearby towns do have electricity back on and we can go there to eat if we have to. In the meantime we are spending time with neighbors and feeding anyone who happens to be out and hungry. We are all going through this together. But again I want to stress. We are alive, our home is intact, and we are going to be just fine. I feel so fortunate and I'm very sad for those that didn't make it. It could have happened to any of us. Those twisters land and move indiscriminately. I just got lucky and they didn't. We are going through this together and we feel a tremendous sense of loss as a community.

To the people who asked what they can do, some mentioned it already and they were exactly right, donate to the Red Cross. That assistance will get here and be used here. I also want everyone here to know that FEMA is here and they were on the radio giving out information, taking calls, and answering questions. The response has been tremendous.

Finally, the guys at 102.1 WDRM deseve a medal. What they have done is incredible and their efforts have been tireless. These guys have managed so much information, taken so many phone calls, and helped so many people. It is simply incredible. Go on their Facebook page and just let them know that what they are doing is important and greatly appreciated.

Thank you everyone. Have a goodnight. My wife has been boiling water on the grill in the mornIng so I can wake up to hot coffee. I'm looking forward to that and sharing some with the neighbors again tomorrow. She has been awesome as always.

[rhett o rick]

48. My best for all in Alabama. nm

[grahamhgreen]

49. Obama should bring all the national guard back now.

[JDPriestly]

51. My sympathies to the people in Alabama.

[onestepforward]

52. Sending my love and care to all folks affected

All of you are deeply in my thoughts

:grouphug:

[Kurovski]

53. K&R & best of luck to you and yours.

:hug:

[Daphne08]

54. Sending my love to Alabama. I lived in Tuscaloosa for

a year and my oldest son was born at Druid City Hospital.

It was a very friendly city, and I have many good memories of Tuscaloosa.

[fasttense]

55. There but for the grace of God go I.

A Tornado touch down here in the mountains of East TN about 10 miles from us. A very rare occurrence.

All my prayers go out to the people who are suffering through out the country.