I am Kyle's self-indulgence

I'm listening to This American Life on NPR right now, and I can't believe some of the stories I'm hearing. They're interviewing survivors from New Orleans about the days after Hurricane Katrina struck. There are tales of people being lied to by police and security forces about what to do and where to go. One woman claimed that police repeatedly ordered a large group to orderly line up for buses they knew were not coming.

Another woman was visiting New Orleans for a paramedic convention. She and a group of 200 other tourists, after camping in front of a police station, were told there would be buses available at a nearby bridge. The group walked through town to get there, and were joined by about 600 others on they way. When they got to the bridge, not only were there no buses, but armed police from the next town were guarding the bridge, and threatened to shoot anyone who crossed. These officers from the town of Gretna were holding evacuees at gunpoint and kept them from leaving New Orleans. One person reported they even fired into the crowd. When this woman asked a sheriff why they were doing this, he said that they did not want their town to turn into "another Superdome." Eventually, the sheriff agreed to let this white woman and her family through, but they still prevented the rest of the crowd (mostly black) from crossing the bridge.

Tell me we don't have a problem with racism in this country. Tell me that all people are treated equally, regardless of their position in society. Right now, in New Orleans, we are witnessing the real America. For so many years, we have told ourselves that race no longer matters, that America is a land of equal opportunity for all. In the wake of a disaster, we are finally able to see the fears and prejudices that have lain dormant. We are finally seeing the truth.

This American Life's website says the show will not be available online for free until next week, but you can pay to download it now at Audible.com. Otherwise, I recommend you find a local station that will be playing the show sometime this weekend.