Mexico takes the High Road Again

I worked as a Cat Adj for Allstate when Katrina hit so I vividly remember when Mexico sent a convoy of military trucks to the US to provide food, shelter and medical assistance to the victims of Katrina. Once again with Hurricane Harvey Mexico has stepped up to the plate despite all. So proud of Mexico. A snapshot of Human Dignity.
https://www.dallasnews.com/news/weather/2017/08/27/mexico-offers-help-harvey-soaked-texas

There are no finer people in the world than the Mexican people. None.

Preachin to the choir...

Trailrunner wrote:There are no finer people in the world than the Mexican people. None.

This is what I think about you post.......



.......but I am prejudiced, biased, and highly opinionated........

kiko, they had better get that aid up there before they build the wall.
Maybe Trump will change his mind and use those billions for the wall, to rebuild Houston

Despite Trailrunner's assertion, Bubba prefers the French. While they may not be very nice, they provide good wine.

Bubba2shoes wrote:Despite Trailrunner's assertion,  Bubba prefers the French.  While they may not be very nice, they provide good wine.

Knowing your situation, that statement could be called "living dangerously",

I haven't seen credit given to the Mexicans helping on t.v., but that is no surprise.

There was some nice things said about the Mexican offer of assistance by the Texas State Governor last night during a CNN broadcast.

Yeah.As soon as the Mexicans dig the Texas morons out of their
new-found lake they are on the first train to the nearest border.

That's really not funny. My friend there lost 2 cars and there's over 2' of water in her new house.

No, it's not funny. It's tragic.
It's tragic that people build where they have no business building. It's tragic that people build dwellings, or plop down manufactured homes that aren't meant to withstand the area storms. It's tragic that they don't have or can't afford insurance for their poor decisions. It's tragic that people welcome Texas' lack of regulations and then expect the federal government to cover their asses.

CanuckBob wrote:

Trailrunner wrote:There are no finer people in the world than the Mexican people. None.

Agreed. The irony is that it is also home to a small group of the meanest, nastiest, inhumane and corrupt SOB's too (organized crime and some government officials).

Isn't that just about normal for the human race? Some of the nicest, most generous folks I've met have been from many places on the planet well known for their narrow minded, greedy, utterly conscience-free elected officials and business people. I'm just grateful for the others.

I read an article yesterday about how "Texans love their Freedom" so much that the powers that be paid little attention to permitting uses of land, with the sad result of flooding now, much worse than it would have been with some land use foresight.

lunateak wrote:No, it's not funny. It's tragic.
It's tragic that people build where they have no business building. It's tragic that people build dwellings, or plop down manufactured homes that aren't meant to withstand the area storms. It's tragic that they don't have or can't afford insurance for their poor decisions. It's tragic that people welcome Texas' lack of regulations and then expect the federal government to cover their asses.

Add to that, global climate change with more and more of this kind of weather on the way - but wait, there is no such thing, it's a myth so we will not acknowledge, prepare, or change our lifestyles in any way for it and we'll be surprised everytime!

Yeah, why did they ever allow anything to be rebuilt in San Francisco with all the earthquakes? What about Los Angeles with the earthquake faults there as well as frequent forest fires that destroy a ton of homes every time? And look at all those dumb people that got hit with Sandy on the NE coast? Why did they rebuild New Orleans? What about tornadoes? Missouri and Oklahoma and parts of the south are hit with them all the time. Hell, the whole damned country shouldn't be built on.

Acting like all Texans are stupid rednecks is just as prejudicial as saying all Mexicans are rapists and thieves. There is NO difference. My friends live in Texas after moving from St. Eustatius in the Caribbean because he works for an oil company. Stupid him.

And the other friend I have in Port Aransas who lived here before moving there has a manufactured home and guess what? It made it through just fine.

I lost everything in a hurricane in 1995 on St. Thomas. Guess what I took from the US government? Nothing. I know how horrible these things are and it's hard for me to look at the photos in Texas. I would hope that nobody here ever has to go through anything like that but my faith in humanity is sure back after seeing all the rescue efforts and the kindness of people helping people they don't even know plus rescuing all the animals. And a lot of them are some of the rednecks that are made fun of here by a few sophisticates. This is the country I grew up in and this is why I can't put it down no matter how goofy some of the leaders are. Those folks are showing the values I grew up with. Does my heart good. And they're helping anyone who needs it, black, white or Asian.

2 to 1 odds Trump will/would say turn them back at the border.

It would not surprise me if some of the U.S. border patrol didn't get the message and let them through.

And don't let Trump say this was just offered for P.R. because when it was done before, there was no real problem w/Mexico.

When people are in need, honest and heartfelt aid is always appreciated by the people who need it, but maybe not the government that cares only for itself -- usually. Let's see how Trump spins this one.

The fact that good, smart people live in Texas does not change the fact that many of them live where homes should not have been built. Many of them want government out of their business until disaster strikes. Not all of them, but some of them. The fact that your friend's manufactured home appears to be just fine (they won't get near it for weeks yet) doesn't mean it is or change the fact that some of their neighbors' homes were destroyed. It is a fact that the damage in Texas has been predicted for years due to lack of zoning, regulations, and the free market policies so many Texans voted for and enjoyed. People are now caught up in the unintended consequences of all their freedom. That does not diminish the tragedy and loss of property and life. It is just reality.

Some of the comments on this thread are heartless. We should stop passing judgement on the decisions people make about where they will settle their lives. None of us know what circumstances led to that.

Right now there are still people in harm's way and I am thankful for any help that anyone, including Mexico, are willing to provide. If you have nothing to add to help, then move along to another thread. Cari Bean, I hope that your friend finds help to get evacuated from her situation.

The criticism comes from knowingly building without commonly accepted building codes and standards. If you look at places like San Francisco and Mexico City, they strengthened their building codes to lessen the damage from future disasters.

Unfortunately, the people who are being hurt the worst are rarely the ones responsible for the bad decisions. THe ones responsible have long since taken their money and moved on. That is the reason for building codes. DUH!

How the hell do you have building codes that prevent damage from a storm the likes of which has never been seen before? A flood like no other. Houston has been there since the 1830's but with the logic displayed here the whole damned country should move to the Mojave desert.

I lived in a concrete building on St. Thomas and still lost everything and spent the night huddled with a dog in a tiny bathroom and watched the light fixture above my head fill with water. Stupid me. The Caribbean should be emptied out too. You can have building codes up the wazoo but Mother Nature will reclaim what she wants to reclaim. We can't afford to be smug here as we're all sitting on fault lines.

I expected the manufactured home in Port Aransas to be gone but it's still on its foundation unlike a lot of the traditionally built buildings there. My friend in her nice new house in an upscale subdivision in Houston finally got rescued by a big dump truck and is grateful for a hot shower and I'll be sure to tell her about how she should have had better building codes. I'm certain she'll be glad to hear it.

A big enough earthquake will decimate any building with up-to-date building codes and maybe cause less damage but what about people in older homes?

Be grateful you haven't been in any natural disasters if you haven't been and pray you never will be. If you are, hope that you get help from people like the Cajun Navy and the other fine helpers who didn't sit on their asses and wait for the government to come save people but got off their butts and got her done. Laugh at them if you want to but I'll take those kinds of rednecks before some politically correct asshole who sits behind a keyboard spouting one liners.

It's easy to sit in a warm, dry place and throw pearls of wisdom before the stupid swine who live in places hit by horrendous disasters. A little compassion doesn't cost anything.

Good post, Carry. These are difficult and heartbreaking times for the US in SO many ways. I'm glad your friends are safe.

The rules have been changed, the playbook has been rewritten, and most players are just trying to hang on to their lives and the lives of those they love around them. Climate change is upon us, we will see more and more of what we're seeing in Houston and we can expect people who live in vulnerable areas (southern coastal plains, CA coastlines, NY city, etc) to be impacted as they are now in Houston. It will never be their fault.

I am sorry, Carry, but I can look at harsh realities and feel compassion for those suffering from them at the same time. I can feel that compassion and not deny that the damage and suffering has been increased by specific actions. Those responsible are long gone with the piles of money they profited. They are not huddled in shelters with in some cases their entire lives destroyed. That is how it has always been and likely always will be. You are putting words I never wrote or even implied into my mouth. For what it is worth, as a child I lived through the most devastating flood my hometown has ever seen. I lack neither compassion nor understanding of what it means. I have seen this scenario up close and personal. I attended the funeral of my classmate's little brother after they found his body. He slid off the roof of the tenement building in which their family of nine lived when the building was swept away. They had climbed to their last refuge waiting for rescue. People I love and care about are involved in the tragedy of Harvey. You have completely misunderstood and twisted my words beyond recognition. I will step out of this discussion now.

Lady O,  I hear you.  
I spent my early years in Los Angeles; earthquake country. Went through a few scary ones there and later, a bad one in San Francisco.  There's nothing like the feeling when it happens.
It took years for the politicians in California to put laws in place re building that were badly needed.
The last devastating earthquake was such that my cousin couldn't even find her telephone for days.  Whether it's greed, cross-your-fingers thinking or other factors, let's hope that future politicians will do a better job of preparing for the times when mother nature goes amok.
 
Meanwhile, my heart goes out to those who are losing so much and whose lives will be changed forever.

I just saw an article on the news which said that New Orleans has been in contact with Amsterdam....a city that has dealt with water "forever" and the thinking sounds solid about creating places for excess water to go.

Thank you for hearing me, Gringal.