Im not quite getting this...

[Windy]

Easy to say coming from Kansas, Shawn. No one is exited about tragedy and death. That statement sounds even more ridiculous than the first.

What does Kansas have to do with anything? The question here is one of gracious vs. ungracious attitudes. The people who live in Cancun probably need prayers more than they need relieved discussion about how they're going to blunt the blow on Florida.

FYI, Kansas, Nebraska, and Oklahoma have plenty of experience with weather-induced terror. We usually get a lot less warning that we might be about to die, too. A 2.5 mile wide tornado wiped a town clean off the earth just south of me a couple years ago. Like Floridians, we learn to live with it.

[bp00010002]

I am from Metairie, LA, just outside of New Orleans, and I live 1 block west of the infamous 17th street canal that breached during Katrina. My house was spared due to being west of the canal, but the complete and total destruction of most of this area is overwhelming. Television does not do it justice. It is awful, just awful. Everything is gray and dusty - and just simply, gone.

We in this area have always said, unfortunetly to many, that it is better that the hurricanes go somewhere else, as we will be so severely impacted. Did we want others to suffer? Of course not. So do not be so quick to judge people when they suggest that going into one area of land is good for their area, as it might weaken the storm. They are not looking for others to be hurt. They are simply hoping that their lives and area will be spared.

I was born in New Orleans and have been here the majority of my life.

New Orleans, as I have always known it, is dead. Southeastern Louisiana, as we knew it, died after August 29th. It breaks my heart. We will come back (I hope), but it will be years - many years. Whether I will remain here the whole time, I do not know. At what point to you stay and help, versus living your life again? I just do not know.

Give people a break though. As they do, so do I - in that, I have no choice but to wish every single storm go somewhere else. I have to. God bless the areas and people who get impacted.

[Nancy]

bp, New Orleans is a place I always longed to visit but never had a chance. Now when I see images of the destruction, I keep hoping that someone will find a way to salvage the beauty and charm of those little cottages and quaint streets and bring NO back to the people who call it home. I'm sure you are grateful that your home was spared but saddened by the tremendous loss of so many. Thanks for understanding why people from Florida are just plain tired of hurricanes. We've had our share this past year, and it's time for us to get back on our feet.

[Tiny]

Amen to that Nancy. I'm in the commercial fishing business and it is quite tiring securing gear and finding a safe place for our crab traps. We have been doing a lot of hurricane prep and we keep saying we hope that it is all in vain.
But folks out in the Northern Gulf have lost so much. I am thankful that we still have a boat and gear to fish. Many of those in other areas have lost boats, traps, and complete fish houses are gone......
Sorry to ramble, just when I think about how tired of preparing I am, my mind wanders to those who have already lost so much.

[Regit]

I get tired of people generalizing that all Americans think less of people from other countries. If Wilma was 200 miles from Miami and the path was going to take her ultimately to Pensacola. Posters from the Panhandle would discuss how much Wilma will weaken as it crosses the peninsula. Get rid of the chip!!!

I didn't hear anyone generalize that all Americans think anything. However, to insult the original poster for making an observation that should be blatantly obvious is unfair. Ask the average American what was worse: Katrina or Stan? I'm sure that even those who realize Stan killed a number comparable to Katrina will still answer Katrina. Some of this has to do with nationalism: It happened to your country so it's worse. However, if you asked people from Mexico, they'd likely say Stan.

This can even be seen on a local level in America itself in the form of regionalism. A Florida meteorologist caught grief in 1999 for calling Hurricane Floyd's last-minute turn "great news," while doing a national interview. Obviously, it wasn't good news for the Carolinas, but human nature is to look out for number one. To suggest it isn't human nature goes against science and is simply ridiculous.