I was out running errands and stopped at Crashboat. They've actually done a bit to make it a beach again. Mostly they bulldozed sand out of the parking lot and back on to the beach. They picked up a lot debris and trash. Not the old Crashboat but better than it was.
The water looked fairly decent. I really wanted to dive it but didn't. The tide was changing and I was afraid visibility would close down before I could get back with dive gear. Another day.
I actually me a person from FEMA today, the first actual from-the-agency person I've seen. He is an inspector/investigator named Garth. He's kind of a blowhard, arrogant and very first-world.
He did give me one good piece of information: FEMA does not demand that people leave their damaged property damaged. They want photos of the damage and then move on, get started rebuilding. FEMA does not expect people to live in tents until the inspectors come.
When I started to explain that live-in-a-tent-until-the-inspector-comes was the information people received via the coconut telegraph, that there was no hard information from FEMA or any other agency, he went all first-world on me. "That's bullshit! The information is right there on the website! Or you can call the toll-free number. Or just download the app to your phone!"
When I tried to explain about the lack of access, he said, "That's bullshit! I was in Houston after Harvey. I was in Florida after Irma. I've been in war zones. I know about interrupted infrastructure!"
That's what he called it: "interrupted infrastructure." This after he told me that he and other inspectors would have been on the island sooner but they had to wait until they were sure the infrastructure would support their needs and their work! He may know about "interrupted infrastructure" but he obviously has no experience with non-existent infrastructure.
The list of arrogant assumptions in his response is mind-boggling:
1. That everyone has a computer
2. That everyone has a computer that works
3. That everyone has a working internet connection
4. Or, that lacking a working computer, one has a smart phone
5. That everyone has working cell service
6. That everyone can read English (all the sites I've been able to see are English-only)
7. That everyone can read. Period. During the work with the Helping Horses project we met many people who are illiterate, who can't read or write in either language.
I realize with Garth it's just ignorance and arrogance. But I still think there is no excuse for it.
That encounter did nothing to help lift the weight. The edges are a little darker today, the weight a little heavier.
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