Who are the Hurricane Sandy Heroes?

Submitted by Matt on Thu, 2012-11-01 04:39

I don't need to talk too much about Hurricane Sandy at this point, but just in case you have been living under a rock the past 1-2 weeks and just came up for air, read about it here. Millions without power or ready access to food and medical help remain while homes, businesses, infrastructure are still flooded. Thousands of people also remain stranded in some places and it may take days (as of this writing) to get them out.

So, who is doing the work to restore power, and who had it going in the first place? Who are fighting the fires that have broken out in places as a result of the storm? Who are risking their own lives regularly to rescue others? Who are risking their lives to maintain or restore law and order in places that are currently still, literally, in the dark?

Men. The answer is, by and large: Men, almost everyone involved. There may be a small percentage of women involved in the actual hands-on work that needs to be done to bring the affected areas back to some semblance of normalcy. But I ask you, if this were an army of women in the form of power utility employees, police officers, fire-fighters, EMTs, and others, would that not be a constantly-reported fact? Would they not receive constant praise for their sacrifices for others' betterment and survival? Would they not be hailed constantly, AS WOMEN, for what they were doing? The answer is of course, yes. But while men are doing the vast majority of the work needed to relieve the sufferings of so many as a consequence of this hurricane, they are indeed praised-- but not as men. They are praised as "utility workers", "fire fighters", "police officers", etc. Again, men as a gender get lost in a sea of occupational titles while women do not.

In this disaster as in all the rest, men are doing just what is expected of them, receiving fleeting praise when successful and harsh condemnation when not. One day I wonder if we'll ever see women in such positions as men are to this degree-- and get held to the same standards of judgment. Don't hold your breath.

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Comments

Amen to that!

When reading this, I thought that this was an excerpt from an article and thought, "How nicely written and about time." When I looked to see where the "article" was published... LOL. Okay, Matt, you did it again. :P

Of course, politically-incorrect "articles", such as the above, would either not get printed or receive very little attention. And, what little attention it would receive would be from the man-hating brigade.

MAJ

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Submitted by digital_dreamer on Thu, 2012-11-01 06:32

The obvious is simply blurred to the degree that almost no one can see it. Thanks for pointing it out Matt!

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Submitted by Tom on Thu, 2012-11-01 11:13

Good article. I always say if I am ever in an emergency or rescue situation, I want to be around men. Society runs better when we have the most qualified people in charge of whatever job we need to have done.

But who was giving birth or watching the children while these men are doing the rescuing and the restoration?....the women. I am not suggesting this role is as significant at the time of rescuing and restoration, but the reproduction value of women is needed to be sure there is a future generation to provide service for future emergencies.

In extreme conditions society reverts to the roles that nature intended for them because it is most efficient and effective. It would also be most efficient in average conditions. I am always puzzled why people don't realize this.

I have no idea why women get so much praise when they do a job or fill a role that we see men do everyday. I suppose it is like when you see a cat chase a dog or a child stop a thief - it is unusual as it goes beyond our expectations.

"One day I wonder if we'll ever see women in such positions as men are to this degree"

No you never will, for the reasons I stated above. It would not be effective or efficient to have women in rescue and restoration positions.

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Submitted by Kris on Thu, 2012-11-01 16:09

who are those working 24/7 to restore power and water before the nor'easter hits?

not alabama crews. they were called scabs and sent packing for being nonunion.

let me get this straight. right before an election to decide between not altogether bad, and really evil, a hurricane slams into the heart of the blue states just as a cold front/storm hits from the other direction. mayhem and destruction, and then a nor'easter immediately follows it up?

yeah, believing in a just G-d has its benefits; however, when i pray for these people, it is a real struggle.

alabama is about to play lsu. should be a good game.

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Submitted by daveinga on Sun, 2012-11-04 00:06