As a black woman with a 5-year-old son, I wept knowing that despite what I tell my son—"You can be anything you want to be in this world"—those images prove that he will always be feared first, suspected of evil-doing, stealing, raping, and lawlessness before this country will even give him a drink of water or a meal. The response was awful, and I think the response was even slower in New Orleans because the media focused mainly on the hundred or so "looters" instead of talking about the thousands who were starving and dying. The slow response showed the entire world that poor people don't matter in this country. After I heard President Bush say that "Brownie was doing a heck of a job," I could not sleep for days.
Christy Joiner
Sugar Hill, Ga.

I don't know what's worse—that FEMA didn't do what they should have, as far as a rescue mission, or, as we found out today, that FEMA didn't KNOW what to do! The people affected by Hurricane Katrina deserved so much more than they got. Other countries must be laughing at the incompetent American fools in charge of our safety.
Janice P. Ellis
San Ramon, Calif.

President Bush pledged to run government like a business. However, like many CEOs, he hired and promoted people who were intensely loyal to him but not qualified for the jobs they filled. Companies run by incompetents merely go out of business, but Katrina cost lives.
Kenneth Lee
Raytown, Mo.

The mayor screwed it up and asked the governor for aid. The governor didn't do the correct steps to get feds in quick enough. Feds finally realized they were being dealt off the bottom of the deck and moved in, probably circumventing their authority. I don't believe the press is only reporting one level deep on this issue. Shows how little research is done before publishing. My opinion only.
Tod
Dayton, Ohio

My God! If the greatest natural disaster the U.S. has ever experienced doesn't change the priorities of our leaders, what will? We already needed to rebuild roads and bridges, and power grids, and schools and hospitals here in the U.S. even before the hurricane hit. And there were already thousands of people without food and shelter. But none of this mattered until becoming a media event.
Ronald Story
St. Petersburg, Fla.

The response from the faith-based groups has been amazing. The New Orleans mayor and those responsible for emergency planning should be jailed. The Louisiana governor and her staff should must also be accountable for their horrible inaction. Poor people are paying a high price for the many years of corruption and incompetence. TIME might want to reconsider adding Kanye West to your editorial board.
Judy Cashwell
St. Augustine, Fla.

I feel that the mayor and governor should have asked for the military to come in on the first day. At that point, ask President Bush for federal help as soon as possible.
Pauline Carnes
Peabody, Mass.

President Bush isn't the only one to blame, yes. But shouldn't a President be there when a nation needs him? Shouldn't he be the first one in line to help in times of crisis? Shouldn't he set the example? If for nothing else, I do blame Bush for not showing up on time to be our President.
Kevin
Tigard, Ore.

Everybody seems to have this mythical idea of the capabilities of the govenment and the people within. I think Bush stinks, but the scope of the tragedy was such that it coud not be grasped in the first days. The help was delayed because there is a human behind the response. In no other part of the world would it have been so fast and so effective. Just imagining a city like New Orleans empty is absolutely overwhelming, and it has taken very few days to accomplish. Shame on the looters and other parasites!
Arturo Ruiz
Cordoba, Mexico

Though I'm not an American, I share in your sorrow and pain. But in comparison to my own President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, then Bush has faired well.I remember that there was a bomb blast in Lagos sometime in 2002, but Obasanjo did not console or even hug the survivors and relatives of the deceased; instead he acted unconcerned. America, may God give you the fortitude to bear this disaster.
Emeka Onuoha
Lagos, Nigeria

Lukewarm to cold. The Republicans are acting like Democrats, throwing large amounts of money at the problem at hand and trying to salvage their disastrous response to a national disaster. I'm looking for leadership from Washington, but all I hear is it's the Democratic mayor and governor's fault. Is this the Karl Rove plan? Just get 51% of the country to believe your story and you win? What a disgrace.
Sean Bridges
Austin, Texas

The press is looking for somone to blame. Get off it. That was yesterday. What's going to happen now? We should already have plans on what to do next. Let's make these plans public so everyone will have input. Who knows, someone other than the government may have good ideas.
Jim Leyden
New Baltimore, N.Y.

I think you should seriously consider naming Lt. Gen Russell Honore TIME Magazine's Man of the Year. As Americans sat stunned in front of our televisions last week there seemed to be no help in sight for the desparate citizens of New Orleans. That was until the arrival of the U.S. military, led by the Ragin' Cajun! Gen. Honore did what the local, state and federal govenment failed so miserably to do; he made quick decisions and took immediate action.
Connie Eggers
Tucson, Ariz.

Response to this catastrophe was too slow. Just ask any of the displaced residents of New Orleans. But what I'd really like to ask them is why so many of them elected lightweights such as C. Ray Nagin and the Governor. If New Orleans is a "fools paradise," such as one Times Writer suggested, it has never been more evident than in the leadership shown there in the past week and a half.
Ezra Hollings
Newtown, Pa.

Let's see: possibly thousands of people dead, one city in ruins, our economy hurting—and all the Bush administration and supporters can think of is how to blame somebody else. Is there no shame left?
R.E. Galvin
El Paso, Texas

In the aftermath of Katrina, there is little wonder why aid was so delayed in arriving to those in need. Our politicians and supposed congressional leaders were too preoccupied with placing blame on each other and not focused on the most important task: helping those in need. At this moment I am ashamed as the rest of the world watches and shakes their collective heads in disgust at how we treat our own citizens.
Wes Riddle
Kennesaw, Ga.

There's an awful lot of blaming going around, and that's sad. Why did the people stay, I ask, when told they needed to leave? Why didn't the city of New Orleans and state of Alabama have plans? Why are people blaming the Administration when supplies couldn't be dropped because people from N.O. were shooting guns at the helpers? Are we putting the blame in the wrong place?
Donna Kranik
Seattle, Wash.

The response or lack thereof only serves to highlight the ineptitude and short thinking of this administration, the same administration that cut funding for the levees so that we could finance a war. We definitely should have stayed out of the Bush.
Jay Williams
Little Rock, Ark.

I would like to ask President G.W. Bush if aid would have come faster if this disaster had been the result of a terrorist attack instead of a natural disaster. I think his answer would be "yes". A terrorist attack would have given him the chance to "fight back" and start another war. Bush likes war, specially against oil-rich countries. But a natural disaster? You cannot fight nature, can you, Bush?
Ulisses Foggetti
Sao Paulo, Brazil

I think that there is a very vocal class in the U.S. that knows only how to bitch, carp and complain. There is enough blame to go around on the aftermath of Katrina, including the citizens in New Orleans who wouldn't get out when the getting was good and then complain that no one will help them. Their simple survival skills were inadequate, if not absent, and their lack of common sense makes you wonder. Too many of them had a sit-and-be-rescued mentality, and in a disaster, that doesn't work.
Robert Bartunek
Naples, Fla.

It seems that disasters that occur outside of imminent re-election get slow responses. I recall Bush handing out bags of ice the day after Florida was hit right before elections. It is a genuine shame on America.
Curtis Gomez
Burbank, Calif.

I don't believe the blame should be put on Bush or the military, but on a bureaucratic emergency response system designed to hinder immediate response and aid. This was a system in place long before President Bush, and somewhat improved since 9/11. The bureaucrats in charge of emergency planning, at state and federal levels, have an inherent need to assess, plan, assign and develop staging areas, place assets, plan logistics, assign authority, etc. before much actually happens. Days pass while people are starving and dying. This entire emergency response process must include a sense of urgency and immediacy that was clearly lacking here.
Dick Sem
Trevor, Wisc.

What response? I think it was disgraceful. No clear leader stepped up. The director of FEMA should be fired immediately and publicly. President Bush owns the nation an apology. Disgraceful is the best word to describe what was allowed to happen.
Linda Smith
Orange County, Calif.

I am ashamed of being American. This administration is irresponsible and careless. How can the President tell us that this was unpredictable? Why did the FEMA leave so many people without food or water for days? Is this because those Americans are black and poor? At the time Congress is about to give away another tax cut, including repealing the estate tax, the situation in New Orleans gives us a real look at the consequences of this administration's policies.
Christopher
New York, N.Y.

The government is always big and slow; goes with the territory. What were all those idiots doing in town, and why didn't they stockpile water and canned foods? Judging by how fat some of those people are, they could use some fasting. We are about to see the beginning of the Second Coming, so praise the Lord.
James
Tecate, Mexico

I want to see the head of FEMA and the head of homeland security fired! If we can't respond to something like this, how in the world are we going to deal with another terrorist attack?
Rick Thornton
Quincy, Ill.

Shame, shame, shame on America for the slap in the face of every victim of this huricane and flood. We do better for other countries than we do our own! I hope the President had a nice vacation!
Tina Coleman
New Braunfels, Texas

Where was the New Orleans homeland security 'terrorist' plan? Why wasnt it modified for use under these circumstances? The federal government knew those levies were only good for a category three storm, and they knew Saturday that Katrina was a probable category four. I saw a picture on CNN of Bush strumming a guitar on the ranch Tuesday after the hurricane. What Bush and the federal government leaders did not do when it should have been done is an abomination. I have an idea for a new bumper sticker that will replace my old Kerry/Edwards one: "Bush: Our Nero."
Richard Orndorff
Mason, Ohio

I am hoping the American public now wakes up and sees the strong parallels between the tragic mishandling of the Katrina disaster with the tragic and costly invasion of Iraq. A callous lack of in-depth planning and foresight is then followed by a casual throwing of huge amounts of tax dollars at the messy problem they have created. And they expect to be thanked for their help, rather than be held accountable for the tragedies they helped to create.
Judy Knecht
Sun City Center, Fla.

It is shameful that the president and his staff did not respond immediately. It's too bad the president had to cut his vacation short due to this crisis but I think he had already taken too much time off. It wasn't until he got off his a** and went down there that all of a sudden there was convoys of trucks with aid. Where were they on Tuesday? There needs to be an investigation into why the response was so slow but first I hope our politicians will concentrate on getting the relief aid to the victims.
Bob Lawrence
Eagan, Minn.

Many people are quick to judge; saying the botched respone was the fault of the President. How can anyone plan or prepare to calm, evacuate and treat 500,000 people all with diferrent needs, spread out over several thousand square miles, most of whom are isolated by poluted water? New Orleans: Why would you rebuild? Its only a matter of time before it happens again.
Ed Lancaster
Washington, D.C.

It is shameful that our government (local,state and federal) has left the weakest citizen of New Orleans to ride out Hurricane Katrina. There was no real plan to evacuate the poorest or the sickest people. What happened in New Orleans could have happened in any major city, for this is not about hurricanes or levees, but how our government has become insensitive to the needs of poor citizens.
Alicia Brewster
Brooklyn, N.Y.

Watching the news last week was surreal—black victims of the storm begging for help, followed by a bunch of white men congratulating each other. I am not proud of this administration.
Nancy Quinn
Bloomington, Ind.

I am shocked and confused by looters and criminals hurting their own neighbors and communities. What is prompting this lawlessness? Why shoot at rescuers bringing supplies? What the h%$*&^ is wrong with people?
Suzanne Rauso
Middletown, N.J.

It was the last straw for me. I've lost all confidence in this administrations ability to run this country properly. I can't think of one solid accomplishment during Bush's term. It seems everything they touch, they screw up. He's got his campaign manager running FEMA for crying out loud.
Keifer
Medusa, N.Y.

It directly affects anyone who is concerned with the moral fiber of the U.S. and our society. Looters and criminals. Murderers and robbers in a time where cooperation is of utmost importance.Look at what happens when a true disaster occurs. Shameful. I am confused and angry as we all should be. these people need to stop and help others.
Richard P.
Tampa, Fla.

I live in Atlanta. I saw a major panic about gasoline availability on Wednesday. Gas prices soared in only a few hours. There were reports that prices jumped as much as $3 over the course of the day. I paid $3.48 per gallon when the price the day before had been $2.69.
Janet Phillips
Atlanta, Ga.

I am disgusted and sad about all the images I see on TV. I wish I could drive big trucks full of food and water up to the Convention Center in New Orleans and give it all away. I feel very disappointed in the federal government for resources it is not providing. Seeing inability of some of the most important government agencies makes me scared for the next big national emergency.
Janet Ehle
San Juan, Puerto Rico

I am outraged at the impotence of the Bush Administration to provide aid to New Orleans. It sickens me to hear one spin doctor after another say they are "sending" help. WHEN? I am left with the opinion the Bush Admin. is delinquent in their duties because of all those black faces on the camera. Shame on you, President Bush, flying over in the comforts of Air Force One with a nice meal, passing judgement on American citizens forced to live like animals.
Janet St. Onge
New York, N.Y.

Has anyone suggested that communities across this country adopt "Katrina" refugee families for a year. If cities would commit to providing a home, furnishings, health care and jobs for these displaced Americans perhaps we could ease the suffering and collectively heal and repair the waning faith in America. Many of us feel helpless and are suffering from survivors guilt. The media has done a fantastic job of pushing for help. What about the long term?
Tammy Williams
Jay, Okla.

The situation in New Orleans proves we are wholly unprepared for large scale disasters or terrorists attacks. All our resources are in Iraq and our medical personnel are understaffed.
Susan Bowles
San Francisco, Calif.

Shame on you all America. Its disturbing to see you're as cruel to your own as you are to the rest of the world.
Nick Murray
London, U.K.

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