This just in - the jury decided that neither the federal government nor the company they hired to provide trailers to Hurricane Katrina victims are at fault for issuing a trailer that had toxic fumes.
This is one of those things that are never as simple as they appear. The naturalistic side of me wants to argue that they should have made a better trailer, one without toxic fumes - the reasonable, commonsense side of me point out that these people were just made homeless and got a temporary place to live for nothing.
I find it kind of funny that while at the time, people were complaining that the government didn't respond to the disaster fast enough, now people are complaining that the way the government did respond put them in danger. So was the government too slow to help you or too fast?
The FEMA trailers are now being sold elsewhere as well, to the alarm of some. One place they're popping up is on Indian reservations like the one I work and go to school on - leave it to the government to sell cheap, dangerous, inferior products to Indians at low prices!
In spite of the possible danger, I have to admit I find this whole situation quite ridiculous. I'm glad the jury was intelligent enough to throw out the claim that "Elevated levels of formaldehyde in the family's trailer... increased his risk of getting cancer." Come back when you actually get cancer, please. And next time you're homeless because of a hurricane, make the decision ahead of time - stay homeless, or accept the possibly toxic trailer for a limited time until you can get yourself back on your feet. Those of us already on our feet will keep lobbying for higher quality; stop trying to get more out of this than you already did.
Thursday, September 24, 2009
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