"What kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death?"

There's been a lot of disgusting politicking since Katrina, as some see opportunity and others deflect criticism. There was, for example, the GOP's attempt to blame environmentalists for the wrath of Katrina. Then there's an Alabama senator's attempt to essentially go grave-digging in New Orleans, hoping to find someone whose death can bolster Republicans' argument to repeal the estate tax. But I haven't been more disgusted with a political move than I was yesterday, when I learned that someone -- and it's probably easy to guess who -- had fact-checked and attempted to undermine a sobbing man's story on Meet the Press, in which he told of the horrible way in which his friend's mother died.

It all started three weeks ago, when Jefferson Parish President Aaron Broussard appeared on Meet the Press to talk about the bungled response to the hurricane. He told a horrible, heart-wrenching story of how his employee's mother was abandoned in a nursing home, and ultimately died there. The crux of the story, which I highly advise watching, was this: "His mother was trapped in St. Bernard nursing home and every day she called him and said, 'Are you coming, son? Is somebody coming?' and he said, 'Yeah, Mama, somebody’s coming to get you.' Somebody’s coming to get you on Tuesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Wednesday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Thursday. Somebody’s coming to get you on Friday… and she drowned Friday night. She drowned Friday night!Nobody’s coming to get us. Nobody’s coming to get us."

Most people watched this and thought it was devistatingly sad. Someone out there, however, apparently thought, "This needs to be defused." And so, they picked the story apart and determined he got the dates wrong. Then, I'm guessing, they tipped off MSNBC, hoping the confusion will take away from the emotional effect of his story. Yesterday, Aaron Broussard was back on Meet the Press talking about this. He perfectly articulated his disgust and shock that someone would consider his story a political weapon, so I'm going to post a portion of his response here:

Listen, sir, somebody wants to nitpick a man's tragic loss of a mother because she was abandoned in a nursing home? Are you kidding? What kind of sick mind, what kind of black-hearted people want to nitpick a man's mother's death? They just buried Eva last week. I was there at the wake. Are you kidding me? That wasn't a box of Cheerios they buried last week. That was a man's mother whose story, if it is entirely broadcast, will be the epitome of abandonment. It will be the saddest tale you ever heard, a man who was responsible for safekeeping of a half a million people, mother's died in the next parish because she was abandoned there and he can't get to her and he tried to get to her through EOC. He tried to get through the sheriff's office. He tries every way he can to get there. Somebody wants to debate those things? My God, what sick-minded person wants to do that?

What kind of agenda is going on here? Mother Nature doesn't have a political party. Mother Nature can vote a person dead and Mother Nature can vote a community out of existence. But Mother Nature is not playing any political games here. Somebody better wake up. You want to come and live in this community and see the tragedy we're living in? Are you sitting there having your coffee, you're in a place where toilets flush and lights go on and everything's a dream and you pick up your paper and you want to battle ideology and political chess games? Man, get out of my face. Whoever wants to do that, get out of my face.

That says it all.

Posted by Jason Feifer at September 26, 2005 10:25 AM