The whole "I'm from Buffalo, I don't fear snow, catch me hauling ass down the I-190 in a Blizzard with a super mighty in my hand" persona is a fun joke for locals but a terrible disaster preparedness plan for the government.
The first responders on the ground right now are heroes, no question. Most have been working 24hrs+ in brutal conditions.
To be clear, this is about funding and planning priorities - especially by the City of Buffalo.
Listening to the police scanner is heartbreaking 💔 you can hear the exhaustion.
I'm sitting here feeling helpless af, over an hr away and can't help. We need volunteer rescue corps a la Cajun navy to support during these disasters. I have NSP training, I'd join in a second 😭
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
Hopefully this upcoming briefing isn't yet another attempt to double down on the tired "trust first responders and stay home, the chaos is the fault of irresponsible individuals" talking points we've been hearing from authorities since Friday.
A lot of people are dead and the city is traumatized. Neighbors are taking major risks in severe weather to help each other and many lives have been saved as a result. No one needs gaslighting right now.
Telling folks to trust authorities after years of doing next-to-nothing to build that trust is tone-deaf and arrogant. There were serious planning failures - things that should've been done *before* the storm, but weren't.
This is really gross. People are taking basic necessities like toilet paper and water. In a neighborhood where most residents can't afford to stock up on those things.
And the cops' attitude is just...🤢🤬Zero empathy for what people are going through.
On top of the subzero temperatures and lack of heat, people are dealing with blizzard-like conditions INSIDE their houses thanks to broken windows, poorly sealed frames, etc.
And the city's probably gonna bail landlords out w/ subsidies instead of the consequences they deserve.
For the record, I'm a small landlord and my property isn't exactly luxurious. But I arranged for my tenant to go stay somewhere with a generator because I knew that house wouldn't be safe in an extended power outage.
Landlords getting rich off sub-par housing = scum.