Anti-Islamic Hate Crime chart

     A chart about Anti-Islamic hate crime incidents shows the range of incidents from 1995-2008. In the chart from 1995-2000 the incidents are at it's lowest and are stable. In 2001 incidents are at it's highest 481/500, the incidents decrease from 2002-2008 but are still higher then incidents before 2001. This is really important because more people need to be aware about the hate crimes that are going on, also Islamic people may find this information helpful. I think that the increase in Anti-Islamic hate crimes in 2001 has a lot to do with 9/11 which also caused the increase in hate crimes the years after it. This information also makes me believe that a lot of what happened to Zeitoun has to do with his religion and how he appears since you can clearly see the epidemic of hate crimes going on. One part of the chart I was unclear about was the side the ranges from 0-500, I wasn't sure if the range meant out of the total population or the amount of people that are Islamic and experienced hate crimes.

Zeitoun Quote Sandwhich

     Faith is such a powerful thing we all have faith in something even if we don't realize it. In the book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers, talks about a man from Syria named Zeitoun who stays in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina while his wife and kids went to stay with a relative. Faith plays a big role in Zeitoun, you can see acts of faith through out the book. Zeitoun puts a lot of faith into God, after the Hurricane on the block where his office was there was a fire that just missed his office. Eggers writes "He thanked God for this small mercy"(Zeitoun 152).  When Zeitoun thanked god for not letting his office burn down it shows that he has faith that God will protect him. Another time you can see acts of faith in the book is when Zeitoun feeds the dogs everyday. Many of the people that evacuated for Hurricane Katrina left there dogs behind. The dogs knew they where trapped in there homes and would soon die. When Zeitoun realized which homes the dogs where in he decided to bring them food and water everyday. Eggers writes "He was amused by how grateful, how surprised they were every day. Have a little faith he said" (Zeitoun 146). The dogs put there faith in Zeitoun that he would care for them and save them. We don't realize how much faith we have in something until all we have is faith. Zeitoun has faith in god and the dogs have faith in him.

Zeitoun

     Zeitoun is the type of person that thinks about other people before his self. In the book Zeitoun by Dave Eggers it talks about how Zeitoun stayed in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina and how while he stayed in the city he saved people and dogs that would have died without him. Eggers writes "There were other dogs, and he had a freezer full of food" (Zeitoun 122). Zeitoun gave the dogs that people left behind the food he had in his freezer and fresh water. Zeitoun easily could have kept the food to him self but decided to give it to the animals that needed it more. If he didn't give those dogs the food he had they would of died. You can really tell he puts others before him self by the fact that there was a shortage of food and he gave the food he had to the dogs that needed it more. Not many people would do that.

Sandy Storyline Quote sandwich

     New York City's residence showed more compassion then some of the government officials. New York City residence donated food, clothes and their time. It's honestly an amazing thing how so many residence did all these kind things without asking for anything in return. To me this is a perfect example of "restoring humanity" and this is something we need to do more of. Restoring humanity means helping each other and putting all the greed and problems aside and making the world a better place. In the website Sandy Storyline one of the audio clips called New York's Finest shows an example of restoring humanity. Due to hurricane sandy there was a broken traffic light so a lady and 2 other guys who joined her became a human traffic light. "Its much quieter and more peaceful and people are safer I'm glad I'm here"(Ellen). Ellen decided to step up and help the entire neighborhood. She could of ignored the broken traffic light but instead she tried to fix the problem the best she could. The reason why I said earlier that the residence showed more compassion then the government officials is because in the same audio clip when two cops saw the three people being human traffic lights all they told the people was if they don't leave there going to be in trouble. The police officers should have told them when the traffic light was going to be fixed or at least stand there and direct the traffic. We need to focus more on restoring humanity we need more people who do things from the kindness of their hearts.

Blanking the beach quote sandwich

     In this blog I am going to talk about New York's response to Hurricane Sandy and the article Blanking the Beach. I believe New York's response to Hurricane Sandy was inadequate. The reason I believe it was inadequate is because the true victims of Hurricane Sandy are still living in shelters and public housing. The victims aren't getting the help they need. In the book Blanking the Beach by Naomi Klein she talks about the after effects of a natural disaster. Naomi Klein states "The buffer zone looked like little more than an excuse for the government to do what it had wanted to do before the wave" (Klein 67).  A buffer zone is when you have a neutral area separating two things , similar to how we have personal space or how oceans separate countries they both serve as a type of buffer zone. The government used the tsunami that hit Sri Lanka as an excuse to keep the people off the beach and build hotels where their homes used to be. The government used the buffer zone to there advantage. The buffer zone is important to New York's experience to Hurricane Sandy because they can use the buffer zone as a reason to keep people away from living there and then go and build hotels or condos in the near future. The government is aware of the rising sea levels so they can use Hurricane Sandy to there advantage to legally keep the people away.  The government would make a lot more money by replacing those houses with 5 star hotels and luxury condos.  

Sandy Storyline

     Remember Hurricane Sandy the story that was on the news for a few weeks? If your wondering what happened to those people and want to hear the story from there point of view continue reading. It seems like the news only talked about them till the next big thing happened. The news seemed to focus on the MTA having to fix the subways and the subways are very important, But Hurricane Sandy was a lot more personal then just messing up the subways, it destroyed homes and changed lives forever. In the video Post Traumatic Sandy Disorder Herminio Maldonado a tenant of Red Hook West Public Housing talks about his Hurricane Sandy experience and how it effected him. He states "have outside help come and help you" (Maldonado). Many people receive a certain amount of pride from doing things on their own and when a disaster happens and leaves them helpless, there left in shock and have to depend on others for help. I agree with Herminio Maldonado I couldn't imagine having to depend on strangers to help me.

     We all heard the stories about the homes being destroyed by Hurricane Sandy but we didn't hear what happened to all those people. The news seems to only tell you what they want you to hear. Many of the people who lost their homes had to go into shelters. Can you imagine having to leave your house and having to go into a shelter. Think about losing all the things you worked hard for and all the things that can never be replaced all gone because of a hurricane. In the video Shelter a man who only wanted to give his last name Green from Coney Island talks about his experience at the shelter. Green says " I miss my alone time usually I'm not a people person" (Green). Many people enjoy having time alone and some prefer not to be around people at all. Having to be in a shelter filled with many people you don't know puts you in a tough situation, you cant just walk into your own room and separate your self from the world your forced  to be around all those people. I personally have trust issues so I couldn't imagine having to live with strangers.

New York Times Article Quote

     New York has taken certain steps to prepare for climate change but are not addressing the entire risk. The city has been taking Eco-Friendly steps by planting trees and adding bike lanes but still continue to build by the waterfront. The waterfront has a beautiful view but it wont look so nice when the sea level rises and the water damages their homes. In the New York Times Article New York Is Lagging As Seas and Risks Rise, Critics Warn by Mireya Navarro an article about New York City and the sea-level that continues to rise.  With rising seas a common storm could become just as damaging as a hurricane.The article says "New York has added bike lanes, required large buildings to track and reduce their energy use, banned the dirtiest home heating oils, and taken other steps to reduce the emissions that contribute to global warming. But with shoreline development that ranges from public beaches to towering high rises" (Navarro).  There are so many ways to reduce the emissions that contribute to global warming. New York has taken many positive steps to help reduce CO2, adding bike lanes and requiring large buildings to track and reduce their energy use is a very positive step. However building by the waterfront will put more peoples lives a risk in the future. I agree with Navarro that we need to stop waterfront development because we need to think about the long run. Waterfront development will put many lives at risk especially at the rate the sea levels are rising.