When is it Enough?

By Hildee Baldwin

December 17, 2021

We all woke up to news of the tornadoes that attacked Illinois, Tennessee, and Kentucky and our hearts broke for the millionth time as families searched for loved ones, as deaths were confirmed, as footage of destroyed homes and businesses were shown on a constantly expanding loop while news readers interviewed governors and mayors extolling the pride they felt in their local businesses and community – and for the millionth time we still have no answers because no one is asking the hard questions and demanding accountability.

Set aside the discussion of Climate Change for now, we can argue the cause and prevention of natural disasters like tornadoes, hurricanes, fires, and floods another time.  What we need to understand is why do we lose so many lives when we have the tools to protect them?

We know where tornado alley is.  Even children know from history that cold air from the north and warm moist air from the south collide over certain states creating destructive, deadly weather systems.  We know that these types of storms often happen at night when the sun sets and temperature swings become more severe. Why, given this knowledge, are storm shelters not mandatory in every building where tornadoes develop?  How is it that schools, factories, warehouses, and even homes are not required to be built with rooms big enough to protect the occupants?  Cost?  Is that it?  Did some finance guy somewhere run a cost-benefit analysis to determine that saving a few grand by not digging a storm shelter, (or increasing levee height, clearing underbrush and dry debris, or reinforcing dams, as the case may be) was worth the gamble that people wouldn’t die in a disaster?  What are these lives worth to the cost-cutters and MBAs who brag about their profits?  Per employee/student/person what did you save?  $100? $1000?  Why do politicians not demand that buildings be built in a way that protects lives instead of allowing builders to lobby them for the leanest building codes that allow them to erect things quickly and cheaply?  Do builders bank on their properties being demolished by weather as a way of guaranteeing job security?  How many builders and materials suppliers are rubbing their hands together in glee at the idea of spending 2022 price gouging the people of Kentucky as they rebuild.  Easy answer – too many!

Unlike earthquakes whose detection systems are in their infancy, we have highly educated scientists using the most technologically advanced sensors and modeling software, watching our weather systems literally minute by minute.  Nearly everyone has access to news via television, internet, email, social media, and text.  Warning sirens go off when storms are in the area.  We have layers of data that tell us well in advance when conditions are ripe for weather and fire hazards and we have levels of communication in place to warn people of preventative measures they can take in advance to protect themselves – from clearing brush to evacuation to seeking shelter.  There is no legitimate excuse for workers being trapped in warehouses and factories facing the horrors of a tornado in the dark while executives and politicians sleep safely in their beds.  There is no excuse for a news media system that gives those same executives and politicians a free pass for not doing their jobs and protecting people!

Why were workers treated like children or prisoners in these warehouses?  Why as a society do we demand they work overnight to produce CANDLES or pack and ship us our latest over-priced idiot gadget we use because we’re too fat and lazy to press play on an iPod?  Why do businesses think it’s okay to live on the razor-thin edge of inventory then order their employees work overnight to fill orders because CHRISTMAS!  What kind of pathetic, instant-gratification demanding, greedy losers have we become that people are not home at night with their families?  (And yes, there is a subset of employees who will always need to work nights – law enforcement, medical personnel, fire fighters – but the idea that anyone NEEDS a candle at Christmas or a pair of shoes delivered in 24 hours is absurd!)  Why were workers unable to leave these locations and return home to family?  Why were they not provided safe shelter?  Why was it even a question of them being able to get in their cars and drive home when the first sirens went off?  Why were they required to be working overnight when storm activity is higher and when the dark creates operational issues for first responders and optical technology needed to spot funnels?  Why were these employees not told to stay home for this one night?  All you have to do is look at the Twitter account of National Weather Service for Paducah, KY to see all the information was there – where was the failure?  They issued Watches, Warnings, and tracked the data.  Did local media not cover it?  Is there no communication between National Weather Service and the governors of these states who should have issued alerts to businesses to tell employees to stay home and citizens to stay off roads and be prepared to shelter somewhere?  These deaths were entirely preventable and everyone who had the power to do something had a nice dinner and went to bed.

From the top down – from the White House and Congress to local leaders and media – we allow failures that kill people, we keep electing and enriching people who live by the credo: It’s better to do whatever the hell we want and ask for forgiveness later.

Warnings – what are they for if not to warn?

History – why do we study it if not to learn from it and prepare?

Why are people working at night for nothing but pure consumerism and corporate greed?

Why are free adults under the impression they don’t have a choice to leave a location when they don’t feel safe or if they need to take care of their family? 

Why do we continue to elect, financially support, and protect incompetent and cruel political and business leaders?  The White House, Congress, and business executives spend their entire day, every day, publicly whining about the lack of respect show to them and how regulations and taxes hurt their business, meanwhile they show American citizens zero respect.  They are condescending, untruthful, manipulative, thin-skinned, greedy, and selfish; and they put on a windbreaker, show up at a press conference and declare how much they care!  And Americans buy it – because that’s what we’re trained to do!