Minneapolis Disaster

From the Guardian

It's hard to write about. An interstate bridge less than two miles from my house, and one that I drive on at least weekly, collapsed during rush hour. An unknown (as of 8/2/07) number of people died; there are still cars at the bottom of the Mississippi River. Witnesses said it was like an earthquake--there was a vibration, a grinding noise, and the structure collapsed with no warning.

I don't personally know anyone who was on the bridge, was injured, or died. But I did talk with one colleague whose husband drove on the bridge an hour before it collapsed. She was shaken. Another co-worker sent out an email about a colleague of her husband's who is missing after the accident; if he has died, he leaves behind four children and a wife who is an East African immigrant. My immediate supervisor has a friend whose fiancee was critically injured; the boss left work at noon to go to the hospital to be with his friend.

Why do we have to have disasters like this for anyone to pay attention to the needs and safety of ordinary citizens driving from work, to a Twins game (they lost), or to the shops? It's a cliche, but we are apparently quite willing and able to spend billions in Iraq and elsewhere on imperialist adventures, but we cannot find the resources to repair bridges at a few million each. This is just nuts. And now we will spend lots of money to inspect interstate bridges throughout the country. This strikes me as a case of closing the barn door after the horse has gone.

Despite the posturing of our governor, it was heartwarming to hear the voices of Minnesotans, with their unmistakable accents, talking to the national media. They were earnest, sincere, and wanted to help. Why can't we do this all the time?