Performative Politics is Weak Sauce for Disaster Relief

by Philip H · October 22, 2024

A tattered American flag waves in the breeze in the aftermath of Hurricane Helene, Homerville, Georgia, Sept. 28, 2024. U.S. Soldiers and Airmen from across the state are teaming up to aid the communities affected by Hurricane Helene. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Master Sgt. Jeffrey Rice)

Whatever else can be said about MAGA Republicans, they do love a good show. Whether its their massive boat parades, their Jeep-ins, or massive yard displays, it’s hard to escape the overwhelming role visual imaging plays for one side of our political aisle. One downstream impact of this approach to political tribe identity is the belief that if you aren’t wildly waving the latest $49.95 flag for your candidate, you aren’t passionate about them.

It seems the modern day GOP also favors performance over productivity when it comes to disaster relief. From George W Bush’s “You’re’ doin a heck of a job Brownie” after Katrina to TFG throwing paper towels in Puerto Rico, showing up and making grand made-for-TV gestures is more important then reinforcing the message of competent, well trained professionals working together to plan to help fellow citizens out. And telling the story of that success is a foundational need right now, which those same civil servants make really easy:

Release Date:

October 18, 2024

The Biden-Harris Administration has approved more than $1.8 billion in federal assistance for individuals and communities affected by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. FEMA Administrator Deanne Criswell continues to lead the federal response, working in coordination with state and local partners to ensure that survivors receive the resources they need to jumpstart their recovery.

Currently, FEMA has deployed more than 4,800 personnel to the affected areas, contributing to a total of over 7,500 federal responders who are working together to support state and local governments in their recovery efforts. FEMA personnel on the ground are actively coordinating with local officials, conducting damage assessments, and helping individuals apply for disaster assistance programs.

Federal assistance for those affected by the hurricanes includes $722 million to support survivors with housing repairs, personal property replacement and other essential recovery efforts. Additionally, over $1.1 billion has been approved for debris removal and emergency protective measures, which are necessary to save lives, protect public health and prevent further damage to public and private property.
https://www.fema.gov/press-release/20241018/fema-providing-financial-support-survivors-and-communities-hurricane

Instead of getting that story told, however, FEMA has to spend time, and taxpayer dollars in the form of salaries and technology contracts creating and developing rumor control webpages:

Rumors and misleading information can spread quickly after any disaster. Following Hurricanes Helene and Milton, we have seen many rumors that have the potential to seriously hamper storm response efforts or prevent people from getting assistance quickly.
https://www.fema.gov/disaster/recover/rumor/hurricane-rumor-response

Why do they need to do that? Because lies like these are running rampant in the age of social media:

To be clear, I think some of these are rumors that exist because the public has been poorly educated as to what FEMA does in large scale natural disasters. Having deployed for The Corps of Engineers to lead Blue Roof crews in 2004 in Florida and 2005 in Mississippi after Katrina, I know the system way better then most citizens. It is true that federal civil servants in blue shirts with FEMA on the back (4800 of the 7500 or so feds deployed into the actual disaster zones) do get into the muck. Its ALSO true that most of FEMA’s responsibilities consist of paying the right experts to do the right things at the right times in places they are needed. Like deploying urban search and rescue teams who are trained to go into communities as the storm is abetting but not quite done to find trapped people an d move them to safety. Like paying municipalities and counties to remove debris (a mission supervised by the US Army Corps of Engineers in their red shirts). Like by paying the costs of hauling and escorting 30,000 gallon tankers of water into Asheville. Or paying the bills to have Blue Roof installed on homes that are no longer water tight but structurally sound.

These are all vital hurricane response and recovery missions – and none of them includes a performative element. No billboard proclaiming how good a job they are doing. No flashy flag convoys. Nothing like the spectacle of a TFG rally. Just well trained civil servants doing their jobs.

Which is why the rumor mill is so easy to gin up, and so devastating. There are real world consequences to time and again telling Americans their government isn’t coming – even as its already there. One consequence in our gun soaked culture is people making threats against relief workers while those workers are doing the thing they are accused in the media of not doing.

Parsons said he was motivated by social media reports claiming that FEMA was withholding supplies from hurricane victims in western North Carolina. Such false claims are part of a wave of misinformation that has hampered hurricane recovery efforts across the Southeast.

“I viewed it as if our people are sitting here on American soil, and they’re refusing to aid our people,” Parsons told FOX8.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/climate-environment/2024/10/16/fema-threats-arrested-hurrricane-helene/

And there are other more pernicious statements about disaster recovery from the MAGA GOP – from MTG’s accusation of government weather manipulation (which has anti-semitic roots), to TFG’s lie about undocumented migrants getting money that should have gone to disaster relief (which they don’t). At their heart, however, all these lies are designed to do nothing more then show off. They won’t help the people of the five states impacted by Helene and Milton. They won’t help us prepare for the next disaster or the next one or the one after that. They do succeed at distracting people form getting help they deserve – help from a government that actually cares, and wants to do the work that performative MAGA GOP politicians now abhor.

Tags: Disaster Relief FEMA Hurricane Helene Hurricane Milton maga

Philip H

Philip H is an oceanographer who makes his way in the world trying to use more autonomy to sample and thus understand the world's ocean. He's a proud federal scientist, husband, father, woodworker and modelrailroader. The son of a historian and public-school teacher and the nephew and grandson of preachers, he believes one of his greatest marks on the world will be the words he leaves behind. To that end he writes here at OT and blogs very occasionally at District of Columbia Dispatches. Philip's views are definitely his own, and in no way reflect the official or unofficial position of any agency he works for now or has worked for in his career. If you disagree, take it up with him, not Congress.