Are You Worth Saving?
Yes, of course, you are.
Let us all be real for a quick second if we could. If you are some sort of millionaire that has all sorts of resources and people at their disposal, you will probably end up being one of the first ones evacuated in a huge catastrophe. However, if you are like me and the other 99% of the population we would most likely end up being one of the last ones taken to safety, but if you do manage to be rescued there is a high chance that the first ones out are already organizing a way to buy out your destroyed neighborhood. They will call your home a “blank slate” and proceed to capitalize on your suffering and destruction. In this case, the rich get richer and the poor get…, well, nothing.
We saw a lot of this Disaster Capitalism happen with Hurricane Katrina when the storm devastated the Gulf Coast. People were basically kicked out of their homes because they were not able to afford them afterwards. Gentrification drew the locals out since most of them were poor. Now, in 2018, history seems to be repeating itself. Hurricane Maria destroyed the island of Puerto Rico which left most of the locals without food, water, electricity, or shelter (some even to this day) http://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-44294366. Now the president of Puerto Rico wishes to sell the electrical grid to a private organization; however, the effect of this maybe far too great than we could expect. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-puertorico-power-prepa/puerto-rico-to-sell-off-crippled-power-utility-prepa-idUSKBN1FB31M. The basic necessity of electricity could be far from reach for the people of Puerto Rico since selling off the electrical grid to a private sector implies that the price for electricity will skyrocket. The basic idea of any company is to make money whether it is affordable to certain people is not of their concern. To put it simply, they will benefit themselves over benefiting the people in need.
Companies and corporations have long been benefiting themselves over people for years now. In the novel Animal’s People written by Indra Sinha, Sinha addresses this evil. The protagonist of the novel, Animal, was affected from the Bhopal Gas Tragedy in 1984. Animal was born a few days before the gas leak and since then has suffered growing defects. His spine is unable to support his body and causes him to move around on all fours which is where he gets his name “Animal.” The Union Carbide India Limited, the company which caused the gas leak, continued profiting all the while people suffered.
It seems as though the poor just are not worth saving. Why? Because there is no profit in the poor.
