Over the last few weeks, the people in West Maui have experienced terror, heartache, and grief on an unimaginable scale. Despite the best efforts of the ruling class there, word is getting out regarding the sheer incompetence and disregard for human life that, arguably, led to the majority of the deaths, and still, people like Hawaii Gov. Josh Green blame the horror on “climate change,” because if they admit that they put unqualified and ignorant people in charge because “equity,” they know there will be an excruciating reckoning.
We know that permission to divert water in West Maui so it could be used for firefighting was delayed by five hours by a bureaucrat who’s vocal about his desire to make decisions about who gets to use water with “equity” in mind, and that another bureaucrat didn’t sound the emergency sirens allegedly because he didn’t think the people were smart enough to realize they were being warned about fire and not a tsunami. We know that police blockades prevented one mother from getting to her home to rescue her 14-year-old son and that police lied and said that the area had been cleared – which she found out when she was finally allowed back in and found her son’s body. He was found in an embrace with the family dog, who also perished.
We know that Joe Biden was inhumane in his comments to the suffering people when he finally acknowledged that a tragedy had occurred, and even appeared to fall asleep during a memorial ceremony.
And, we know that Maui officials are actively impeding the press from doing its job.
Now, we know that Maui officials have asked FEMA to “pause on posting on social media and elsewhere images of damage/disaster/debris starting now” and claiming it’s “out of respect for those who perished.”
The source says they found this to be “weird” especially as this was sent when they were aware President Biden would be visiting the island. @FEMA has instructed them – at the order of local Maui Govt. to “pause on posting” to their socials or elsewhere.
Very interesting …
— Anthony Cabassa (@AnthonyCabassa_) August 21, 2023
This memo was sent from FEMA to a nonprofit whose personnel are en route to Hawaii, asking the nonprofit to refrain from posting photos or videos and citing “cultural sensitivity” as a reason for the request. But it’s not really a request; it’s an instruction from FEMA, the agency that can send them right back home if they don’t comply.
FEMA’s complete acquiescence, out of supposed respect for some sort of woke buzzword salad, is gross.
FEMA’s Justin Angel Knighten wrote:
“Out of respect for those who perished, we were asked by Maui County officials to pause on posting on social media….
“They are asking for a full stop on disaster imagery going forward. At this time, we have not been asked to take any photos or video down. Our team on the ground is coordinating with the County for further guidance to ensure we remain fully aligned. Cultural sensitivity is of the utmost importance in all our response and recovery activities to this disaster.”
How about ensuring accountability for people whose actions led to the death of innocent children be “of the utmost importance” to your organization? Why would you want to ensure you “remain fully aligned” unless that full alignment is with an accountable organization?
FEMA’s role is not to spend time and energy ensuring that documentation of absolute governmental failure is held from people who’ve lost so much already, or from those who might be able to hold those people accountable. If nothing else, FEMA officials must collect that footage and use it in after-action reports to ensure that such deadly failure never, ever occurs again.
The people who lost everything deserve full transparency and – this is important – accountability for what happened.
