Who do we blame?

 In a wonderful display of authority this week, Mother Nature crippled one the biggest cities in the United States with a mere 3 inches of snow.  I could easily rattle off a dozen names in the next 30 seconds of people living north of the Mason Dixon line who are undoubtedly finding this quite laughable.  It is actually pretty impressive to think that two and a half inches of the white stuff have brought the state of Georgia to its knees.  Thousands of people were left stranded on Interstate highways.  Abandoned cars were lined up for miles and miles all around the city. Children were forced to spend the night in their Schools.  CNN is calling the scene a “zombie apocalypse”.  And right now, everyone is looking for the culpable parties.

Photo courtesy ABC news.

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ran a pretty good comic that sums up the peoples frustrations.

 Courtesy: Atlanta Journal Constitution

The finger pointing is so rampant that I am surprised that more people are not getting frostbite on their index fingers.  The front page of CNN is demanding someone to pin the blame on.

On the Today Show, Al Roker said the traffic nightmare was caused by “Poor planning on the Governors part.”  The National Guard has been called out to deal with the mass confusion created by the “Blizzard of 14”.  Every news agency in the country is rushing to quote angry residents, looking to point fingers at someone, anyone and blame them for this awful tragedy.   As I sit and watch all of this unfold, I am sure I share the opinion of my Yankee neighbors when all I can think is:  “Dear God, what kind of nation, full of pansy-ass, nancy boys have we created?”  If our forefathers could see a metropolis the size of Atlanta, crippled by a handful of snow, they would be rolling in their graves.

   Let’s take a closer look at this shall we?  First things first.  There is an endless stream of pundits and residents all over the news who are griping about Atlanta’s lack of preparedness.  Really? Anyone who expects a city the size of Atlanta to keep millions of dollars worth of snow removal equipment on hand and well maintained is out of their mind.  According to the Southeast Regional Climate Center, over the past 70 years, Atlanta has averaged just over 2 inches of snowfall a year.  Chew that up for a moment.  We are laying out the expectation that Atlanta should have snow plows and salt trucks ready to go.  In a city that sees less snowfall a year than any city in Michigan sees in an hour.  That’s absurd.  If officials had proposed spending that kind of money 6 months ago on that equipment, the media would have lambasted them for wasting taxpayer dollars, and rightfully so. 

   I live quite a ways south of Atlanta.  I enjoy the luxury of year round sunshine and warmer weather.  If for some crazy reason, I looked out the window and saw snow falling and gathering on the ground here, I can tell you what I would do:  I would turn on the heater, put on a sweater, start some cocoa, load the shotgun and lock the door.  I would then sit down and watch a movie.  Wait for it to finish snowing and then cautiously go out and check on the animals and the farm.  If I absolutely needed to go out, I would measure the road conditions against the vehicles I have.  My truck certainly does not have snow tires on it here.    

But who do we blame?  Oh, I’m getting to that.  The mass of problems created in Atlanta lie squarely with one group of people; its citizens.  If you look out and see snow on the ground, and you know that you live in an area ill equipped to handle accumulated snowfall and you then go out and get in your car, guess what? You are the one to blame.  Each and every individual who got behind the wheel of their car in Atlanta is the problem.  Even if you are a transplanted Yankee who knows how to drive around in 16 inches of accumulated snow, if you get out and drive, congratulations, you just won the Darwin award.  You are surrounded by half a million people who don’t have a clue how to drive in inclement weather.  You are still not going to get very far, and you just became part of the problem.  And let's face it.  If your kid has to spend the night at the gym in his School, isn't that an awesome excuse to have a date night with the wife?

“But Howie, the elected officials should have seen this coming.  They did not cancel School and send out warnings.”  I really hate to dignify this with the obvious response, but I am going to.  For all your technology and research, the one variable that you will never control is the one everyone seems to be leaving out.  You cannot control or predict Mother Nature, pure and simple.  And what can you really do once Nature takes over?  Call someone with salt trucks, call the National Guard and drink that cocoa.  Everyone knows I am a huge fan of dragging politicians out into the light.  I love me some tar and feather action.  However, this is not the time for that.  People just need to accept that sometimes things happen that are beyond our control.  Give it a few hours and the snow will melt.  In the meantime, stop griping and let everyone get back to preparing for the real zombie apocalypse.