How we see people - a word about the aftermath of the hurricane

The disaster of Hurricane Katrina, compounded by the disastrous way in which local, state, and federal agencies failed to respond to the crisis, has devastated many lives. It has also affected those of us who are far away from the tragedy, because it has changed the way we see other people. If the first image we have of a person is seeing them shocked, injured, and bedraggled, waiting, who knows for what, in a makeshift rescue centre with thousands of others, then we are liable to completely unjustified conclusions about their lives.

This is what a friend of mine in the US whose family have been badly affected by Hurricane Katrina wrote:

It's funny, I've never thought of my family 
as anything other than good people 
who are rich in love and have huge 
giving hearts. I learned the true meaning 
of family from them. Now, the world sees
them as poor, black folks. 
That makes me so sad.