Chicago Tribune Writer Comes Under Fire For Column Wishing for Hurricane Katrina
In a column expressing a desire to see Chicago rise the way New Orleans did in 2005, a Chicago Tribune columnist wrote a piece that was released on Thursday with are-you-kidding-me title of “In Chicago, wishing for a Hurricane Katrina.”
Kristen McQueary wrote about how she found herself “praying for a storm,” that would prompt a “rebirth” in Chicago. The rest of the article alludes to McQueary’s hope that this figurative event would be able to bring light to issues “beneath the pretty surface,” that “threaten (Chicago’s) future.”
“Envy isn’t a rational response to the upcoming 10-year anniversary of Hurricane Katrina,” McQueary wrote in her opening. “I can relate, metaphorically, to the residents of New Orleans climbing onto their rooftops and begging for help and waving their arms and lurching toward rescue helicopters.”
The column has since been retitled to Chicago, New Orleans and Rebirth. It also now includes this tweet from McQueary, emphasizing that the storm she wrote about was a “figurative” one, and that she acknowledged Katrina as a tragedy:
If you read the piece, it's about finances and government. I would never diminish the tragedy of thousands of lives lost.
— Kristen McQueary (@StatehouseChick) August 13, 2015
McQueary soon wrote a new article apologizing to New Orleans and those she offended, but even so, the original title was out there long enough for people to say how it made them feel:
@StatehouseChick You just did. I’ll be in Chicago in early Sept. and will be glad to buy you coffee and talk about it. Nicely.
— Kevin Allman (@KevinAllman) August 13, 2015
As someone who experienced Katrina first-hand, the ignorance in this column is trivializing, grotesque and upsetting, @StatehouseChick
— Matt Baldwin (@thisbrokenwheel) August 13, 2015
@StatehouseChick I read the piece, which completely diminishes the tragedy of thousands of lives lost in an insufferable way.
— Nathan Rabin (@nathanrabin) August 15, 2015
New Orleanians agree: @StatehouseChick wins the award for most insensitive piece of Katrina dreck. https://t.co/yci8w0NsKJ
— Jason Saul (@jasonmsaul) August 13, 2015
@cateroot @missy_wilkinson @BillLoehfelm "This town needs a 9/11!" "this town needs a 1906 SF earthquake!" etc. NOPE NOPE NOPE.
— Matt Baldwin (@thisbrokenwheel) August 13, 2015
The @chicagotribune Katrina editorial & apology is like saying they were envious of a friend's extra closet space after their child died
— Patrick Staunton (@216Patrick) August 15, 2015
@StatehouseChick I read the piece. It's still grotesque and out-of-touch. Why use the metaphor for actual people dying on rooftops? Yeesh.
— Dan Henrick (@DanHenrick) August 13, 2015
@StatehouseChick you made some decent points about Chicago, but I'd urge you to remember the deaths, the tragedy, the families torn apart ..
— Lizzie O'Leary (@lizzieohreally) August 14, 2015
[h/t NOLA]
[Image via Screengrab]
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