Deploying flood-rescue photographs as masculinity propaganda.

At WaPo, Janell Ross has a long piece titled "How viral images of hurricane heroes are rebranding the ‘redneck’ identity." You can guess what photograph appears first: that handsome white SWAT officer carrying a delicate Asian woman who is holding a little baby. Maybe you can also guess the second photograph: a white man standing up in a boat and holding the hand of an elderly woman.

These pictures and others are widely shared, but Ross focuses on the sharing by "far right, alt-right and just avowedly right-leaning sites." These photo-sharers add captions like:

When disaster strikes, it’s what men do. Real men. Heroic men. American men. And then they’ll knock back a few shots, or a few beers with like-minded men they’ve never met before, and talk about fish, or ten-point bucks, or the benefits of hollow-point ammo, or their F-150.

That is, the disaster activated some men to get out there and rescue people and the photographs activated other men (and perhaps women) to get on the internet and tout masculinity. And the masculinity-touting photo captions activate and Janell Ross and me to analyze the masculinity propaganda (and perhaps you to comment on our propaganda analysis instead of getting out there in the real world and helping somebody in your town or region who needs to be carried or boated somewhere).

There's much more to Ross's column, and it's specifically about whiteness. Ross, we're told, "covers race along with the social and political implications of the nation's rapidly changing demographics." She says:

What appears to be taking shape in the national conversation about disaster recovery is praise not only of the individuals doing the work, but of a particular brand of white male masculinity. And with that has come an open attempt to dismiss legitimate concerns about the stereotyping and racism some self-identified “rednecks,” “country boys” and those who admire them engaged in before the storm.

"If you want to know what .@politico thinks about the victims of #Harvey, here is the cartoon they just tweeted, then deleted."

If you want to know what .@politico thinks about the victims of #Harvey, here is the cartoon they just tweeted, then deleted. pic.twitter.com/9cr0Ne2Z06

— Buck Sexton (@BuckSexton) August 30, 2017

Via Aaron Blake (at WaPo) who identifies 4 problems:

1. The "crassness" of making fun of people who are suffering.

2. The stark and negative stereotypes. (The "dismissive" attitude toward Christianity especially bothers Blake.)

3. The assumption that because it's Texas, people are conservative, when, in fact, Houston skews strongly Democratic.

4. The idea that "people who believe in smaller government and lower taxes believe everything should be privatized and that the government shouldn't be counted on to do anything."

Here's the second-highest-rated comment at WaPo:

I disagree completely. The cartoon epitomizes the essence of the rabid right-wingers ruling Texas, who insist that government IS the problem... until they need some government help. The hypocrisy of religious right fanatics like Cruz is so thick you could cut it with a spoon. Meanwhile, the PumpkinFührer in the White House hasn't drained the swamp, he's made it much, much worse. And remember, these are the same fanatics who insisted that President Obama was planning a forceful takeover of their State to remove all their guns. Personally, that would not have been a bad idea.

I wanted to call attention to that comment because we're talking about the idea of "pumpkin spice" Trump over in my post "After all the titillation and anguish of Houston, will the news media ever find its way back to the hate-Trump story?" I answer my question "no," based on signs that include the fact that the NYT has a front-page-teased article today on the early return of pumpkin spice products. In the comments, I said:

Suddenly, it's fall and everyone's into orange... and the President is orange! Just add cinnamon and nutmeg and cloves and everyone will love him.

That made me remember pumpkin spice Trump jokes from last year. In September, there was "Trump Launching New Pumpkin Spice Version of Himself to Woo White Women Voters." And, from Funny or Die: "Theory: Trump Rising in the Polls Because Voters Think He’s Pumpkin Spiced." 

With kids heading back to school and the first hints of an autumnal nip in the morning air, there is something about Trump’s rich cinnamon-orange skin, with its artificial hues of nutmeg, an ample yet airy frosting of whipped sugary golden-white strands sitting on top of it all, that just feels comfortable to certain folks as fall’s shorter, crisper days approach. It’s like a warm cup of cider. Or a comfy sweater. Or, yes, like delicious, delicious pumpkin spice. That’s right—Voters must think Donald Trump is pumpkin spiced.

And, most hilarious, on November 1st, just before the kick-in-the-head of Trump actually winning, "Ways Trump is like a Pumpkin Spice Latte":

1. Orange-ish
2. Liked by too many white people
3. Will hopefully go away after November

After all the titillation and anguish of Houston, will the news media ever find its way back to the hate-Trump story?

Trump is insane, he's working for the Russians, he's got his finger on the button, he's a racist. Remember the good old days? Before Hurricane Harvey barged in and demanded attention? Nature. Reality. What a distraction! Blowing away months of hard work! The hate-Trump story needed relentless beating into our heads until this flood rushed in and swept the bête noire down a storm sewer.

But can the media ever get back to normal? I mean the "normal" of everything's abnormal with Trump in the White House.

Maybe the people don't want the President relentlessly kicked around when he might have something to do with helping all the people struggling in the wake of Hurricane Harvey? Maybe people won't tune in to hear descriptions of problems that don't show up in vivid pictures with crying mothers and soaking-wet puppy dogs. Maybe we won't sit still to hear about scary, burdensome problems that need to be described in complicated words and that can instantly evaporate if we just stop believing they exist.

I'm seeing signs that the answer to my question — will the news media ever find its way back to the hate-Trump story? — is no.

Sign #1. This is a story on the front page of nytimes.com: "Pumpkin Spice Glut Arrives Earlier Than Ever," by Tiffany Hsu:

Think Christmas creep, but orange: A slew of pumpkin-flavored products inspired by fall are turning up earlier each year, arriving in July and August as a harbinger of a season that this year doesn’t officially begin until Sept. 22.

And there are stirrings of a pumpkin spice pushback among many consumers who say they aren’t ready for a shift from bikinis to beanies.

From bikinis to beanies... Is that the shift you make in the fall? Off with the bikini, on with the... beanie! We're not just into fashion. We're into tiny, cutesy fashion. Bikinis-n-beanies. Beanies! And the tiny, cutesy problem is: the return of pumpkin spice getting into everything.

Sign #2. The NYT has a story on how young people coming to New York City do not go to the traditional tourist attractions but to things they've seen as backdrops in other people's Instagram pictures. They want to Instagram from the same place, like these pink doors to the restaurant Sel Rrose and the candy display at Metrograph. The tiny, cutesy problem is that the kids only drop by to get a photograph and don't experience what the business is trying to sell, such as candy and other food.

Sign #3. Melania's shoes. "Melania Trump, Off to Texas, Finds Herself on Thin Heels" — that's the "most-viewed" story at the NYT right now. M's stiletto's symbolize where everyone wants to go if we ever wade out of that floodwater. It's on to fashion, fashion, fashion. What does it mean?! Well, isn't there some chance that the shoes are a bridge back from the flood to Trump-hating? She was so out of touch! What a symbol! She doesn't care! No empathy! Trump lacks empathy! He's rich and narcissistic and crazy as exemplified by the shoes on that wife he took to Texas. But I don't think that will get us back to good, old-fashioned Trump hating. I think it showed we were maxing out on trouble and ready to contemplate the familiar, miniature, lightweight-feminism problem of women's shoes:

Now, let's put on our sneakers 'n' beanies and sip on a Pumpkin Spice Java Chip Frappuccino and position ourselves in front of a pink door so the people of Instagram can know we are happy.

"Woman cradles and protects child. Man carries and protects both. This is how it ought to be, despite what your gender studies professor says."

A tweet with that Harvey photo (which I'm sure you've seen) inspires (insufficiently) comic tweets.

"'We ain’t doing no damn good right here,' said Utesch. Brad wondered if the homeowners suspected they were looters."

"They passed other boaters with similar experiences. The few homeowners who were evacuating from this corner of Houston preferred to do so in the back of huge trucks. Back on the highway the two men found Wayne and Juergen and loaded their boats back on to the pickup. 'Well, we tried,' said Brad, dejected. 'The effort and desire were there, the results weren’t,' said Utesch."

From "'We ain’t doing no damn good': volunteer rescuers struggle in Houston/The ‘Cajun navy’ force of helpers from Louisiana are hitting an unexpected problem in the Harvey-flooded city – residents declining to evacuate" in The Guardian.

Harvey's dogs, Katrina's dogs.

We're seeing lots of people + dogs rescues. Here's a NYT article "Saving Pets Is Paramount for Many Fleeing Tropical Storm Harvey."

But there's no reminder of how different things were with Katrina in 2005. Here's an article in Buzzfeed from a few years ago, "How Hurricane Katrina Turned Pets Into People/After Katrina, animal rescuers saved thousands of New Orleans' cats and dogs — and in the process, elevated the status of pets in the eyes of the law":

"Can Trump Show A Nation He Cares?"

Asks NPR, as Trump goes to Texas.

"President Trump is doing the right thing by going to Texas," said Alex Conant, a Republican strategist who worked for Marco Rubio's presidential campaign. "Nothing can replace seeing a disaster firsthand.... Whenever a president visits a disaster site or meets with victims of a tragedy, it's important that he not make the visit about him... "

Kevin Madden, a former senior adviser to Mitt Romney's presidential campaigns, [said] ... "For Trump, the key here will be blocking out distractions and keeping his words and deeds squarely focused on the rescue missions, the humanitarian relief and economic recovery that needs to take place. It can't be about him or taking credit...."...

"Those remarks should be inclusive, healing and aspirational in terms of focus on the future," GOP strategist Phil Musser said. But Trump also has to show "command of the situation — the operational tick-tock — that demonstrates that the leader of the government is in charge, focused on the challenge and resolving it as quickly as possible, and on top of things...."

"For years, engineers have warned that Houston was a flood disaster in the making. Why didn't somebody do something?"

Asks the L.A. Times. Excerpt:

The storm was unprecedented, but the city has been deceiving itself for decades about its vulnerability to flooding, said Robert Bea, a member of the National Academy of Engineering and UC Berkeley emeritus civil engineering professor who has studied hurricane risks along the Gulf Coast.

The city’s flood system is supposed to protect the public from a 100-year storm, but Bea calls that “a 100-year lie” because it is based on a rainfall total of 13 inches in 24 hours.

“That has happened more than eight times in the last 27 years,” Bea said. “It is wrong on two counts. It isn’t accurate about the past risk and it doesn’t reflect what will happen in the next 100 years.”

"A split between Texas Gov. Greg Abbott and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner over whether the metropolis should have been evacuated..."

"... is raising questions about officials’ response to damaging floodwaters as a catastrophe continues to engulf the region. Mr. Turner, a Democrat, and other local officials urged residents to stay in their homes as Hurricane Harvey... approached Houston on Friday. But at a Friday news conference, Gov. Abbott, a Republican, suggested otherwise. 'Even if an evacuation order hasn’t been issued by your local official, if you’re in an area between Corpus Christi and Houston, you need to strongly consider evacuating.'... Mr. Turner defended his decision on Sunday, saying it would have been foolish to evacuate 6.5 million people from Houston and surrounding areas without knowing the course of the storm."

The WSJ reports in an article that seems to be outside the paywall.

"In Houston, reservoirs swollen by rain from Hurricane Harvey were opened early Monday, a move that was expected to flood more homes..."

"... but one that the Army Corps of Engineers says is needed to limit the scope of the disaster that's threatening lives and property in Texas," NPR reports.

"If we don't begin releasing now, the volume of uncontrolled water around the dams will be higher and have a greater impact on the surrounding communities," said Col. Lars Zetterstrom, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Galveston District. He warned residents to stay vigilant as water levels rise....

"It's going to be better to release the water through the gates directly into Buffalo Bayou as opposed to letting it go around the end and through additional neighborhoods and ultimately into the bayou," he said.

Government choices, aiming the flow of the floodwater.