'Outpouring of unity in Spain as anger grows over slow response to floods'
www.bbc.com
Hundreds of volunteers take up buckets and brooms in Valencia as the government bolsters its response to the devastating floods.

Summary

Amidst the devastation of the floods in Valencia, Spain, an outpouring of solidarity has emerged, with thousands of volunteers assisting in cleanup efforts. However, anger is growing over the slow response from authorities, with many residents feeling abandoned and criticizing the lack of adequate warning systems. The Spanish government has deployed additional troops and police to aid in relief efforts.

  • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldEnglish
    124·
    11 days ago

    Because most people see the military as aggressively hostile. The last thing they want is to see their own country’s military marching through the streets for whatever reason. Especially in Spain, where it has a bit of a nasty history.

    • RubberDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
      111·
      11 days ago

      That too I understand. Hence no military dress, but the equipment… temporary bridger, pop up medical facilities, engineering corps, so much to gain too.

      So I think it would be worthwhile to see in what form this can be done. As the scale of what happened in Spain is just mind boggling. The picture of the entire street blocked with a wall of cars piled 2 stories high… so many dead… more homeless…

      • blackbelt352@lemmy.worldEnglish
        4·
        11 days ago

        On the flipside in the US, our last climate change fueled disaster had rampant conspiracy theories about government weather control devices and FEMA doing… idk something nefarious.

        • RubberDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
          31·
          11 days ago

          The lies that Y’all queda spread on this where insane. Literally undermining the help.

      • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldEnglish
        22·
        11 days ago

        You don’t need to convince me of the utility of it. Unlike the United States, Spain doesn’t have a national guard.

        The people of Spain are already pretty pissed. The government is probably not interested in something that will anger them further. Of course, that leaves the government of Spain in a tough spot.

        What they should do, in my own opinion, is to seize on this moment of the surge in volunteers and step in to help organize the effort better.

      • EleventhHour@lemmy.worldEnglish
        5·
        11 days ago

        Because I’m 45 and went to a private school in the 90s.

        United States education system was a lot better back then.

        And, yes. You should read paradise lost by John Milton. It’s the story of how Lucifer became Satan (and, really, the story of the most primeval fight for independence ever told). It’s both apocryphal and hated by the Catholic Church, but the source of 99% of everything we know about Satan.

        Just make sure to get an annotated version, because it’s written in 15th century iambic pentameter (like Shakespeare, but less humorous). It’s a bit much without annotations to help understand it