The last time I was in the mountains of Western North Carolina was early spring, 2006. It was mid-April, and I spent a week at a writer's conference in a picturesque setting just east of the small town of Black Mountain. The area is very beautiful, the mountains steep, the small valleys and "hollows" narrow, and prone to periodic flooding. Of course, what occurred prior to the disaster brought by the remnants of Hurricane Helene was nothing in comparison. Helene's remnants brought once in a lifetime rains and flooding, and the narrow valleys and streams, filling with water coming down at high velocity, was well beyond the capacity of the rivers, lakes and streams to handle.
The Trump campaign pounced almost immediately. In spite of the fact that he is the one who has used disaster relief money as a bribe in the past, and advocates using it for that same purpose now, something conservatives applaud when he mentions it, he claimed that the Biden administration was withholding FEMA assistance on purpose because the area tends to vote heavily in favor of Republicans.
It was not true, of course, though FEMA funding was limited because of House Republicans deciding to wait until after the election to vote on increasing the aid. Most people in Western North Carolina, especially those who are Trump supporters, are inclined to believe those lies, even though FEMA assistance poured into the area as quickly as it has after any disaster, and not only were they among the first on the scene, but they had more to offer in short term assistance, as well as long term help, than anyone else did.
Then, because of rumors pushed by right wing media, threats against FEMA workers were made. Well, hey, if I've been sent to a place to help with flood relief, and I've brought equipment, food, bottled water, blankets, bedding and money to help people out in the short term, and I'm met at the end of someone's driveway with a loaded rifle, telling me to get lost, then let me tell you, I'm going to move on from there. I'll take that as a "no, thank you" to what I have to offer. But that person better not be critical of my attempt, or say that they weren't offered any help.
By some miracle, and a few media outlets who are still interested in telling the truth, there is word coming out of Western North Carolina, and Eastern Tennessee, that the massive destruction, which completely wiped out highways, bridges, railroad infrastructure, and thousands of homes and businesses, is being cleaned up and roads and bridges are being rebuilt in record time. And let's be realistic here. This kind of damage takes years to fix. But in spite of bad media reports, and all of the rumors deliberately triggered by Trump supporting liars, the efforts of the US Government in rebuilding infrastructure, clearing up damage and helping residents recover are being done in record time. Thanks, of course, to the efforts of President Joe Biden and his administration, which has managed FEMA as well as any President in history.
I have personal friends who live and work just east of Asheville, in the small community of Black Mountain, which was devastated by the floods. Their home sits on the side of a hill, and escaped the flooding, but the access road into their neighborhood was completely washed out, along with most of the streets in the town below. The day after the water receded, two crews were working in Black Mountain to clear debris and to put down gravel fill so that trapped residents could leave their neighborhood. The sound of the crews working were everywhere, bulldozers, chain saws, trucks carting stuff away. Two large refrigerator trucks were set up on the parking lot of a nearby church, distributing food items and household supplies.
It was all from FEMA. All of it. It would be about a week before any other relief organizations showed up to help. FEMA was there first. My friends noted that neighbors who were affected by the flooding got immediate financial assistance from FEMA, and were able to apply for all kinds of assistance depending on the extent of the damage, and what their own insurance would cover. And their reports, on their social media accounts, say that the recovery is moving as quickly as could be expected in the face of the scope of that disaster.
They, of course, saw the false reports, and they also saw people, in some cases people in poverty, refuse to accept FEMA aid because some Trump idiot had told them if they did, they wouldn't qualify for anything later on. That's the tragedy in Western North Carolina. It's lying and ignorance, and the tragedy is the trust these people place in a pathological liar only interested in using them to stuff his own pockets.
There are people who are having difficulty putting their lives back together, not because the government isn't helping fast enough, but because they bought into the lies Trump and the media have been telling and they've refused the help that has been offered. Rebuilding and repairing the damage there was a monumental task, the progress that has been made so far is ahead of schedule and remarkable considering the circumstances, and the fact that Mike Johnson and the House Republicans wouldn't call a session to pass an aid package for the area. That's how much they think of the voter support they get from Western North Carolina.
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