Not Just a Camp. Not Just a Tragedy. A Mirror.
We've heard the polished grief for Camp Mystic. We've seen the prayers, the ribbons, the televised tears. And that grief is real. But so is the silence around everyone else who died in the same flood --in the same night-- just without the privilege.
Was this preventable?
FEMA funding slashed.
RV families from Odessa, gone.
So no. I'm not in the Mood to Be Witty
We can't claim that "nobody could have known."
Until now.
This isn't just about Camp Mystic.
It's about 82 lives lost across Central Texas.
It's about 27 girls and counselors at an elite camp and dozens of everyday Texans whose names you haven't see in the headlines.
We've heard the polished grief for Camp Mystic. We've seen the prayers, the ribbons, the televised tears. And that grief is real. But so is the silence around everyone else who died in the same flood --in the same night-- just without the privilege.
Was this preventable?
Yes.
Meteorologists screamed warnings days ahead.
The National Weather Service issued flash flood alerts hours before the water rose.
But the systems meant to respond had already been cut, gutted or ignored.
FEMA funding slashed.
NOAA and weather science jobs eliminated.
Local counties, like Kerr, still lacked sirens or river alarm systems even after decades of prior flooding.
And now? The same politicians who cut preparedness budgets are offering "thoughts and prayers" on camera.
Camp Mystic is a sacred name in Texas elite circles. Girls of governors, oil families, and even former first ladies have attended.
This summer:
~750 campers
~$4500 each,
Estimated $3.3-3.5 million in one session alone.
And yet, no real evacuation plan.
No sirens.
No weather-proof bunkers.
No required flood training.
Just prayers and hope on a river that's flooded before.
In 1932. In 1978. In 1987.
This was known.
And still, kids were sleeping in cabins on the banks.
While the nation grieves the girls at Mystic, 41 other Kerr country residents also died.
They weren't from legacy families.
They weren't in matching Mystic uniforms.
But they mattered.
RV families from Odessa, gone.
A 92-year-old swept from her attic.
A father-of-four drowned saving his kids.
A beloved camp director from a different girls' camp, lost
No headlines. No hashtags. Just grief.
While politicians bickered, Mexico sent firefighters.
Yes, Mexico sent trained first responders across the border to help rescue Americans.
Why? Because they know what community means.
Because some of the bravest acts that night came from two young Mexican counselors who rescued 20 girls, wrote their names on their bodies with Sharpie in case they didn't make it.
Let that sink in:
The same country demonized at our borders just saved our daughters.
We failed these kids.
All of them.
Nor just at Camp Mystic, but across the Hill Country.
We failed the RV family.
The old woman.
The teacher.
The father.
We failed the weather scientists who warned us.
We failed the responders who did not have the resources.
And we failed the Mexican heroes who won't get headlines but gave everything.
So no. I'm not in the Mood to Be Witty
Because this wasn't a tragedy. It was a choice.
A choice to ignore science.
A choice to protect profit over planning.
A choice to treat some deaths as national news and others as statistics.
We can't claim that "nobody could have known."
We did know.
We've known for decades.
We just decided it wasn't urgent.
Until now.
If you're reading this:
Say their names, all of them.
Demand sirens in every river town.
Fund FEMA.
Fund science.
And never forget that when the river came, it didn't ask what color your skin was or who had money.
It just took.
(Note that the death toll is currently at 104 with 41 still accounted for. Roughly half of that number are children.)
Thank you so much!
ReplyDeleteIt is a heartbreaking story in a world filled with them.
DeleteHi
ReplyDeleteWell, We need to listen to science, prepare better, and honor every life equally. Tragedy or not, we can’t keep ignoring what we already know. Change is overdue.
Your words 'honor every life equally' would solve a great many of our world's problems, wouldn't it? So simple...but we can't do it.
DeleteIt's sad. Not sure the Texas or national politicians will change. God bless the rescuers from everywhere, including Mexico. Linda in Kansas
ReplyDeleteI think the thing that bothered me most was hearing a local official say that people were desensitized by too many alerts. Another said 'we know the river'. It sounds to me as if people entrusted to get the word out simply decided nothing was going to happen.
DeleteAll true and all tragic and possibly (probably?) preventable.
ReplyDeleteThe news about the two Mexican counsellors is on Threads...but I haven't seen it elsewhere.
ReplyDeleteSuch moments in time always brings out the best in people but the sanctimonious twitterings by those in power is sad. A heart breaking event for all the families who have experienced loss.
ReplyDeleteNone of that, apart from Camp Mystic, has appeared in the News here.
ReplyDeleteTragic.
Something not mentioned in the press is the loss of funds for bolstering climate resilience (ie, river gauges & sirens in this case) as grants from Biden's IRA bill to localities have been cancelled.
ReplyDeleteIt's a tragedy, brushed off as a 'once in 100 years event' which it clearly isn't. So many lives ripped apart.
ReplyDeleteThis is literally the only place I've found such a summary of the other lives lost. It is beyond heartbreaking.
ReplyDeleteGeez … 😞
ReplyDelete