Catastrophe or Karma?

By: Katie Harbaugh

For anyone who hasn’t watched the news lately, Texas experienced its first legitimate snowfall in years. Not only that, but record-low temperatures met with ill-equipped infrastructure caused dozens of deaths and even more cold-related injuries. As a midwesterner, it can be easy to make jokes about the south “not being used to the cold,” until you realize that people have died because of it. In the north we have regular salting-trucks, seasonal heating systems, and experience with the cold. In the south, they have never needed any of that, which makes it so much more difficult for them to deal with what some would consider to be a small amount of snow. 

Secondly, as always, this is a situation in which politics have come into play. It is a well known fact that Texas is a red state. Specifically, the majority of votes have been entirely for republican candidates since the 90s. Republicans are often (reasonably so) associated with not believing in climate change, which has caused a lot of people on the left to call this climate catastrophe in Texas a form of “karma.” However, it is important to note that the divide was less dominant in 2020, with 46.5% of candidates voting for democrat Joe Biden. This means that almost half of the people suffering in Texas are those who fully believe in climate change. Additionally, the main people victimized by climate are less wealthy individuals and those in marginalized communities, who statistically tend to vote more blue than red. So, while this may be seen as a necessary wake up call for Texan climate-deniers, for the most part this catastrophe has exposed the sad correspondence between privilege and survival. 

However, there has been some novel positive communication between northerners and Texans, with the former working to provide tips for those suffering from the cold. In short, while politics can be incredibly divisive for understandable reasons, I maintain that we should prioritize humanity.

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