Everything’s Bigger in Texas: In one of the worst winter events to ever hit the state, Texas residents received the biggest F-you from failed leadership.
This past week was a literal hell (the iced-out version) for those of us who live in Texas.
In one of the worst winter events to ever hit the state, the residents (myself included) received the biggest F-you (everyday racism and oppression excluded) to our residential hoods.
Nearly the entire state was left in the cold. We’re talking negative degree temps to fend and fight for survival.
For over three-plus days (and counting), many of us all shared the same struggle and hate for our failed leadership that had a hand (directly and indirectly) in cutting the power, water, and natural gas resources from our lives.
Why Did The Power Go Out?
Over four million lives were left in the bitter cold and darkness, as power and most reliable means for a heating source were slashed.
The Electric (un)Reliability Council of Texas (ERCOT) failed to deliver on promises of ‘rolling outages’ throughout the state for sharing the electrical load.
In a historical weather event that they knew would catastrophically endanger us, they failed to adequately prepare and winterize power equipment and take the necessary precautions before the event.
In a lawsuit, first reported by the Houston Chronicle, against the council, it states:
“Despite having knowledge of the dire weather forecast for at least a week in advance, and the knowledge that the system was not prepared for more than a decade, ERCOT and Entergy failed to take any preemptory action that could have averted the crisis and were wholly unprepared to deal with the crisis at hand.”
However, this didn’t stop the council from hosting an emergency meeting to enforce energy rate increases to the consumers (aka storm victims) for their gross negligence.
They put profits over the welfare of the people, a big F-U to the residents of the state.
Ted’ who fled’ Cruz figuratively flipped the bird to Texans (and his dog Snowflake) as he chose to leave his ‘frozen home’ and abandon the constituents he swore on oath to serve publicly.
He consciously made vacation plans to Cancun, Mexico, while his voters (and non-voters) struggled to weather the storm.
Meanwhile, his 2018 candidate Beto for senate provided wellness checks and phoned state residents during the worst moments experienced in the week’s events.
Everything’s Bigger in Texas: Lives Were Lost Due to Gross Negligence
Over 58 people lost their lives, due to the recklessness of Texas leadership. Of those, included an 11-year-old boy who died from hypothermia due to frigid temperatures and lack of power or heat for days.
Experts say the death toll is likely far larger, and it could be weeks or months before the true magnitude is known.
As of February 22nd, a week after the start of the winter event, nearly 9 million Texans are still waking to unsafe drinking water.
Water systems serving much of the state’s 254 counties continued to be disrupted, meaning millions of people remained without running water or under notices to boil their tap water, the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality said.
Now we are faced and left with damage to various interiors of our homes, as water from frozen pipes burst, leaving us with flooded aftermaths uninhabitable for living.
Let’s see how the leaders in the state work to clean up their dirt, as we work to clean up the messes, they left us with.
About the Author
Yana is a literary artist and avid podcaster using her superpower of writing and storytelling to connect to the heart of people.
As the co-host of the Melanated Conversations podcast, she holds space for the amplification of Black women’s voices. With listeners spanning over 80 countries, she honors the transformative narratives of Black women around the globe.
