Oh, thank heavens

[spatch]

Brought to my attention by the erstwhile kizlj, I am sharing with you a truly wondrous story of humanity and the wonders that happen when we all pitch in to help.

In an effort to help others affected by this disaster, e.l.f. Cosmetics
has created 10,000 special Hurricane Katrina Relief Beauty Kits that include:

* pressed powder
* shimmering facial whip for the eyes, lips and face
* lip moisturizer
* lip gloss
* mascara

. . .

* e.l.f. will be shipping these kits to people directly affected by the
hurricane disaster.

Cheer up, people of New Orleans. You may have lost your homes, your business, your livelihoods, your loved ones, and you're stranded at the Convention Center waiting for buses that may or may never come, there's no food, there's no drinking water, the dead are piling up around you, the people who are supposed to be the Good Guys are holding you at gunpoint while the Bad Guys are running amok doing their thing, but at least you'll all look like pretty pretty princesses!

This news, hot on the heels of slit's findings that Halliburton will finally get the chance to nab a sweet piece of this hurricane action and CNN's side-by-side comparison of what the Government's been saying versus reports from the scene, really serves to pick me up, pat me on the head, and say "Cheer up, lil' buckaroo, everything's gonna be all right."

Comments

[erika]

Not to be bitchy, but regarding the makeup kits, have you ever gone through a disaster? Some of the things you miss most are the little things. My mother managed just fine to deal with everything else regarding our house burning down, but what got her crying was that she couldn't make herself a cup of coffee the day we moved into a new apartment because we didn't have any pots. Or coffee. Or cups, for that matter.

[erika]

Granted, it is a little weird to be thinking about those little things when the big things aren't OK. Perhaps the makeup would've been a nicer gesture a month from now.

[spatch]

You make a very good point about creature comforts and the little things. Perhaps if these kits are going to the refugees in Houston or elsewhere, who have already been shuttled out of the disaster area and can begin to think about functioning again, then it could be a small, but important gesture of showing that their world and their lives are gonna continue, and here's some reinforcement for that.

But the way the PR article is worded, it sounds like they're airdropping rouge and powder directly into the heart of New Orleans.

[stopword.livejournal.com]

I agree. I don't wear makeup, but women that do often feel ugly and out-of-sorts without it.

10,000 isn't that many, though, considering how many people are homeless. And I hope they aren't one of the companies that only make colors for white people. And the fact that they went out on prnewswire indicates to me that they are doing a little too much back-patting than they need to be.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

eh, it really doesn't even bother me that much. companies, particularly large companies, only galvanize themselves to help for good PR. hell, i'm sure that if (and oh god, i hope they do) my company, which is ~40 ppl, does something to get cell service back up, they'll publicize it. i mean, hell, there are decent odds we won't even get paid for it. guilt/moral superiority is a great motivator, and i don't mind seeing it get put to good use.

i *do* hope though, that it's not all white person makeup.

[spatch]

I'd rank getting lines of communication up far far far above physical appearance. If your company's efforts means that someone gets in touch with a loved one they feared was missing, then that's a Damn Good Thing and should be mentioned (like the Fats Domino story) so that we get good news, or at least better news, out of this thing.

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

but at the same time, cellular base stations are What We Do. i wouldn't expect e.l.f. to be able to do anything like that. they're giving what they have, and we're giving what we have. it's just that what they have happens to be a socially contrived and rather useless product. :)

-someone who only wears makeup to be silly

[androidqueen.livejournal.com]

(also, it's arguable how useful getting cell service up is. in the long term, it's, of course, very important, but how many people do you think have non-dead cell phones down there?)