Slog - Comments on Eastside Refugees seek 4-star shelter http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se It's been three days since roughly one million families in the Eastside and greater Seattle area lost power at approximately 10 pm Thursday night during the worst storm in a decade. Passing up a rare chance to camp out at Qwest Field, whole neighborhoods have instead migrated to upscale, downtown hotels for the weekend. If you're going to be a refugee, I can think of worst places," says Lakewood resident and current refugee Pat McVee of the Sheraton room he shares with his wife. "It's like a rich man's Superdome." McVee takes another bite of his BLT, while his wife... Copyright 2008 Sun, 17 Dec 2006 09:46:51 -0800 Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:25:47 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Art Our house is full of refugees, and we're doing pretty well - blitz spirit and all that. We've had a few people stop over to use warm water for showers.

Being without money for a hotel or people in powered areas you can stay with must suck utterly.

]]> Art http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575143 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575143 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:32:17 -0800 Comment by meggo But oddly, there are only 2 unofficial shelters open on the eastside, both in bellevue. We just got power back at my place in Kirkland last night. It was 42 inside, so we've been staying with generous friends in Seattle. If we were still dead this morning, we were hoping to hit one of the shelters. I guess people have been using hotels, instead.

]]> meggo http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575147 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575147 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 10:49:39 -0800 Comment by Art Seattle Public Light are listing a few more shelters.

]]> Art http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575151 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575151 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 11:14:43 -0800 Comment by Gitai Nothing can make me hate these people more than the comment, "It's like a rich person's Superdome."

]]> Gitai http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575155 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575155 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 12:14:49 -0800 Comment by Gomez I was waiting for this.

“We just want to go home,” Eastern tells me, “the quarters are really cramped here; the hotel is packed. It’s really easy to take your house for granted until you don’t have it anymore.”

Cry me a river. You're rich enough to afford the Sheraton. I don't really care if staying there puts you in any sort of discomfort.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575184 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575184 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:22:43 -0800 Comment by Dougsf Whatever, at least they're sorting it out amongst themselves and injecting some money into the hopitality industry while their at it.

]]> Dougsf http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575187 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575187 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 16:32:49 -0800 Comment by The Baron My self-righteous-bullshit-detector just exploded!

]]> The Baron http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575193 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575193 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 17:07:48 -0800 Comment by bobjones I love the snobby comments about the horrible rich eastsiders people from a bunch of Seattle yuppies living in Ballard, Wallingford, Fremont, Queen Anne, etc.

Trust me, if those parts of Seattle were without power we would have seen the same mass exodus to downtown hotels. Let's stop pretending that a neighborhood where a starter home is $400K is anything but rich, no matter what side of the lake it's on.

]]> bobjones http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575204 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575204 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:21:10 -0800 Comment by Gomez Oh, whatever, like half of us can even afford Motel 6. I'd wrap up in blankets and wait for the power to come back.

That said, I understand how fortunate I am to live in a neighborhood with strong enough infrastructure that the power rarely goes out.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575210 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575210 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 18:49:54 -0800 Comment by The Baron Oh, whatever, like half of us can even afford Motel 6.

Your parents, who you live with, most likely could.

]]> The Baron http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575224 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575224 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 20:53:15 -0800 Comment by Gomez Nice try, dumbass. My parents live in Las Vegas.

]]> Gomez http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575243 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575243 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 22:48:23 -0800 Comment by beneluxboy They're staying in our hotels and probably shopping in our shops, too — say hello to the tax dollars.

]]> beneluxboy http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575250 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575250 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:08:59 -0800 Comment by beneluxboy They're staying in our hotels and probably shopping in our shops, too — say hello to the tax dollars.

]]> beneluxboy http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575251 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575251 News Sun, 17 Dec 2006 23:09:10 -0800 Comment by lame
This post seems really strange in its tone. It's as if there's some assumption that all the people on the Eastside are rich, Beverly Hills snobs with little dogs and idle hands. The Eastside is horrible in innumerable ways, but it's not all wealthy, not even close. (By the way, the average income in that chi-chi suburb Lakewood is $36,000. Seattle is around $72,000.) The key difference is that most Eastsiders own their own homes. That might make them middle class, but not "rich". (Medina, Clyde Hill, rich? Yes. Factoria? Juanita? Duvall? Totem Lake? Eastgate? Not by Seattle standards.)

Secondly, did Qwest Field really offer to be a shelter? I didn't hear that they did. I wouldn't call having to stay in a hotel as result of massive flooding as a "weekend getaway". Just because they're staying in a hotel, doesn't mean they can necessarily afford it.

Lastly: "well bred dogs on designer leashes". Did you know for sure they were "designer"? Did you ask the dog-owners about the breeding of their dogs? Glib lines like this drive me insane.

From the tone of this article (and especially the tone of the comments), people whose homes are either uninhabitable or too cold for sleeping in (it's 32 degrees right now) shouldn't be staying at a hotel. They should burden any friends or relatives (if they have them) with their families (and pets), sleep on the street, or stay in a freezing house that has no electricity (and probably not enough blankets). Otherwise, they're insufferable, rich, and horrible people. That's nuts.

Yes, Eastsiders can be myopic and insufferable, but they shouldn't made out as villians for staying in a hotel during a natural disaster.

]]> lame http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575271 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575271 News Mon, 18 Dec 2006 01:30:13 -0800 Comment by Catalina Vel-DuRay I think the worst assumption is that either the Westin or Sheraton are "upscale". The Westin has been reduced to the level of a really nice Holiday Inn, and the Sheraton is just a dump. No amount of icing can help that turd.

]]> Catalina Vel-DuRay http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575304 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575304 News Mon, 18 Dec 2006 08:57:03 -0800 Comment by BobH This post lost all its credibility when the first "Eastside refugee" it quotes is from that upscale bastion of the rich, Lakewood.

Smarmy, cheap shots from Seattle hipster wannabes gets old real fast.

]]> BobH http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575333 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575333 News Mon, 18 Dec 2006 09:54:32 -0800 Comment by hikitty I'm thinking this is a spoof - not a great one, since hardly anybody realized it.

We spent a night at a hotel, and felt pretty damn lucky that we were able to do it - last night we were back home, with the temperature 39 degrees (in the house). God only knows when our (non-rich) part of Bellevue is going to see any power. Fortunately, we have no trees through our roof, so we can't complain!

]]> hikitty http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575350 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575350 News Mon, 18 Dec 2006 10:14:52 -0800 Comment by keshmeshi I thought this post was hilarious. Thank you, Cienna, for yet another example of your wit and humor.

]]> keshmeshi http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575415 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c575415 News Mon, 18 Dec 2006 11:56:45 -0800 Comment by George "Knee-Jerk Liberal Reaction"? No, it doesn't make any difference how hard you try; you can't blame the slow recovery from the storm and the power outage on the conservative fat-cats. This is a liberal Washington State problem; you are on your own. It is ironic that the only hope you have is the redneck, male, chauvinist, conservative pig in rubber boots who is busting his hind-sides to restore power to the city that is full of whining rich liberals (with "Impeach Bush" bumper stickers on their SUVs and Volvos) huddling around scented candles… So why shouldn't Bush blink? Not even the sooo coveted Global Warming will help you in your cold, dark and lonely nights.

]]> George http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c577280 http://slog.thestranger.com/2006/12/eastside_refugees_se#c577280 News Thu, 21 Dec 2006 13:25:47 -0800