id have to agree that racism in the US is much more subtle. but i wouldnt go as far as calling it racism anymore, i much prefer using essentialism. where as racism is defined mainly as the idea of domination and privilege on the basis of race; essentialism talks about a more subtle racial ideology where many associate characteristics with inborn traits. so much of the stereotypes we have in our schemas about blacks,whites,asians,blonds,gays..it most probably has essentialist roots to it. so when it comes to the US i am far less worried about "racism" but much more, concerned about essentialism. racism is easier to spot..essentialism, not so much.
as far as the katrina issue goes, i think the cause of the delay has not one, but many contributing factors. although i do think that race was a side issue, because if an area inhabited by wealthy white folk like say the hamptons, were to suffer a "natural disaster", im sure response time would be 10x that of NO. and ofcourse theres that issue of who was the head of FEMA at the time and his highly questionable credentials and so on and so forth.
EDIT:i didnt even see that you mentioned the philippines lux
its kinda sad theres close to no coverage at all. funny how almost all of the pics shown are of US troops and their choppers
thank god my family is okay, but i pray for those who arent..