I've been watching, reading about, & hearing about the people in New Orleans. Their city is underwater, they have no power, no food, no homes, no water, save for what's in their livingrooms - and apparently, they have no common sense or manners either. There have been a few things I've seen and heard about that appall me. The looting, though it comes as no surprise, is one of them. Apparently, the theory is that when you're down on your luck, exploit the bad luck of others.
Then there's the gunfire - gunfire aimed at police and/or military folks trying to help, trying to save people, trying to rescue the living and take care of the dead, and trying to maintain some semblance of order and peace. Gunfire at the helicopters trying to fly patients out of hospitals...? What are these people thinking?
Then there's the overall crabbiness. Not that I believe that conditions are fun, or even humane maybe even in places like the Superdome. But how dare these people take this attitude? I, for one, if told that a high level 5 hurricane was headed for my home town, that some people were predicting what, 20 feet of water? If I were in a place well known for flooding and told that there was a MANDATORY EVACUATION, would leave. Pronto.
I heard a story of a woman who decided, with her children, to stay through the storm. They ended up trapped in the attic, with water up to their necks... what kind of person takes a chance like that with their kids!?
These people were warned - they chose not to leave - now they're paying the consequences, whose fault is that? And why in hell are they shocked!?
I have no sympathy for people who are damn arrogant or ignorant enough to believe that they can overcome nature, then want hand-outs when mother nature proves to them how weak and powerless they are. And I sure as hell don't feel a bit bad for the guy who killed the cop, or for the people who are raising hell on camera like a bunch of ingrates.
Now, let's not get confused here - I'm not saying a word about the people who left. I'm not suggesting that the people of Louisiana and Mississippi (whether they left or not) shouldn't get help. I'm just saying that the people who took the cavalier attitude towards the storm and stuck around - ignored the mandatory evacuation - and are now being complete assholes about the situation they're in, well, they should each be knocked upside the head with a big sloppy slab of reality check.
Erin,
ReplyDeleteI totally agree that things are out of control in Noew Orleans, but I have to admit that, in some way, I can understand. Nope, I don't get the looting or the violence, but I do understand the anger, the frustration, and the desperation.
Yes, I think that the volunteers that are there are doing a damn fine job of helping out, but that does little for people who are trapped and haven't eaten or slept in five days.
There's no excuse for acting like a bunch of wild animals, but maybe it's a survival instinct.
As far as evacuations go, if I had the means, I'd have been long gone, too. But I know firsthand how damn hard it is, financially, to evacuate. When the storms came through here last year we didn't have enough money to put gas in the car, much less to get a hotel room somewhere once we left. Maybe a lot of those people who stayed behind did so because they had to. We did for Jeanne, and were very fortunate to have walked away with as little damage as we did.
I will not call you cold-hearted, because I know you better than that. I agree that folks down there have gone absolutely nuts, but I can also find some empathy for the poor folks sitting in the heat, fanning their infant children and begging for help.
Oddly, it seems that Mississippi and Alabama have their shit together when it comes to relief efforts. Of course, they aren't dealing with all the water.
Whatever. I'm hurricaned out, I think.
OK I admit I hadn't thought of the people who just couldn't afford to leave, and for them, particularly those that have kids, I have sympathy.
ReplyDeleteBut even now there are buses that came to take people to Texas and they're turning down the ride to food and water and shelter - THOSE people are idiots.
And the damn thing is, the hysteria is spreading - the gas prices are through the roof, and here in bum-fuck Monroe, you're likely to get your ass kicked at the gas station because people are panicking about shortages.
I don't understand how the human mind works I guess. When bad things happen, why can't we band together rather than turning on one another?
You know, band together, in efforts like this at Ogre's place
A friend at work had a neice in Mississippi. She, her husband, and her child got out with only the car they were driving. Their home is gone as is everything else. She made it safely to Arkansas to be with her father yesterday morning. I wish more people were as fortunate.
ReplyDeleteamen V, too damn many people died. Homes and things can be replaced over time, lives can't.
ReplyDeleteWell, I can't say that I agree with you. I think that, like some wealthy businessmen, some of those people seized an opportunity. To steal? Yes. I don't steal, but I would to save my family or a friend, or any other person. We don't know what's going through their minds, or what's went through their pockets or that they even had anything top go through those pockets in the first place. Some stayed. yes. many died. Some stayed despite knowledge of the situation, and, for whatever reason, they stayed. A good choice? No. But human life was lost, and, for the most part, they deserve the benefit of the doubt. Regardless, be cool. ~ The James
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