New Orleans - Stupidity Rises from the Chaos

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I have had enough!

Let me start off by saying that what has happened in New Orleans in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is a horrendous and heart-rending story, and we need to come together and get as much assistance to the citizens of the city as quickly as possible. In fact, I am planning my own small help, which I hope to put into effect within the next few days.

However, I have also been amazed by the stupidity that has come out of this situation.

For one, we saw on TV, a woman asking why the government hadn't told them what to do. "If the government had told us what to do, we would have done it," she said.

Well, the problem here was that the government had been saying for days before the hurricane hit TO GET OUT OF NEW ORLEANS! The state governor made the warning, and in fact, is STILL saying that people need to be evacuating.

Now, I can understand and sympathize with the independent mentality that some people in this country have. "Don't go telling us what todo," one of the people who lives in my apartment complex said to me a day or so before the hurricane hit. "Who do they think they are?"

Uhm...they are the government, and they tend to know things like how to protect the public in the event of a life-threatening situation.

Given that, it is STUPID for people to blame the government from Washington on down for not telling them what to do when the government did what they could to warn the people. Because despite the popular fringe belief, the government can not come in and force people to leave their homes in the event of a natural disaster.

With the city devastated and with the police forces working to save people, civil order has broken down. In this situation, a level of looting is to be expected. People having to survive in this situation will raid the stores to get what food and water they need. And quite frankly, when you look at the situation, more supplies might be needed. If a person needs to get clothing to replace clothes ruined by the floodwaters, fine. If they happen to have a generator and need a TV or computer in order to get news or comminucate, fine. I can even see people needing to get guns to protect themselves and their meager possessions from thugs.

I said I understand the looting...not that I approve of it.

On the one hand, we have bands of thugs roaming the city, robbing people, shooting people, and committing whatever crimes come to their minds. Even in the Superdome, where you would think that the sheer mass of people would cut down crime, there was a reported half-dozen murders, and about six rapes.

On the other hand, there was a report on the radio that a man broke into the local school district, stole a bus, and loaded it up with people for a drive out of the flooded city. Good for him!

In another instance of stupidity, the mayor complained that the federal aid was not there yet. If he paid attention to the news, he would see that the US Navy is sending eight ships from the east coast, and the US Congress is budgeting billions of dollars for the recovery effort. Southwest Airlines has sent an airplane filled with national guardsmen to the city.

So, the aid is coming. The response of the federal government may have been stuttering in the beginning, but it is getting steadily better as we progress.

However, even that can not help if the people won't accept the assistance...and this is for STUPID reasons! One woman complained about food she received because it was not HOT!

The human story is monumental. The stories of courage and people bonding together to help each other and recover from the situation are stories that we should tell children about what America is about. When we are down, we come together and solve the problem.

These stories of strength and courage have to compete with the stories of absolute stupidity that come out at the same time. Here's one more...

A young boy was reduced to crying so hard that he vomitted. What happened?

Bad medication?

Did he drink dirty water?

Nope.

He was getting on a bus to leave town, and he had his dog with him. Before he could get on the bus, they told him that he could not take his dog with him. I saw the picture on TV of the dog being put off the bus. It was a small white poodle-looking dog that was simply let loose on what looked to be what used to be an interstate.

The dog kinda wandered away...

Absolutely stupid.

John B.
Blog Guy