Perhaps a bit late on some of this..., but anyway
lord_kungai wrote:I've been readinf some strange stuff in the news. Is it true that:
1) Louisiana is almost in a state of anarchy?
2) There is looting, rape and murder going on in the streets?
3) The military has been called in on a Shoot-to-kill basis for looters?
4) There is major violence/unrest in that state?
This is all very disturbing, so I was hoping someone could verify it...
1) No, not the entire state, just the city of New Orleans. Which is still pretty bad, but there's a big difference.
2) Looting got way out of hand, yes. But murder and rape continue to happen in every American city, hurricane or not.
3) No. Not true. Although the governor certainly wanted the looters to think that apparantly. Fact is they have converted various buildings into makeshift jails, and are making arrests.
4) Again, not the entire state, just the city. But yes, it got pretty damn bad. What happened there is a disgrace, and 'blame' rests at
every level. From the folks stupid enough to stay after all the warnings, to the city and state governments for allowing it, and likewise for the feds.
As has been pointed out, the place is surrouned by the largest river in North America, a big assed lake, and the Gulf of Mexico. And it sits BELOW all of them. To live there and then bitch and whine after it floods is to be pretty stupid. Here's a tip - Move!
(Yes, it is also true that many folks in the city were elderly, ill, or disabled, and could not get out on their own.... in those cases where there is a familly member taking care of them, they are to blame. They should have gotten their elderly/disabled/ill relative out of the flood areas long ago. For those that are on their own and/or destitute, then it's the local, state, and federal governments unavoidable responsibility to provide the basic needs for them, which in this case would be to have moved them long ago.)
Having said that, our local, state, and federal governments have a tradition and a duty of helping even stupid people in cases of natural disaster. It is common practice for brave folks to risk their lives in an effort to save others who didn't listen when they were warned, and proceeded to do something stupid. Happens all the time. And in that respect, when it comes to 1st response at least, government at every level broke down in this case, and hopefully lessons will be learned.
One of the main lessons to be learned however, authorities are already promising to ignore. We already have calls to rebuild the city - right where it stood (most still stands actually, just in ruins). We have learned nothing.
There are case after case of Americans choosing to live in areas that are prone to flooding. And case after case of other American taxpayers being forced to bail them out and pay them for their stubborness/stupidity/whatever. Some of that has been slowed down with legislation over recent years, but not nearly enough.
Folks have been fighting the Mississippi river in that spot for approx. 300 years now. And yet floods have taken lives in this area again and again. Nobody should be surprised. And nobody should be allowed to rebuild in that location on taxpayer dollars.
Now - are those statements about money? Only if you can't see past the surface of a sentence. It's actually about saving lives and preventing catastrophe by not enabling stupidity with federal funding. If folks wanna go off and live in a flood plain, and then even stay there when repeatedly warned about Massive Hurricane headed your way...., the least we can do is stop paying them to do so.
Wake up America.
. Massive hurricanes suck.
