Residents walk through floodwaters Tuesday on Canal Street in New Orleans.
From America Online.
KATRINA
Spent the better part of yesterday and this morning ascertaining the whereabouts of my cousin Jack and his family, who live in Metairie. My Uncle Frank called at 9 this morning from Ballston, NY to ask if I'd heard, but I hadn't. A little later his wife June called to say they'd heard from my cousin, who had evacuated to Chattanooga, TN, where he has business interests and friends. Apparently his wife already wants to go back, but I wouldn't count on that happening soon.
Once more we're faced with our own fragile hold on our home planet. The photos I've seen so far look no different than the tsunami photographs from last year. The toll will be enormous, first in lives, then in lives ruined, as people begin to realize that everything they've saved and treasured has been destroyed. Insurance companies will go bankrupt, and those that don't will probably be unable to pay enough.
Soon we'll hear about how insane it is to live in a region that's situated below sea level, but let's not dwell on that. There are threats from nature to humans everywhere -- tornadoes, tsunamis, earthquakes, volcanoes, mudslides. Which is why the entire concept of humans threatening other humans is so stupid.
I will hold out hope if you know of someone who lives in the area, especially if you still have no word about his or her safety. And please. Let's not hear any sniggering about whose deity may have done what to which area of what country. It's weather, for crying out loud.
I haven't wrapped my mind around the looters, yet. The only photos I've seen so far show people taking groceries, which has that Jean Valjean sound to it. The guys stealing whiskey and DVDs, however...
America Online coverage.
America Online looting coverage.
2 comments:
I've seen footage of what looked like a shopping spree, free for all in a WalMart. Let me tell you, no one was loading up on food or essentials. Absolutely no excuse for this. For one thing, what the f*** are you going to do with a big screen tv if your home was just blown away? Stupid, stupid, stupid.
And by the way, I wonder how many members of the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama National Guard (along with essential resources), usually the first line of defense for these kind of events, are off serving mandatory duty in Iraq?
I believe comment has already been made in the media (er... the "liberal-biased media") about the limited number of National Guard troops available because of deployment to Iraq.
Yeah, stealing a big-screen TV when you won't have electricity for two months or a home in which to set it up is the kind of behavior that makes it hard to defend anybody.
But I do wonder. Is looting just the underclass equivalent of stealing office supplies?
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