It's All So Terrible
Sep. 1st, 2005 07:54 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shipperxI tend to be on the side of -- first, let's FIX this. This has got to be fixed. YESTERDAY! Then we'll assess who to blame for what (and at this point so, so, so many people should shoulder the blame).
There are no easy answers. There never are. People never thought it would get this bad. Despite all the reasons people should have known, and even did know, it didn't process before the fact. Too many people believed that the worst case scenario couldn't really, really happen... only for it to happen... and then for it to get worse. And listening to the news, they never officially declared marshal law in New Orleans, why in the hell did they never declare marshal law? It's insane. The governor of Louisianna didn't request more National Guard troops to be sent until last night?! WTF?!
The tales of the looting are horrific and tragic. On tv I watched one woman break into a drug store and then walk out with a case of baby formula. Who could possibly blame her? No one could. If it was your child, you'd do the same. And then there are stories like the one I just heard on the news from a man bunkered in the French Quarter talking about roving gangs looting the jewelry stores, who when confronted by a policeman, shot the policeman in the head killing him. Both are cases of looting. One is absolutely morally defensible, morally RIGHT in every way. Your child is in a cesspool of a city, hell yeah you'd break in and take baby formula! But simulataneously there are thugs shooting and killing a policeman who is in just as terrible a situation and is trying to help!
Listening now to the news, they can't even evacuate the hospital because people are shooting at the rescuers, trying to hijack the ambulances. Desperation has set in, I understand that. Those people want out. But those patients need out quite desperately too and a mob with guns threatening to take the ambulance trying to evacuate the hospital isn't helping.
There has to be, there has to be a better way. There has to be control so that people can reach the hospitals to evacuate patients, AND there has to be ways to evacuate the populace, ...and without people being killed!
God.
You sit watching the TV thinking it should be handled better. Dear god, why isn't it handled better? It seems like there absolutely had to have been a better way. There is much blame to be spread around and there are many people who should shoulder it. The disorganization and the chaos is indefensible.
But something has to be done. Now. That's what's most important. Do something! Get those people out of there. There has to be order imposed. We need troops on the ground so that there can be enough order that there can be evacuations.
There has to be a better way to organize this!
It's heartbreaking. It's tragic. It's infuriating. It's inexcusable. It's unbelievable. Many politicians have bungled this beyond belief. And the tiny segment of the population that's roving around with guns shooting people deserve to be jailed because they are victimizing the victims who are already suffering so, so, much!
In better news,![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
pfeifferpack's neices have reported in. They never made it to Mobile but rode out the storm in Biloxi. Thankfully they are okay.
(And I did sort of smile at the District Attorney in Mobile who announced that they'd arrest any and all looters--after clarifying that there's a difference between looters and those 'in desperate need.'-- and then he sternly warned "And if we throw you in jail, it's going to be awhile because we aren't arraigning anyone right now. There will be no 'out on bond.' So think about it really hard." Not that Mobile seems to be having a looting problem, but he was somewhat amusing while warning "You'll be there for a while and have a lot of time to think about what you've done.")
There are no easy answers. There never are. People never thought it would get this bad. Despite all the reasons people should have known, and even did know, it didn't process before the fact. Too many people believed that the worst case scenario couldn't really, really happen... only for it to happen... and then for it to get worse. And listening to the news, they never officially declared marshal law in New Orleans, why in the hell did they never declare marshal law? It's insane. The governor of Louisianna didn't request more National Guard troops to be sent until last night?! WTF?!
The tales of the looting are horrific and tragic. On tv I watched one woman break into a drug store and then walk out with a case of baby formula. Who could possibly blame her? No one could. If it was your child, you'd do the same. And then there are stories like the one I just heard on the news from a man bunkered in the French Quarter talking about roving gangs looting the jewelry stores, who when confronted by a policeman, shot the policeman in the head killing him. Both are cases of looting. One is absolutely morally defensible, morally RIGHT in every way. Your child is in a cesspool of a city, hell yeah you'd break in and take baby formula! But simulataneously there are thugs shooting and killing a policeman who is in just as terrible a situation and is trying to help!
Listening now to the news, they can't even evacuate the hospital because people are shooting at the rescuers, trying to hijack the ambulances. Desperation has set in, I understand that. Those people want out. But those patients need out quite desperately too and a mob with guns threatening to take the ambulance trying to evacuate the hospital isn't helping.
There has to be, there has to be a better way. There has to be control so that people can reach the hospitals to evacuate patients, AND there has to be ways to evacuate the populace, ...and without people being killed!
God.
You sit watching the TV thinking it should be handled better. Dear god, why isn't it handled better? It seems like there absolutely had to have been a better way. There is much blame to be spread around and there are many people who should shoulder it. The disorganization and the chaos is indefensible.
But something has to be done. Now. That's what's most important. Do something! Get those people out of there. There has to be order imposed. We need troops on the ground so that there can be enough order that there can be evacuations.
There has to be a better way to organize this!
It's heartbreaking. It's tragic. It's infuriating. It's inexcusable. It's unbelievable. Many politicians have bungled this beyond belief. And the tiny segment of the population that's roving around with guns shooting people deserve to be jailed because they are victimizing the victims who are already suffering so, so, much!
In better news,
pfeifferpack's neices have reported in. They never made it to Mobile but rode out the storm in Biloxi. Thankfully they are okay. (And I did sort of smile at the District Attorney in Mobile who announced that they'd arrest any and all looters--after clarifying that there's a difference between looters and those 'in desperate need.'-- and then he sternly warned "And if we throw you in jail, it's going to be awhile because we aren't arraigning anyone right now. There will be no 'out on bond.' So think about it really hard." Not that Mobile seems to be having a looting problem, but he was somewhat amusing while warning "You'll be there for a while and have a lot of time to think about what you've done.")
no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 02:36 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2005-09-02 03:03 am (UTC)Well, sadly, at this point, ignore the constitution. The circumstances are too terrible at the moment. It's going to take a vast, organized effort with equipment and communication and the military can provide that.
God, it's just so incredibly sad. Something has to be done. It has to be.