New Orleans: The Nanny State Bitter Fruit

Two days. 48 hours. 2,880 minutes. This was all the time it took for the
fabric of 6000 years of civilization to unravel in New Orleans. Streets
which just last week were lined with the fans of
Blues clubs and theaters are now patrolled by gangs of what in any other
country would be called terrorists looking for their next innocent
victim or store front to pillage. Rapes and gang wars in the Superdome,
gun fire at rescue helicopters, and the efforts to search and rescue
trapped survivors of hurricane Katrina have been abandoned in a near
hopeless effort to restore some semblance of public order.

Think of it. In just two days time, authorities have been forced to
desert innocent people to almost certain death because New Orleans has
become unsafe for rescue operations. Two days.

How could this have happened so quickly? Early reports of looting were
portrayed by the media as desperate, hungry people breaking into grocery
stores. In my opinion, this is not looting but survival. However, as the
full scope of events has become clearer, it is evident that the mayhem
in New Orleans is not a result of trapped residents trying to stay
alive, but a carnival atmosphere where the bodies of the dead are pushed
aside in order to steal their stereos.

I was originally going to write nothing about hurricane Katrina. Times
of national tragedy are no time for partisanship.

However, what is happening in New Orleans goes beyond the simple red
state/ blue state debate. This disaster has exposed something putrid in
our society.

For this to happen so quickly indicates that there is something
fundamentally flawed in our culture that should not be brushed under the
rug by political correctness or blamed on any simple politician or
political party.

What is happening in New Orleans can and will happen again unless we
take sober steps to first understand why these events have occurred, and
then act to prevent them.

These are the politically correct facts as we know them. Almost everyone
who could evacuate New Orleans before the hurricane did. Those who
stayed were the very poor or ill who did not have the means to leave.

The reality is that the poor residents of New Orleans could have
evacuated the flood zone on a public bus before the hurricane for about
the cost of a bottle of water. The total disabled population of New
Orleans who might not have been able to evacuate is estimated at around
55,000 residents.

So, the question must be asked why up to half a million people did not
evacuate the city. The sad answer is that many of these residents
remained because they were waiting for the government to aid them.

Many trapped in New Orleans right now are in a state of shock. They
expected the nanny state which provides them with housing, medical care,
food, and education to also come forward and provide them with the means
of escaping a natural disaster. When a state of emergency was declared
in August 26th, they waited.

When the inbound lanes of the highways around New Orleans where rerouted
outbound to allow for faster evacuation by road, they waited. If things
were really that bad, the government would come through for them and
tell them where to go, what to do, and provide the means to make it
happen.

Many residents in New Orleans remained because they have been so
indoctrinated into the idea that they will be taken care of by the
government that they are incapable to looking out for themselves.

Now the government has failed them. In a culture where all the comforts
of life have been provided to people as entitlements, their sudden
absence has unleashed a violent backlash against the society these
people feel has let them down. In other words, if some people do not get
what they feel they are entitled to get, then something unfair must have
happened, so now they have the right to go out and take it.

Let me stress again, these people are not out just trying to get baby
food and Grandma's insulin. They are stealing electronics, guns,
furniture, beer trucks, and Nike shoes. Along with the end of social
service entitlements has come the end of the rules of behavior these
entitlements require. So, if the government is not giving you anything,
some of these people feel that they do not have to follow the laws of
civilized society.

The nanny state has created a class of people in America not only unable
to take care of their own needs, but incapable to existing within normal
society. In your neighborhood, laws and peaceful coexistence are not
maintained by government or the police, but by the people themselves.

You obey the law and live a civil existence because you understand that
this is the only way you will have a good life. You feel that way
because you have worked hard and are unwilling to jeopardize everything
you have earned by acting foolishly. But those who have always been
given everything and told that everything they do wrong is a result of
their being a victim, there is no similar prohibition.

New Orleans is a warning to us all. We must change our culture from one
of entitlement to one of responsibility now, or we may have no culture
left in the future.

Great post. I agree totally.

-rr

wrote in message
ups.com...
Great post. I agree totally.

-rr


Well said indeed!



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On Sat, 3 Sep 2005 08:32:52 -0700, (Toni)
wrote:

The bottom line is that 3 per-cent of the population in any city are
thugs, thieves,and parolees looking for any opportunity to take
advantage of the system. Most of the murder and mayhem these people do
is under the cover of night.

Somebody failed in rescue and relief. Having senior citizens living in
attics, and on rooftops without medications, food, and water for 5
days is unacceptable. Maybe the fall out from this incompetency will
help us get ready for the next disaster.


Two days. 48 hours. 2,880 minutes. This was all the time it took for the
fabric of 6000 years of civilization to unravel in New Orleans. Streets
which just last week were lined with the fans of
Blues clubs and theaters are now patrolled by gangs of what in any other
country would be called terrorists looking for their next innocent
victim or store front to pillage. Rapes and gang wars in the Superdome,
gun fire at rescue helicopters, and the efforts to search and rescue
trapped survivors of hurricane Katrina have been abandoned in a near
hopeless effort to restore some semblance of public order.

Think of it. In just two days time, authorities have been forced to
desert innocent people to almost certain death because New Orleans has
become unsafe for rescue operations. Two days.

How could this have happened so quickly? Early reports of looting were
portrayed by the media as desperate, hungry people breaking into grocery
stores. In my opinion, this is not looting but survival. However, as the
full scope of events has become clearer, it is evident that the mayhem
in New Orleans is not a result of trapped residents trying to stay
alive, but a carnival atmosphere where the bodies of the dead are pushed
aside in order to steal their stereos.

I was originally going to write nothing about hurricane Katrina. Times
of national tragedy are no time for partisanship.

However, what is happening in New Orleans goes beyond the simple red
state/ blue state debate. This disaster has exposed something putrid in
our society.

For this to happen so quickly indicates that there is something
fundamentally flawed in our culture that should not be brushed under the
rug by political correctness or blamed on any simple politician or
political party.

What is happening in New Orleans can and will happen again unless we
take sober steps to first understand why these events have occurred, and
then act to prevent them.

These are the politically correct facts as we know them. Almost everyone
who could evacuate New Orleans before the hurricane did. Those who
stayed were the very poor or ill who did not have the means to leave.

The reality is that the poor residents of New Orleans could have
evacuated the flood zone on a public bus before the hurricane for about
the cost of a bottle of water. The total disabled population of New
Orleans who might not have been able to evacuate is estimated at around
55,000 residents.

So, the question must be asked why up to half a million people did not
evacuate the city. The sad answer is that many of these residents
remained because they were waiting for the government to aid them.

Many trapped in New Orleans right now are in a state of shock. They
expected the nanny state which provides them with housing, medical care,
food, and education to also come forward and provide them with the means
of escaping a natural disaster. When a state of emergency was declared
in August 26th, they waited.

When the inbound lanes of the highways around New Orleans where rerouted
outbound to allow for faster evacuation by road, they waited. If things
were really that bad, the government would come through for them and
tell them where to go, what to do, and provide the means to make it
happen.

Many residents in New Orleans remained because they have been so
indoctrinated into the idea that they will be taken care of by the
government that they are incapable to looking out for themselves.

Now the government has failed them. In a culture where all the comforts
of life have been provided to people as entitlements, their sudden
absence has unleashed a violent backlash against the society these
people feel has let them down. In other words, if some people do not get
what they feel they are entitled to get, then something unfair must have
happened, so now they have the right to go out and take it.

Let me stress again, these people are not out just trying to get baby
food and Grandma's insulin. They are stealing electronics, guns,
furniture, beer trucks, and Nike shoes. Along with the end of social
service entitlements has come the end of the rules of behavior these
entitlements require. So, if the government is not giving you anything,
some of these people feel that they do not have to follow the laws of
civilized society.

The nanny state has created a class of people in America not only unable
to take care of their own needs, but incapable to existing within normal
society. In your neighborhood, laws and peaceful coexistence are not
maintained by government or the police, but by the people themselves.

You obey the law and live a civil existence because you understand that
this is the only way you will have a good life. You feel that way
because you have worked hard and are unwilling to jeopardize everything
you have earned by acting foolishly. But those who have always been
given everything and told that everything they do wrong is a result of
their being a victim, there is no similar prohibition.

New Orleans is a warning to us all. We must change our culture from one
of entitlement to one of responsibility now, or we may have no culture
left in the future.

Everyone always have something to say, especially in a newsgroup. When
someting is so true, and well said, it is better to sit back and just give
that mild smile, a nod, and be proud of whoever just said it. Thanks.


"Toni" wrote in message
...
Two days. 48 hours. 2,880 minutes. This was all the time it took for the
fabric of 6000 years of civilization to unravel in New Orleans. Streets
which just last week were lined with the fans of
Blues clubs and theaters are now patrolled by gangs of what in any other
country would be called terrorists looking for their next innocent
victim or store front to pillage. Rapes and gang wars in the Superdome,
gun fire at rescue helicopters, and the efforts to search and rescue
trapped survivors of hurricane Katrina have been abandoned in a near
hopeless effort to restore some semblance of public order.

Think of it. In just two days time, authorities have been forced to
desert innocent people to almost certain death because New Orleans has
become unsafe for rescue operations. Two days.

How could this have happened so quickly? Early reports of looting were
portrayed by the media as desperate, hungry people breaking into grocery
stores. In my opinion, this is not looting but survival. However, as the
full scope of events has become clearer, it is evident that the mayhem
in New Orleans is not a result of trapped residents trying to stay
alive, but a carnival atmosphere where the bodies of the dead are pushed
aside in order to steal their stereos.

I was originally going to write nothing about hurricane Katrina. Times
of national tragedy are no time for partisanship.

However, what is happening in New Orleans goes beyond the simple red
state/ blue state debate. This disaster has exposed something putrid in
our society.

For this to happen so quickly indicates that there is something
fundamentally flawed in our culture that should not be brushed under the
rug by political correctness or blamed on any simple politician or
political party.

What is happening in New Orleans can and will happen again unless we
take sober steps to first understand why these events have occurred, and
then act to prevent them.

These are the politically correct facts as we know them. Almost everyone
who could evacuate New Orleans before the hurricane did. Those who
stayed were the very poor or ill who did not have the means to leave.

The reality is that the poor residents of New Orleans could have
evacuated the flood zone on a public bus before the hurricane for about
the cost of a bottle of water. The total disabled population of New
Orleans who might not have been able to evacuate is estimated at around
55,000 residents.

So, the question must be asked why up to half a million people did not
evacuate the city. The sad answer is that many of these residents
remained because they were waiting for the government to aid them.

Many trapped in New Orleans right now are in a state of shock. They
expected the nanny state which provides them with housing, medical care,
food, and education to also come forward and provide them with the means
of escaping a natural disaster. When a state of emergency was declared
in August 26th, they waited.

When the inbound lanes of the highways around New Orleans where rerouted
outbound to allow for faster evacuation by road, they waited. If things
were really that bad, the government would come through for them and
tell them where to go, what to do, and provide the means to make it
happen.

Many residents in New Orleans remained because they have been so
indoctrinated into the idea that they will be taken care of by the
government that they are incapable to looking out for themselves.

Now the government has failed them. In a culture where all the comforts
of life have been provided to people as entitlements, their sudden
absence has unleashed a violent backlash against the society these
people feel has let them down. In other words, if some people do not get
what they feel they are entitled to get, then something unfair must have
happened, so now they have the right to go out and take it.

Let me stress again, these people are not out just trying to get baby
food and Grandma's insulin. They are stealing electronics, guns,
furniture, beer trucks, and Nike shoes. Along with the end of social
service entitlements has come the end of the rules of behavior these
entitlements require. So, if the government is not giving you anything,
some of these people feel that they do not have to follow the laws of
civilized society.

The nanny state has created a class of people in America not only unable
to take care of their own needs, but incapable to existing within normal
society. In your neighborhood, laws and peaceful coexistence are not
maintained by government or the police, but by the people themselves.

You obey the law and live a civil existence because you understand that
this is the only way you will have a good life. You feel that way
because you have worked hard and are unwilling to jeopardize everything
you have earned by acting foolishly. But those who have always been
given everything and told that everything they do wrong is a result of
their being a victim, there is no similar prohibition.

New Orleans is a warning to us all. We must change our culture from one
of entitlement to one of responsibility now, or we may have no culture
left in the future.

Another point to make: the people who ignored the evacuation order also
apparently did not even bother to stock up on "hurricane supplies."

It is recommended that each of us should stock up on a 3 to 5 days of
non-perishable food and water.

Based on the response time (5 Days) in this "worst case scenario" We
should all take notice and learn from it. My future supplies will most
likely double to 10 days worth.

"callahan4life" wrote in message
ups.com...

Another point to make: the people who ignored the evacuation order also
apparently did not even bother to stock up on "hurricane supplies."

It is recommended that each of us should stock up on a 3 to 5 days of
non-perishable food and water.

Based on the response time (5 Days) in this "worst case scenario" We
should all take notice and learn from it. My future supplies will most
likely double to 10 days worth.

Great idea, except if your supplies are in a house that is filled with
water, structurally dangerous or no longer in existance. Then how are you
going to get to those supplies?

Brenda

"Wando" wrote:
"callahan4life" wrote in message
oups.com...

Another point to make: the people who ignored the evacuation order also
apparently did not even bother to stock up on "hurricane supplies."

It is recommended that each of us should stock up on a 3 to 5 days of
non-perishable food and water.

Based on the response time (5 Days) in this "worst case scenario" We
should all take notice and learn from it. My future supplies will most
likely double to 10 days worth.

Hindsight is 20/20

Great idea, except if your supplies are in a house that is filled with
water, structurally dangerous or no longer in existance. Then how are you
going to get to those supplies?

When you live in an area where there are big winter storms, you have
provisions for being without electricity as a matter of course.

When you are on a boat, you have a 'ditch bag' in case you have to
abandon ship, or you have a life raft or lifeboat stocked with
provisions (which you hope is the case on a cruise ship also).

So if the folks had expected there to be flooding (which I would have
expected given the information that the levees were only able to
withstand a Cat 3 storm and Katrina was a Cat 5 storm, and even if it
was degraded some by the 100 miles between NOLA and the Gulf, it would
still be a powerful storm), then they would have had their supplies
with them instead of somewhere in the house. And they would have
taken those things to the Superdome with them if the evacuated to
there.

But I think that there has been to much blaming of people who didn't
evacuate. Using the information available to them at the time,
evacuating might not have been the best decision. The Superdome also
was only rated for a Cat 3 storm. And where can you evacuate to when
the storm is so huge? Those people who went east to MS just went into
the teeth of the storm.

For instance I saw some folks in MS who said something like - I
figured that this house withstood Camille - that was the standard I
was using - and therefore it would also be OK for Katrina, especially
as we were just supposed to be on the fringe.

And they were wrong - their house could not stand up to Katrina,
especially since it didn't really hit NOLA directly as forecast but
hit them instead.

So to repeat - Hindsight is 20-20.

People could have prepared better. People could have dealt better.
But humans make mistakes even with the best intentions.

And officials could also have done way better, but they were working
with a situation which wasn't ideal (no way to strengthen the levees
or rebuild the Superdome), and with predictions which had some margin
of error.

grandma Rosalie

If we lived in a world where everyone was "civilized" then we wouldn't
have Iraq, we wouldn't have had 9/11, we wouldn't need military and
police. It's a fact of life that a portion of our society aren't civilized.

But regardless of why the people in NO stayed and didn't evacuate, or
the fact that there are looters and civil unrest, the real issue is our
failure to have a plan to handle a disaster. What if this were another
kind of disaster where there wasn't any warning? At least in this case
a lot were able to leave. Just think how bad the situation would have
been otherwise.

This country should be able to mobilize efficiently for any disaster.
The mayor in Chicago is outraged because he has so many resources ready
to deploy and he's been turned down. There is no one in charge who has
any skills for this type of event.

This is the price we are paying for lumping all these agencies under
Homeland Security. The government has lost a lot of good people because
of the beauracracy and the changes that have come about. We need
planners not politicians.

In article , Barbara
wrote:

This country should be able to mobilize efficiently for any disaster.
The mayor in Chicago is outraged because he has so many resources ready
to deploy and he's been turned down. There is no one in charge who has
any skills for this type of event.

I'd be moreimpressed with his angst if he would release a list of
what was turned down. Just because RD offers it doesn't mean it is
needed, wanted, useful, practical or storable. He knows better than
that.

--
The difference between being diplomatic and undiplomatic is the
difference between saying "When I look at you time stands still"
and "Your face could stop a clock." ~~ Anon.