BellaOnline Forums Travel and Culture Polish Culture These people in New Orleans

People are looting because they are hungry, not because they just want a new TV, they put them in the super dome with no water or food or provisions. If they were too poor to get out, they were too poor to have 5 days worth of stuff with them.
Yes, there are a few people acting crazy but most people have not eaten for 3 days. Those who were moved were taken to places and still didnt get food. I have only seen the Salvation Army feeding people and that was in Mississippi.

Right after the hurricane hit, I heard an ACOE guy being interviewed on TV. The levees were rated to withstand a Cat 3 storm. He was asked "Why did you not improve the levees to withstand a higher category storm?" His outrageous answer was that "the ACOE had done a cost-benefit analysis and decided it was not worth improving them at this time."

My husband and I both started screaming at this outrageous statement, but it is probably not far from the - disgusting - truth. The horror we are seeing today (the cost) could not compare with whatever Bush thought we would gain from the Irag business.

But that's the thing, not everyone is! You don't see people running out of stores loaded down with groceries, they have VCRs and TVs! What the heck are they going to do with this stuff when there is no electricity?!?

The fact is, extreme conditions like this either bring out the best or worst in man. I can easily understand a father reaking into a store to steal formula or cereal, and I would bet the police would have a more sympathetic bent, too. It's these idiots that are taking advantage of the chaos to rip off their fellow man for their hard-earned businesses that is unforgivable. AND the fact that they are willing to shoot each other instead of helping one another out (when they are all in the same position).

Children, elderly, and the sick come first - that's just the way it should be if people have any compassion.

I truly cannot find any way to understand this behavior. What is prompting some people to shoot at police and rescue workers? Can ANYONE offer an explanation for this behavior?

very naive and perplexed,
Nancy

Someon in Sri Langa was interviewed and stated "after the tsunami all of our people helped one another, poor and rich. In America they are shooting at one another. Now we know where civilization truly resides."

Unfortuantely this is true. I am saddned by the behavior of these people.

I wonder how you eat or drink boxes of sneakers.

Who was the HAM radio operator on the forum??? I was watching the news this morning and they're in need of HAM radio operators in that region to help out with the situation.

I think our resident HAM operator is Bob in Virginia.

Please also keep in mind that the news media is focusing on downtown NO and that is where the severest problems seem to have been in terms of looting, shooting, etc. There were close to a million (I think) people who evacuated before the storm from all the suburbs etc. of NO. There is also a huge area beyond NO that was impacted.

From what I have read in various blogs and emails, the majority of those people have lost everything, but they are already planning how they will carry on (they are not looting, shooting, waiting for the gov'ment). They are helping themselves and each other.

ALso, there is a TREMENDOUS grass roots effort swelling up to help everyone who needs help. People from neighboring states - churches, community groups, private homeowners etc.- are taking people in. I don't know if any will come to Massachusetts, but they might.

It is unfortunate that the media has focused on the bottom 5% of this tragedy (that's what they do - bottom 5% and top 5%, nothing else is newsworthy).

There is a lot of good out there.

What have you done to help?