Crime in Aftermath of Hurricane Katrina is Act of Nature, Too

I have been trying to come up with something to write about the horror Katrina has wrought on the South. So much has been dominating my thinking. I feel controlled by the need to read news account after news account. I weep over the pictures of the children.

There is so much I do not understand about people. Especially my fellow Americans who pontificate so proudly of their way of life. Freedom of Speech-oh yeah? Fair and Balanced-Oh really? Proud to be an American-say what? Civilized?-no comment!

I wonder what happened to the people of New Orleans when the chips were down? Why shoot at the people coming to rescue you? How does raping women or stealing television sets, stereos–things not needed– help you survive the disastrous horror that was visited on you? How did that help your terrible lot? Does anyone in America even ask these questions any more or will this behavior be soon forgotten in the spin and excuses that will soon follow in the coming months?

“Oh, they were just under too much stress”.

I have been in life-threatening situations more than once. For some strange reason, I never felt like shooting someone, beating people to death, stealing, raping, robbing, or plundering anyone. I was upset. I thought I was going to die. I nearly did. I was in a Kansas flood that blew holes through the wall of my condo’s basement. There was no way to escape. We were moving our stuff to the second level when the waters finally stopped rising. But, oddly, I did not want to start hurting someone as the result of my dire circumstances.

May I suggest the crime wave we have seen in New Orleans is NOT people acting under duress? It is people acting according to their natures.

“Crime, even before the hurricane, was high. The murder rate has come down in recent years, but remains 10 times the national average. Last year, researchers had police fire 700 blank rounds in a city neighborhood one afternoon. No one called to report the gunfireâÂ?¦”[1]

I did some research for a book I wrote about the anti-Mexican movement in America. It revealed that in 2003, the murder rate for the state of Louisiana was 13 for each 100,000 people-the same murder rate for the same year for the entire country of Mexico. So much for the Minutemen’s contention that Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world.

Perhaps those folks need to do a little re-evaluation!

Katrina removed the restraint of law, destroyed the infrastructure of civility, and gave the existing wicked the “get out jail free pass” to commit whatever was their heart’s desire without worrying about being caught. Their heart’s desire became all too apparent from the news accounts.

“They were under too much stress”? I think not. I think they were acting freely and willingly without the restraint of law. They were acting as they always wanted to but this time, they were not concerned with the law breathing down their necks.

If a hurricane can bring instant anarchy, just try to imagine the effect of a suitcase nuke or an unleashed biological weapon on another major city.

America is one disaster away from becoming what?

Think about it.

[1] Profile of New Orleans, Before Katrina By MARTHA MENDOZA, AP National Writer