Katrina Aftermath...a Different Perspective

[Redhawk]

An Objectivist Review

by Robert Tracinski The Intellectual Activist

September 2, 2005

It has taken four long days for state and federal officials to figure out

how to deal with the disaster in New Orleans. I can't blame them, because it

has also taken me four long days to figure out what is going on there. The

reason is that the events there make no sense if you think that we are

confronting a natural disaster.

If this is just a natural disaster, the response for public officials is

obvious: you bring in food, water, and doctors; you send transportation to

evacuate refugees to temporary shelters; you send engineers to stop the

flooding and rebuild the city's infrastructure. For journalists, natural

disasters also have a familiar pattern: the heroism of ordinary people

pulling together to survive; the hard work and dedication of doctors,

nurses, and rescue workers; the steps being taken to clean up and rebuild.

Public officials did not expect that the first thing they would have to do

is to send thousands of armed troops in armored vehicle, as if they are

suppressing an enemy insurgency. And journalists--myself included--did not

expect that the story would not be about rain, wind, and flooding, but about

rape, murder, and looting.

But this is not a natural disaster. It is a man-made disaster.

The man-made disaster is not an inadequate or incompetent response by

federal relief agencies, and it was not directly caused by Hurricane

Katrina. This is where just about every newspaper and television channel has

gotten the story wrong.

The man-made disaster we are now witnessing in New Orleans did not happen

over the past four days. It happened over the past four decades. Hurricane

Katrina merely exposed it to public view.

The man-made disaster is the welfare state.

For the past few days, I have found the news from New Orleans to be

confusing. People were not behaving as you would expect them to behave in an

emergency--indeed, they were not behaving as they have behaved in other

emergencies. That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying

that this is not what we expect from America. In fact, it is not even what

we expect from a Third World country.

When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They

work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to

keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an

enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than

waiting around for the government to take care of us. I have seen this a

hundred times, in small examples (a small town whose main traffic light had

gone out, causing ordinary citizens to get out of their cars and serve as

impromptu traffic cops, directing cars through the intersection) and large

ones (the spontaneous response of New Yorkers to September

11).

So what explains the chaos in New Orleans?

To give you an idea of the magnitude of what is going on, here is a

description from a Washington Times story:

"Storm victims are raped and beaten; fights erupt with flying fists, knives

and guns; fires are breaking out; corpses litter the streets; and police and

rescue helicopters are repeatedly fired on.

"The plea from Mayor C. Ray Nagin came even as National Guardsmen poured in

to restore order and stop the looting, carjackings and gunfire....

"Last night, Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco said 300 Iraq-hardened Arkansas

National Guard members were inside New Orleans with shoot-to-kill orders.

"'These troops are... under my orders to restore order in the streets,' she

said. 'They have M-16s, and they are locked and loaded. These troops know

how to shoot and kill and they are more than willing to do so if necessary

and I expect they will.' "

The reference to Iraq is eerie. The photo that accompanies this article

shows National Guard troops, with rifles and armored vests, riding on an

armored vehicle through trash-strewn streets lined by a rabble of squalid,

listless people, one of whom appears to be yelling at them. It looks exactly

like a scene from Sadr City in Baghdad.

What explains bands of thugs using a natural disaster as an excuse for an

orgy of looting, armed robbery, and rape? What causes unruly mobs to storm

the very buses that have arrived to evacuate them, causing the drivers to

drive away, frightened for their lives? What causes people to attack the

doctors trying to treat patients at the Super Dome?

Why are people responding to natural destruction by causing further

destruction? Why are they attacking the people who are trying to help them?

My wife, Sherri, figured it out first, and she figured it out on a

sense-of-life level. While watching the coverage last night on Fox News

Channel, she told me that she was getting a familiar feeling. She studied

architecture at the Illinois Institute of Chicago, which is located in the

South Side of Chicago just blocks away from the Robert Taylor Homes, one of

the largest high-rise public housing projects in America. "The projects," as

they were known, were infamous for uncontrollable crime and irremediable

squalor. (They have since, mercifully, been demolished.)

What Sherri was getting from last night's television coverage was a whiff of

the sense of life of "the projects." Then the "crawl"--the informational

phrases flashed at the bottom of the screen on most news channels--gave some

vital statistics to confirm this sense:

75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the

hurricane, and of the

300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public

housing projects. Jack Wakeland then gave me an additional, crucial fact:

early reports from CNN and Fox indicated that the city had no plan for

evacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails--so they just let many

of them loose. There is no doubt a significant overlap between these two

populations--that is, a large number of people in the jails used to live in

the housing projects, and vice versa.

There were many decent, innocent people trapped in New Orleans when the

deluge hit--but they were trapped alongside large numbers of people from two

groups: criminals--and wards of the welfare state, people selected, over

decades, for their lack of initiative and self-induced helplessness. The

welfare wards were a mass of sheep--on whom the incompetent administration

of New Orleans unleashed a pack of wolves.

All of this is related, incidentally, to the apparent incompetence of the

city government, which failed to plan for a total evacuation of the city,

despite the knowledge that this might be necessary. But in a city corrupted

by the welfare state, the job of city officials is to ensure the flow of

handouts to welfare recipients and patronage to political supporters--not to

ensure a lawful, orderly evacuation in case of emergency.

No one has really reported this story, as far as I can tell. In fact, some

are already actively distorting it, blaming President Bush, for example, for

failing to personally ensure that the Mayor of New Orleans had drafted an

adequate evacuation plan. The worst example is an execrable piece from the

Toronto Globe and Mail, by a supercilious Canadian who blames the chaos on

American "individualism." But the truth is precisely the opposite: the chaos

was caused by a system that was the exact opposite of individualism.

What Hurricane Katrina exposed was the psychological consequences of the

welfare state. What we consider "normal" behavior in an emergency is

behavior that is normal for people who have values and take the

responsibility to pursue and protect them. People with values respond to a

disaster by fighting against it and doing whatever it takes to overcome the

difficulties they face. They don't sit around and complain that the

government hasn't taken care of them. They don't use the chaos of a disaster

as an opportunity to prey on their fellow men.

But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving

their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do

they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are

going to make a living? They never worried about those things before. Do

they worry about crime and looting? But living off of stolen wealth is a way

of life for them.

The welfare state--and the brutish, uncivilized mentality it sustains and

encourages--is the man-made disaster that explains the moral ugliness that

has swamped New Orleans. And that is the story that no one is reporting.

END.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not a full blown Socialist, but it never ceases to amaze me how the bloody Yanks have got this thing about the 'welfare state'.

Lumpen's comments should be good!!

[plonky]

I totally agree with the comments made by that man! Apathy is a by product of welfare....why work for something when you are given it no questions asked.

If the people behind accepted some personal responsibility for their plight then perhaps they wouldn;t be in this situation.

[F6 UTE]

It's easy to look at people, albeit a minoroty and blame them. 'McQuarie Waters' anyone? But who is to blame for the people? Are they responsible for there own actions? Is the gov't at fault for not controlling them beforehand? The parents for not installing values in there children? The gov't for giving them welfare, and hence and attitude?

The cycle of society continues and it's easier to point the finger than to find a solution, for if there WAS a solution, well, there isn't is there..

I wonder if there's going to be a concert held for the victims?

[Redhawk]

It's easy to look at people, albeit a minoroty and blame them. 'McQuarie Waters' anyone? But who is to blame for the people? Are they responsible for there own actions? Is the gov't at fault for not controlling them beforehand? The parents for not installing values in there children? The gov't for giving them welfare, and hence and attitude?

The cycle of society continues and it's easier to point the finger than to find a solution, for if there WAS a solution, well, there isn't is there..

I wonder if there's going to be a concert held for the victims?

Yeah, I think there is one organized in California somewhere, Celine Dion is heading the list.....mosh pit will be alive that night!!

[harvyk]

As the article stated, these are the ppl we would normally sweep under the rug and forget about... The trouble with these ppl is what do you do about them...

1. Give them handouts and help them get a better life from the start? That may work for some, but there is a majority of ppl who would see the handouts as either their right, or a far easier way to live through life...

2. Ignore them and let them fend for themselves? And in doing so you’re pushing the crime levels up...

Most of these ppl have had a "hard life" and as such they feel no obligation to the community. Normally the coppers are able to keep some sort of law and order going in such cases by their mere presences... If makes a "don't break the law because you might get caught" mentality rather than a "if we break the law we're hurting each other" mentality. However in the wake of the hurricane with most ppl having left the city the threat of getting caught is now less therefore ppl whom would have loved to do this thing before hand but where worried they'd be caught now have little fears of that...

From what I have seen most "law enforcement" type people left with the majority of the city (and as the article stated the majority of them where the "law abiding") so you now have a higher concentration of "non law abiding" ppl with fewer "law enforcement" ppl

This is just my 2c, it has no relation to fact nor fiction and feel free to correct me...

[plonky]

It was funny to read about that self promoter 'Sean Penn' who was in his dinghy sailing around the flood waters looking to help people.

Don;t know how he was going to fit anybody into his boat as he also had three of his entourage as well as his personal photographer....the baot was taking on water and he had to be rescued as well.

Typical actor......

[Lumpen]

But Plonky, by the same token, Greed, Insensitivity and Self-Superiority and Importance are also by products of a ostensibly Capitalist system.

75% of the residents of New Orleans had already evacuated before the hurricane, and of the 300,000 or so who remained, a large number were from the city's public housing projects....reports from CNN and Fox...city had no plan forevacuating all of the prisoners in the city's jails...let many of them loose...no doubt a significant overlap between these two populations...a large number of people in the jails used to live in the housing projects, and vice versa.

Regardless of the fact that these people are from lower socio-economic strata's, does anybody actually not find it repugnent with it's subtle tones that this passage seems to validate the fact that these people were not rescued, and were left for days after the event with no food, water, supplies of any kind.

In any society, with a complete loss of authority and the scarceness of resources you are going to see people reverting to our basic animal instinct, Survival.

He compares a devastated city with no food, water, power or medical supplies, with convicted criminals released by the powers that be to a small, homely country town with a non-functioning traffic light? As if there is any parallel that can be drawn between them.

The US response to September 11? Bombard all western television with horrific images, similar to the kind of death that the US has been raining over other nations for 40 years. Then they turn around and murder hundred's of thousand of innocent people by similar means in the name of democracy and liberation? Tragically ironic or just tragic?

However, what I personally find most abhorrent and disgusting, yet at the same time it is actually, in my opinion, one of the major factors in the response by the US Governments (on all levels) is this quote:

But what about criminals and welfare parasites? Do they worry about saving their houses and property? They don't, because they don't own anything. Do they worry about what is going to happen to their businesses or how they are going to make a living?

What disturbs me about such a quote is that there is the belief in such a materialistic society that wealth and possesions are what makes the importance of a human. This, as we should all know can be no further from the truth however a morally bankrupt little man such as the kind who writes an imperious article like this is are often also those who hold positions of power.

I personally wonder how much time and effort will be put into protecting and rebuilding material assests, both of those of people and of large conglomerates in comparison to the effort to release these people from the festering hell hole that New Orleans has become.

I personally, can't comment on the US welfare system though I know it is much "harder" than what we have in Australia. The levels of support is far smaller in a nation where it costs alot more to live and also it is available for only a limited period.

I am sure such an article will go down well with White Anglo Saxon Protestant American as it features such patriotic rhetoric such as:

That is what has shocked so many people: they have been saying

that this is not what we expect from America.

and:

When confronted with a disaster, people usually rise to the occasion. They work together to rescue people in danger, and they spontaneously organize to keep order and solve problems. This is especially true in America. We are an enterprising people, used to relying on our own initiative rather than waiting around for the government to take care of us.

How homely and patriotic, unfortunately it also another twisted lie, but that's OK, because as long as the US Government and the media feed such propoganda to those that count (Must be those with money and stuff) then All is Well.

I really can't comment much more on this article because it has actually sickened me that somebody with such a callous disregard for human life, blaming people with little to no chance rather than cast an eye back over the corrupt system of greed and manipulation that he supports can call himself a 'journalist'.

Brendan.

[Macktheknife]

Brendan.

I applaud you mate. It is obvious you have read the article carefully, understand it fully and have commented accurately and in an articulate manner. You are wise far beyond your years........ :bowdown

I make no comment but in this thread, I look forward to comment from others if they are as well thought about regardless of the opinion.

[NT TURBO]

Well said lumpy.

[sixfan]

Lumpy:

I disagree that "Basic Animal Instincts" are to rape steal and kill.

Altruisim is an effective survival strategy that has evolved in mankind AND OTHER ANIMALS. Vampire bats will regurgitate blood to a neibour bat in thier cave that did not get a feed that night. Why? to maintain a population in that cave / treestump, so that if in future if the donor bat misses out on a feed there are enough others to donate to it. It's the same with Humans (metaphorically of course!) I pay taxes to go into welfare to support people who one day, may have to support me (or my offspring)

Altruisim is an evolutionary tactic that is innate to all humans while theft, killing and to a lesser degree, rape (let's not get into that topic here...)are LEARNED "skills"

I do not agree that rape / murder / theft is the inevitable result of putting humans under stress.

It's the result of evil fcuks running amok because that think they can get away with it.

Theres no excuse for thier behavior.