From the Big Easy to The Lord of the Flies

A reader said, “Something terrible is happening in New Orleans right now before our eyes. Our fellow countrymen are being left to their fate.” I asked him to explain, and he wrote:

Quite simply, the response of the federal government has been inadequate. Completely inadequate. We are now getting pictures of people dying on the streets of New Orleans and along the Gulf coast from lack of medicine, water, and food. Other parts of the city have been left to the control of armed mobs. The very first responsibility of government is to establish law and order, protect law abiding citizenry. Four days after the hurricane and there are almost no representatives from the government on the ground to enforce some degree of civil order. This is why the federal government exists at the most fundamental level. Instead, things are devolving into some sort of gruesome re-enactment of the Lord of the Flies.

First, it seems to me that the federal government is doing a lot. Second, is this only the responsibility of the federal government? It was known for several days in advance that a terrible storm, possibly a catastrophic, Category 5 storm, was coming. The local authorities told everyone in the city to evacuate. The authorities had to know that a large portion of the city’s population would not possess the private transportation or other means to leave. Therefore those people would have to be accommodated somewhere. But the Superbowl was not prepared in advance for this. Nor was anything else done, as far as we can tell. Also, the city had to know that there would be looting; yet they took zero steps to forestall it.

Concerning people firing at rescue helicopters, the same reader writes:

Yes, the gunfire is why there is such a problem with unrest. But federal authorities are making it sound like Stalingrad. They have helicopters. They have troops. Drop them in and establish order, why don’t they? And, of course, you’re correct. Local authorities have done nothing. They’ve even joined in on the looting. The local police in New Orleans are just one step above the force in Nuevo Laredo. But that’s part of the problem, too. Disregard them. Put military rule in place if necessary.

Posted by Lawrence Auster at September 01, 2005 02:59 PM | Send