"Patterns Of Force"

well now, here is an article I was just reading. it is from a write at inside pulse. I was just going to link it, but I will copy and paste it got you instead.

9.1.2005
The Yeti Rants: Things ain’t so easy in The Big Easy

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Politics— Jeff "Yeti" Hopkins @ 5:14 pm

“I think there ought to be zero tolerance of people breaking the law during an emergency such as this — whether it be looting, or price gouging at the gasoline pump, or taking advantage of charitable giving or insurance fraud, and I’ve made that clear to our attorney general. The citizens ought to be working together.” This is what our president had to say about the looters and lawlessness in New Orleans. I find it amazing how we don’t see the short sightedness of the culture we breed until that culture comes under stress.

Outlaws run the streets of New Orleans right now. Looting, vandalism, shootings, car jacking, and who knows what else is going on. People thought all they were going to have to do was survive the storm. Little did they realize the aftermath was going to be hell compared to the winds and rain that Katrina dumped on the city. Now, as federal teams are attempting to evacuate those who were too poor or too stubborn to leave the city before the storm, they are being shot at and attacked. Shots are being fired at rescue helicopters. Fires are being set to prevent busses from leaving. Gotta love that American spirit of giving in a time of crisis huh?
This is the culture that we breed. People are no longer expected to be self reliant. Out of a job? Don’t worry, the government will pay for you. Need some health care? Government has that covered. Food because you can’t work enough? We got that too. Now, at a time when this system is being stressed to the max, instead of these people accepting the help that is being offered, and maybe doing what little they could to assist others with them, they are greedy, selfish and blindingly stupid. It boggles the mind.

What do we expect though? Long gone are the frontier days where a man had to live as an island out on the prairie. American no longer means rugged self reliance. Most people expect to be handed things. Most people expect for things to be easy. Most folks take for granted that when we wake up in the morning the TV will turn on, water will flow from the faucet and if we need milk or bread that we can head over to the store to get it. There are no stockpiles of dried goods in a root cellar. Hell, who even has a root cellar any more? When was the last time anyone had to “make it through” the winter on what they grew in the previous summer? Ours is a life of convenience and ease.

I’m sure there are multitudes of stories of heroism we have yet to hear about. The media never wants to cover those. Pain and suffering is what sells. So we get reports of the chaos. The shots fired, the mother who has her six year old stealing beauty supplies. TVs, DVD players and CDs being stolen. Why? What good are they to anyone? Break into the store, get the food people need. That is one thing. That is practical, that is resourceful and that will let you survive until another day. Yet our minds don’t work that way for some reason. We’ve come to expect that the government will provide the necessities for us if for some reason. So we steal the nonessentials that we are told are “worth” something. Why don’t these people think to go do what they can for themselves? If you are able to shoot a gun at a helicopter, aren’t you able to go open up a lock for supplies or help a person off a roof? If you can break into a Best Buy and steal a VCR aren’t you able to make your way out of the city to a safer place?

Terry Ebert, New Orleans Emergency operations had this to say: “This is a national emergency. This is a national disgrace. FEMA has been here three days, yet there is no command and control. We can send massive amounts of aid to tsunami victims, but we can’t bail out the city of New Orleans.” How is it FEMA’s responsibility to stop people from shooting at them? How is it FEMA’s responsibility to make sure that people are going to use common sense and be calm while help arrives? We can’t rely on the government to do everything for us. People need to take initiative and help themselves. It will only make it easier for everyone. I agree that it’s a national disgrace. It sheds new light onto just what Americans are like when the chips are down. Greedy with no thought for helping anyone but themselves.

Remember the pictures from 9/11? People helping one another out of the rubble? That was one day. Those people got to go to their homes, take a warm bath, head to Olive Garden and then tell their tale of woe on Good Morning America. This is a national disaster. No Olive Gardens are left to go to, and the hot water is out because there is no gas. So what’s the solution? Steal someone else’s. Looks like that renewed American spirit didn’t last very long?

I think there is a deeper social commentary here that maybe I’m missing. Could it be that the people who were helping each other in downtown Manhattan that September morning were of middle and upper classes? Those used to working for a living and doing what they could on their own. When a person has to work for something, then taking care of yourself is just second nature. While in New Orleans we have the poor and the destitute. The middle class and the rich all ran, literally for the hills, while the poor stayed. So are we seeing the results of what happens when the handout culture is left with no handouts? Anarchy. That’s what’s going on there. Is this social difference the reason? I think it is. I think that these people are so used to being handed everything that when the handouts have dried up they are reacting with violence. Like a child in a store stamping their feet when a parent tells them No, these people are shooting at the symbols of their frustration, the very people who hand them things. We think we are helping, but we are just breeding a mentality that is dangerous. Don’t worry. You’ll be taken care of. Someone will do it for you. Well, now, when there is nobody to do it for them, are any of us surprised that these people have no idea what to do for themselves? Are we surprised that they are unwilling to help those around them? I’m not.

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I do not agree with all the points he made (or is it i do not want to agree maybe). But in the same light I think their is a very good point made there. Awaiting Wyatts enlightened response here.

~Oz