Askia, Florida had hurricanes; Florida had looting. I DON’T GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE LOOTING AND NEITHER DO MOST PEOPLE HERE! They can have all the big-screen TVs they want, for all the good it’ll do them. It’s when they start hampering evacuation and rescue efforts that I get pissed. It’s when they do so BY SHOOTING AT RESCUERS that I say, “Who cares if I’m a Quaker? Fire on the bastards!” You want your family rescued? Then go the fuck back to your family and put a white sheet on the roof or do something to attract the attention of the other copters that are flying over the city looking for people to rescue.
So you want a news crew in a helicopter to go out and get footage of people shooting at helicopters? Brilliant!
1) South Florida is not New Orleans. The cultures are very different.
Cultures, sure. Human nature? Not so much. Basic human reactions regarding the loss of homes, food, water, shelter, power, death and missing family members are generally the same. All would tend to subdue urges to go out and randomly cause chaos. Even people who were taking potshots at helicopters were acting in panic, saying things like, “You better take my family out of here!” That is not thuggish behavior.
2) Most people in Florida could move to a more comfortable and safe area with at least some relief. They are trapped in New Orleans. And the weather was not as hot and sticky and it was more rural, I get it. It’s bad, sure, it’s just not a recipe for the anarchy you guys are claiming.
3) You have gangs of thugs who have captive victims and are captive themselves. That is not a good recipe. We have alleged unsubstantiated reports of gangs of thugs. I have heard no reports of captive victims. There’s plenty of anecdotes of mob activity, just not gangs. Gangs are organized. Mobs are not.
Being a victim does not mean that you cannot be a criminal. The two are not mutually exclusive. Just because you do something that’s against the law when society breaks down out of survive doesn’'t make you a criminal if nobody’s faulting you or prosecuting you.
All this noble savage shit is delusional.
“Savage” eh?
You nasty, Shag.
Well, according to the quote that Larry Mudd posted, it seems that at least some of them are doing it in a desperate attempt to intimidate rescue workers into coming to help them:
In other words, the message seems to be “Forget about the folks in the hospital, come rescue my starving/trapped/drowning/whatever family, or I’ll shoot you.”
This strategy seems to me, at the very least, way counterproductive (as well as immoral, reckless, and possibly suicidal). But it’s certainly more excusable than giddy criminals just playing target practice with rescue teams for the fun of it. (There may well be some of those out there too, of course, but that’s not what this particular report seems to be describing.)
One, you need to be a little Fonzie up in here.
Two. One dickcheese “blasting they gat” is not “hampering rescue operations.”
Three. Too many reports give the implication that the breakdown is organized and planned when it’s really just random and sporatic. No one’s been killed; I heard about maybe one injury. Chill the fuck out.
Kimstu. Yes. That’s my take, too. Thank you for saying it.
Dude, ever heard of Martial Law?
Sorry about that, Larry. I was having a bit of facetious fun with those here who insist that nobody is shooting at rescuers. I don’t doubt it at all.
For all of the “There are no rapes going on, people are in survival mode” faction, I give you this:
From the blog (I know, blogs aren’t cites) of the crisis manager for DirectNIC.
It’s a big giant shit-ball, and we’re all gonna have to take a bite.
Tell me about it. I live in Atlanta. You should see the ongoing Moronic Convergence around gas stations in town.
Thank you for the clarification. I didn’t think that was the case. Much obliged.
Bricker cleared that up.
There is no such time. If there is even a hint of that on the behalf of government the outrage can be heard on the other side of the country. Example: Guantanamo Bay. And truthfully, that’s just a gray area.Imagine if the law were outright ignored.
Hey, that’s not my deal, any more than My Lai or Abu Ghraib is. What’s done is done, and that’s not an example of how things are supposed to be done.
Strictly speaking, I’d say it is. Even one person loosing off firearms in the general direction or presence of rescue crew is making everybody’s job more dangerous, as well as scaring folks unnecessarily. Like I said, way counterproductive.
For the most part, though, I’m inclined to agree with you that this is probably mostly a matter of desperate and frightened people losing their heads and trying to bully others into helping them. Doubtless there are some people running amok like soldiers in a sacked city, but most of the desperate folks are probably just trying to get away.
**“It’s raining now and I guess that’s a relief from the heat. It’s hot as hell down there in the sun. Crime is absolutely rampant: rapes, murders, rape-murder combinations.” **
Honestly? I don’t know how much of that is something the blogger actually witnessed and how much is just rumor he’s repeating.
I’m noting this, but being skeptical.
Strictly speaking, I agree. Realistically he’ll be beat down (if he’s lucky) and the rescue efforts will go on.
First of all, I’m not hysterical. I’m calmly looking at the news and understanding the facts. You, by contrast, are dispassionately dismissing reports. this is happening, you say. Because people wouldn’t do that. Never mind that they’re doing it. Na na na na na na.
I’m not convinced that people are dying. They’re probably napping.
Why not take a look at his blog, he has had pictures up, and live video feed. He has a lot of people commenting on his posts, presumably some have seen his pics and feed (it appears that his pics are on a downed server, but the video feed is still operating, I can’t watch here at work).
He is apparently there, not just repeating what he has heard, but reporting what is going on around him. If it was a hoax, he sure has a lot of people backing him on it.
Actually, he pretty much is a sniper. He might not be a very effective sniper, but he’s a sniper nonetheless.
It gives me a warm glow to know how the victims of this disaster are aided by those Internet posters who justify, rationalize, and dismiss the behavior of the the armed thugs who are disrupting rescue efforts. I hope they will have a chance to personally thank you.
Holy shit. If a tenth of what he says is true it is a nightmare beyond understanding. It really has the ring of truth. I hope I’m wrong.
Hey guys. Look over here. Unfucking believable.