Katrina

I’ve been following the stories coming out of New Orleans. There’s a woman on CNN right now who managed to call in. She’s almost apologetic, as she asks her for help. “I know we’re not the top priority,” she says, “but we are here. And we do need help.”

It has been almost five days since the storm hit. The media dropped the ball in their reporting of this one. To them, the big story was the storm itself, and when it was downgraded from a Category 5 to a Category 4, their seemed to be a sense that things would be okay. And, yes, the damage done to New Orleans was not as bad as predicted, but the real story — the real tragedy — has emerged in the aftermath of that hurricane. This isn’t the way things are supposed to be. When the storm breaks, things are supposed to get better.

Things are getting worse.

As many of you know, I’m a frequent visitor at SomethingAwful. Their webhost, as luck would have it, is hosted in New Orleans. Remarkably, they managed to stay online until just a few hours ago. This is largely due to the efforts of the people inside an “Outpost”, located high above the city. One of those people has been maintaining a livejournal throughout the disaster.

Here are some of his observations from the heart of a lost city:

• “I am not trying to be an alarmist, but until we get a military presence of signicance in the city, the roving gangs of thugs own the streets.”
• “New Orleans Police Department Status: The situation for the NOPD is critical. This is firsthand information I have from an NOPD officer we’re giving shelter to. Their command and control infrastructure is shot. They have limited to no communication whatsoever. He didn’t even know the city was under martial law until we told him! His precinct (5th Precinct) is under water! UNDER WATER — every vehicle under water. They had to commander moving trucks like Ryder and UHaul to get around. The coroner’s office is shut down so bodies are being covered in leaves at best or left where they lie at worst.”
• “Over 30 officers have quit over the last 3 days. Out of 160 officers in his district maybe 55 or 60 are working. He hasn’t seen several since Sunday. HQ is closed, evacuated. No phones to contact them.”
• “The Iberville Housing Projects got pissed off because the police started to “shop” after they kicked out looters. Then they started shooting at cops. When the cops left, the looters looted everything. There’s probably not a grocery left in this city.”
• “It is a zoo out there though, make no mistake. It’s the wild kingdom. It’s Lord of the Flies. That doesn’t mean there’s murder on every street corner. But what it does mean is that the rule of law has collapsed, that there is no order, and that property rights cannot and are not being enforced. Anyone who is on the streets is in immediate danger of being robbed and killed. It’s that bad. “

My initial reaction was the same as a lot of other people. Those still in the city are fools — they should have left. They had advance warning. It’s easy to blame the victims for putting themselves in danger. But it’s unfair. It’s not right. Everyone should be truly thankful that their WAS an advance warning, but is hardly fair to place blame on the elderly, the poor, the sick and the profoundly dedicated.

I’m still watching CNN now. They are unloading people in hospital gowns from helicopters at the New Orleans airport. There’s a woman holding a newborn baby being placed on a baggage belt, in use as a makeshift stretcher. There are people standing on balconies as the streets are flooded with water, holding signs reading “Help Us.”

Like most disasters, we can’t do much. But I would recommend that if you have a few dollars — and considering the time of year, I know most of you do — consider donating some money to the American Red Cross. It doesn’t have to be a lot of money, just enough to make a little difference.

My parents took a lot of trips to New Orleans when I was younger. I’ve never been myself, though it’s always been on my list of places to go. It is terrifying to think that the city might never be the same again.

There’s a list of charities accepting donations here, if you would prefer to donate to another organization. Once again, help if you can. I don’t like to get all preachy or anything, but there is history happening in New Orleans right now. Make yourself a positive part of that.

Matt