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No doubt we’ll be getting more tales from those trapped on the ground in New Orleans, but this account of the “humiliation and dehumanization of the official relief effort”, over at Counago and Spaves, is compelling, and damning.
Update: Samizdata posted on this, and the comments suggest that the account should be treated with at least a degree of caution.
It’s all too European for me. All the way through it becomes an advertisement for the wonders of a statist economy, like the more absurd section of “Grapes of Wrath”.
“…the real heroes and sheroes of the hurricane relief effort: the working class of New Orleans.” Why are working class people always more humane than others; does it come with the job. And why aren’t police considered working class anyway? “…numerous encounters with callous and hostile “law enforcement”.
You might think they were in Cuba: “Now secure with the two necessities, food and water; cooperation, community, and creativity flowered. We organized a clean up and hung garbage bags from the rebar poles. We made beds from wood pallets and cardboard. We designated a storm drain as the bathroom and the kids built an elaborate enclosure for privacy out of plastic, broken umbrellas, and other scraps. We even organized a food recycling system where individuals could swap out parts of C-rations (applesauce for babies and candies for kids!).”
And here is the big universal truth: “This was a process we saw repeatedly in the aftermath of Katrina. When individuals had to fight to find food or water, it meant looking out for yourself only. You had to do whatever it took to find water for your kids or food for your parents. When these basic needs were met, people began to look out for each other, working together and constructing a community.”
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