Day 4: Chaos In The City

New Orleans used to have a good reputation in terms of civil order. Sure crime was as bad there as it was in Gary, Indiana, Detroit, and Washington, DC, but riots and mass pillaging was not something synonymous with New Orleans.

Part of that might have to do with the Saints, as in major cities across the country, whenever the victorious team won the SuperBowl or NBA Finals, looting, burning, and all sorts of needless destruction would take place, all in the name of expressing joy over the success of a professional sports franchise. Since the Saints have never come close to testing this theory out locally, people just assumed that when the local team did finally make good (right about the time the devil catches the flu), New Orleans would be just like Dallas. Well in 2004, the LSU Fighten' Tigers won the national football championship while playing in the Sugar Bowl. Tiger fans were gleeful, happy, and more than a few inebriated...but there was no wanton destruction.

Then along came Katrina...

The city, though under martial law, has been a den of lawlessness as people who once sought shelter under the tattered cover of the Superdome have gone on a rampage, breaking into Canal Street stores and Walmarts across the city. One report had even some men in uniform joining in the free-for-all while their more ethical comrades tried to reason with the thieves.

There is also a prison riot in Orleans Parish in progress where the family of a deputy has been taken hostage. As of right now, there is little difference between New Orleans and Port-au-Prince after one of its seasonal revolts.

Some of these criminals even had the nerve to freely give their names and speak to reporters covering the scene. One screamed that "after years of oppression it's time to take what's ours." Others claimed that they were also seeking their just desserts.

Call this writer cruel, but his idea of just desserts for these looters is a load of shot racing their way.

I've bene able to catch footage of the chaos on Canal Street as a heroic police officer waving a street sweeper chased after those making off with stolen property, forcing them to unload their goods in the water before letting them scamper off free, which at a minimum deprived them of their ill-gotten merchandise.

The first stories of looting dribbled in, and were followed by extensively broadcast news that the police were more concerned with saving people than stopping looters, possibly the most grievous error to be announced to the public, for the deluge of human vermin swished through the water to take in their plunder.

Had the police been more "selective" in their statements of priorities, the indirect "green light" they gave to the mass thieving might have been avoided. While killing people over a color television is a terrible trade, order by all means must be restored and the only way to stop the wilding that is overtaking New Orleans and endangering the lives of tens of thousands of innocents is through force and not equivocation and meely-mouthed "pleas".

If the city government is reluctant to order their cops to aggressively end the mass theft that has already sent one officer to the hospital with a bullet in his head, then the state police should be ordered to step in. If Governor Blanco chooses not to follow in the strong-worded statement by neighboring Mississippi Governor Barbour of Mississippi that looters will be dealt with "ruthlessly", then stepo aside and let the National Guard do the job.

While rescuing people is the highest priority, protecting the public from a scourge that is as unreasonable as the racing water is equally important and of the highest priority as a show of force by the authorities will discourage others from joining in the retail thievery.

Some people have qualified "bad looting" from "good looting" by categorizing the former as ripping off jewelry and DVD players while sanctioning the latter as simply doing what is necessary to secure food and water. The problem is that ethical looters are about as hard to find right now as a dry spot in St. Bernard Parish.

Besides, I've seen pictures of people walking off with grocery carts with enough food to feed themselves through the NFL's bye week.

If people whose moral compasses are so out of whack that the only thing that keeps them from commiting a crime is facing the consequences of being apprehended, then firm measures must be taken.

Stealing without fear of punishment will only encourage and enbolden the most deplorable souls into breaking into private homes, putting people are risk of being murdered in addition to drowned.

Civilians who have tkaen advantage of their Second Amendment rights prior to the storm have armed themselves and are prepared to exhange gunfire with those who wish to make off with their property...or what little they have left of it. While this might make for good anecdotes to be cited by the NRA on the need to fight gun control laws, my immediate concern is that by failing to act tough on the looters, far more violence might take place.

Looters of all assortments must learn that they are gambling with their lives when they act against others, which might dissuade some from partaking in the madness.

Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco must request military backup from the Federal government and give their blessing, secret or overt, that deadly force should be used in suppressing the crime wave that is terrifying people in the area and making those around the country wathcing the chaos that less likely to send a disaster relief donation for a city that is being represented by the media as being overrun with savages.