After watching Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds earlier this summer, I posted a review in which I criticized, among other things, his portrayal of an overwhelming tendency toward mob savagery in the wake of the invasion (e.g., the carjacking scene). Excerpt:
Speaking of people in desperate situations becoming savages and doing what is necessary to survive, I don’t think this movie adequately portrays the flip side of that equation: people coming together to help each other in a crisis, something that, as has been demonstrated repeatedly by recent events (9/11, the blackout, the hurricanes, the tsunami, etc.), really does happen. Yeah, there’s a bit of this in the movie, like the son heroically rescuing people hanging off the boat ramp or the strangers trying to save the daughter when they think she is all alone. But overall, Spielberg definitely gives us the sense that he believes the overwhelming response to a mega-crisis such as an alien invasion would be “every man for himself.” Perhaps I’m naive, but I just don’t think that’s true. There’d be some of that, sure. But I think the real world is a more nuanced — and better — place than Spielberg’s world.
Alas, what’s happening in New Orleans is beginning to make me think that perhaps Spielberg was closer to the correct balance of the equation than I thought — or at least, that he understood something which I may have failed to fully recognize: that, when society’s usual safeguards and structures break down, it takes only a relatively small group of people acting like savages to make life totally untenable for the majority whose inclination is to remain non-savage, forcing them to either become savage themselves or else be utterly at the savages’ mercy.
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Categories: Hurricane Katrina
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September 1st, 2005 at 6:46:24 am
Margaret Thatcher once said, “The veneer of civilization is very thin.”
September 1st, 2005 at 7:47:49 am
“…it takes only a relatively small group of people acting like savages to make life totally untenable for the majority whose inclination is to remain non-savage, forcing them to either become savage themselves or else be utterly at the savages’ mercy.”
And if the US press used the same biased filter they do in Iraq they would call the looters “insurgents”, claim “civil war is at hand” and encourage complete withdrawal.
September 1st, 2005 at 8:07:57 am
Hey guys, I was watching the news with my husband last night and we were discussing the lack of leadership. Were’s the Guilianni’s, the Pataki’s. All we see are the Mayor and Govenor snivelling.
I don’t know about you but I have been quite worried about what would happen if a terrorist attacked one of our major cities and wiped it off the map. How would we as citizens react? Now we know. This means it is very important to have strong leaders in our major cities and states. No more liberals who’s biggest concern is should he/she have a tall or grande latte for breakfast.
It’s time to get serious.
September 1st, 2005 at 8:09:43 am
Right on, Right!
I think NO is different from NYC: most of the people left in NO are the poorest, most opportunistic ones. In addition, NO’s police force is nowhere near as good/effective as NYCs.
But who knows what stories of kindness are taking place in the Superdome? The reporters aren’t there.
September 1st, 2005 at 8:12:33 am
The storm has nothing to do with the criminals. They have been in New Orleans all along, and there is nothing special about the viciousness now.
September 1st, 2005 at 8:58:28 am
Vicky,
You had me, then you lost me. Effectively dealing with a crisis is not the sole province of either party. Leadership comes from within a person, and is not related to their political beliefs.
How about the liberal FDR? Big pussy, right?
September 1st, 2005 at 9:18:35 am
And unfortunately, New Orleans has always been a vicious, as well as charming, city. Crime had reached mid-90s levels over the summer.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:21:50 am
Coach,
You bring up an interesting point. Leadership is independent of ideology, but what do you suppose the Liberal Michael Mooreish of modern America would make of his illegal arms deals which supplied Britain in defiance of Congress?
FDR was no isolationist. Kennedy, the same.
Which party’s current foreign policy looks more like FDR’s and Kennedy’s?
September 1st, 2005 at 9:30:16 am
Gee, what a great partisan battle we’re having over New Orleans. I have an idea: let’s blanket the city with leaflets for the 2006 and 2008 elections. That’ll help the current situation.
And Bob, the poorest are the most opportunistic? Enron/MCI/etc would demonstrate otherwise. And please, let’s lay off the police right now, OK? They can go back to taking bribes or hustling the local drug kingpins once the city is rebuilt, but I’m sure even the corrupt ones are at this moment more focused on the task at hand.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:31:39 am
After the Tsumami, was there rioting and looting? I don’t remember hearing about it?
The actions of the terrible few in NO are going to deter people from helping them. There was just a report that:
“during the night, when a medical evacuation helicopter tried to land at a hospital in the outlying town of Kenner, the pilot reported 100 people were on the landing pad, some with guns.
“He was frightened and would not land,” Zeuschlag.”
This is absolutely nuts! I understand that people are scared, hungry, and thirsty… but guns are not helping the situation!
September 1st, 2005 at 9:39:58 am
Superdome Evacuation Halted Amid Gunfire
NEW ORLEANS - The evacuation of the Superdome was suspended Thursday after shots were fired at a military helicopter, an ambulance official overseeing the operation said. No immediate injuries were reported.
“We have suspended operations until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zeuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people from the Superdome.
He said that military would not fly out of the Superdome either because of the gunfire and that the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control.
“That’s not enough,” Zeuschlag. “We need a thousand.”
September 1st, 2005 at 9:46:17 am
It’s important to remember that this is a relatively small group of people, even though they’re wreaking havoc all out of proportion to their numbers.
I’d wager that for every act of looting or gunshot fired, there are maybe a thousand acts of kindness we’ll never know about.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:52:56 am
“it takes only a relatively small group of people acting like savages ”
Well I could have told you that, having worked in a downtown urban area for a couple of years. There are people who act like this on any given day of the year, let alone in a disaster.
September 1st, 2005 at 9:59:49 am
RoC, you are not just right of center but far right of center if you believe that. Your comparison is so full of holes its laughable.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:01:24 am
Fear not Brendan, read this article I caught last night in the Seattle Times.
Most relavant quote:
But disaster-response researchers are intrigued, especially because this behavior has been far from the norm. Sociologists cite more than 50 years of research showing that widespread looting after a natural disaster is rare.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:14:50 am
As regards the looting, well that is only natural. I mean those shops are hardly open for business and if you need the food, blankets etc then the only way to get them is to take them. I know it depends on exactly what is being looted but still.
But, speaking of war of the worlds, ever wonder if constantly seeing people forming mobs and rioting in disaster films has an impact on how people actually behave. If they think everyone else is going to act in a certain manner it might influence their behaviour? Just speculating, I don’t really think that the media has that much of an impact on society at large, but maybe in such an unusual, stress-filled situation?
September 1st, 2005 at 10:15:27 am
I just talked to my sister (she is a doctor) about the terrible acts taking place and she brought up a great point.
Good drinking water is not readily available and with the high temps and humidity many could be suffering from dehydration. Dehydration can actually cause psychosis.
This is not to mention those who have swam or waded in toxic water. Who knows what the effects of that might do.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:25:26 am
Fence/Jenny:
With all due respect, the looting started on Tuesday, less than 24 hours after the storm left the city. Dehydration was not an issue at that point.
Also, nobody is complaining about stealing “necessities”. That is perfectly acceptable, if you need to live. However, carjackings/breaking and entering into homes/hospitals, shooting cops, looting gun shops, jewelry stores and electronics store is sheer thuggery. The people doing this are evil, and a mob mentality has set in. The quicker they are dealt with in a brutally harsh manner, the better. Nobody should have to fear for their own life and possessions in the wake of this tragedy.
This whole situation really drives home the point that, at the end of the day, we are responsible for our own safety and livelihood. The govt. will not always be there to protect you, whether it be from the floodwaters or from the criminals roaming the streets. I’m no motor city madman, but I think we would all do well to think about how we can better prepare ourselves to be self sufficient in times of crisis. I’d hate to be stuck in NO now without a means to survive/defend my family.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:25:31 am
I don’t think that it is fair to compare New Orleans’ disaster with the twin towers. Mayor Guilliani did not lose his entire city when the two towers fell, he did not lose his infrastructure, the damage was horrific, but localized, and he excelled.
Mayor Nagin and Governor Whatshername have a different challenge - their city, as it was known, has been removed from the face of the map. Additionally, the damage is not even localized to the city - all major access points to the city are flatlined (either by destruction, or by the flood of refugees), and many of the surrounding cities that would be able to aid Guilliani in his circumstance have been hit with equal savagery. And people don’t like being told, “Shut Up, we’re fixing the infrastructure so we can address your freaking problem!” so they have to tell people that in terms that don’t cause riots, which sounds wishywashy to some.
My one complaint is:
“Why didn’t they have a plan for total city failure? Considering the fact that it is in a soup bowl, and someone, somewhere (let’s call him ‘Crackpot McGee’) probably spun the theory?”
But, maybe they do, and they just don’t want to release all of the information because the ramifications of it would cause a riot.
I’m not sure how much of the looting is new and special to New Orleans, and how much is just due to the proximity of the data (who cares if there’s looting in a city half-way across the globe, what reporter is going to bother reporting on that when there’s juicier stories to get, here it’s unavoidable because we have a vested interest in every aspect of this story).
September 1st, 2005 at 10:29:15 am
David, perhaps the proper FDR analogy may be internment camps. That was a very progressive step for a Dem President, wasn’t it. Or perhaps the military courts to convict and execute Nazi spies.
The more I think about it Governor Blanco should have named the commandant of the Louisiana National Guard military governor of New Orleans prior to landfall and told him to use all necessary force to preserve lives and preserve order.. Shooting at helicopters?
September 1st, 2005 at 10:33:29 am
Coach - Gun shops are necessity, what do you do if someone wants to take your valuable water/beer/money?
Jewelry shops are going to be inevitably hit, because people know they need money in the rest of America, and an opportuntiy to get a free $1000 is not something to pass up. Especially consider the poverty side of things in tandem with this - Bill Gates sees a $1000 dollar bill laying onthe ground, is it worth his time to pick it up?
Is he as inclined to pick it up as someone else?
Now a New Orleans stayer (who stayed not because they wanted to ride out the storm, but because they didn’t have the ability and resources to leave the city), assuming no hurricane, would they find a $1000 bill laying on the sidewalk a tempting thing to pick up? Mightn’t they rationalize that getting some jewelry from the store will help them out in surviving, in part because a single article is worth such a large percentage of their annual income/needs/etc. (when you pay $150/month in rent, a diamond ring could be worth quite a lot)
September 1st, 2005 at 10:36:16 am
Coach,
I don’t disagree with you one bit. I agree that there are evil, criminal people running around with a mob mentality. This was seen especially in the beginning with the looting of stores for non-life sustaining items. I personally don’t see it as looting if someone breaks into a store to obtain food, water, and supplies to survive this ordeal.
What I was referring to in regards to the dehydration setting in, is the fact that shots have been fired upon helicopters that are there to rescue them. I can’t see how anyone can gain by not being rescued in this situation. They must leave the city where the health issues are going to worsen day to day. Why would you stop a rescue effort?
It does not make sense to me, am I missing something?
September 1st, 2005 at 10:38:14 am
Amazing the lengths some people will go to rationalize behavior.
Roy, let me make this plain: it is people like you, and the rationalizations that you make, that prevented the authorities from shooting the initial wave of looters and keeping some semblance of civil authority in place.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:40:16 am
Jenny, lawlessness leads to lawlessness. Do you not get this fact even now? Those stores of food and supplied could have been seized and guarded by the NO civil authorities and used as supplies. Instead, they let The Mob descend and loot them and now no one has recourse to use them.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:44:35 am
Jenny:
Good point. They could be deranged, angry that they aren’t being taken away on the copters, or they could just be criminal outlaws who are rebelling against any form of authority.
Roy: Good point on the gun shops. I should have clarified- if you’re stealing a gun to protect yourself in a lawless city, that would obviously fall under a “necessity” exception to looting.
I disagree with the rest of your post. It would always be “nice” to have more $, but if you have no honor, $ is worthless. These looters have no honor, and if you believe in karma (which I do), they’re going to come back as a toilet seat cover next time around. Also, there’s a fundamental difference between stumbling across $ on the street, and breaking and entering a store to steal it. Basically, I’m not going to give these guys a free pass for stealing just because they have low net worth.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:46:47 am
george - I’m not going to devolve into a flamewar, but I wish to make one point - Where did I ever say that it was not okay to shoot people to maintain order?
You need to, in a situation such as this, set hardline boundaries beyond which point there is no middle ground.
But don’t expect the people in general to make a complete set of rules whilest they’re in the thick of things, don’t criticize the mayor for what he’s doing (unless you know you can do better, and are doing it), and don’t think that because people are looting it spells the end of western civilization.
September 1st, 2005 at 10:51:30 am
George,
I understand that lawlessness leads to lawlessness and in a perfect world the National Guard would have been there to distribute goods - however that was not the case.
If you were there and had an infant screaming from hunger and your home was flattened - would you not break into a store and steal formula?
September 1st, 2005 at 10:53:19 am
I suppose where people derailed in my post, is that they saw me saying, “the poor poor (as in poverty) people, how can you fault them trying to make a buck any way they can.”
And really, all I was saying is:
You must understand what you are dealing with, understand how the minds of people work in all the myriad situations, and identify the right action to remedy the problem. Gunning down looters might be the right solution, or maybe shooting one of them will suffice, or mayeb making resources available in a centralized point is better. But don’t hold things against people, karmicly speaking, for doing what they feel they need to to survive. Don’t let their karma affect your life either (just because someone else may need my water doesn’t mean I’m not going to kill him and eat his body to keep it if I’m starving).
September 1st, 2005 at 11:57:20 am
Signs are appearing that our
society is rather poorer than
it was in our fathers and our
grandfathers times, due to too much
afluence and consumer focused living,
and too little hard work and
self discipline. I fear that this
disaster shows how threadbare our
Great Society may be becoming at the edges, and how much we should each of us work to repair this damage, I pray for the good people in New Orleans
to survive, and for the bad ones to
realize that they are only hurting everyone and will pay along with the rest if they do not stop
September 1st, 2005 at 12:04:53 pm
Ironman, why are you addressing a comment about FDR to me?
September 1st, 2005 at 12:11:53 pm
The question is, how do you restore law and order to a city that is under water? How do you isolate and take out the looters when the infrastructure is blocked and flooded? The vehicles necessary to get around, the supplies necessary to sustain operations… it simply takes time to set up. In the mean time, chaos reigns.
September 1st, 2005 at 12:22:29 pm
Jenny, sure, but I wouldn’t think “hmm, maybe I’ll take a couple of DVD players, and all the expensive booze, too”.
September 1st, 2005 at 12:36:53 pm
This looting and banditry is shameful. Makes me ashamed. However, Mayor Nagin and Governor Blanco are enabling it.
Their should have been a shoot on sight order for looters the first hour looting was reported. Where’s Boss Daley when you need him?
September 1st, 2005 at 1:05:51 pm
One point so obvious that maybe nobody else thought it was necessary to make it: The looting is being done by the people who stayed behind. The well-functioning, law-abiding citizens obeyed orders and left. Those who ignored those orders were partly the law-abiding poor without means to travel, but no doubt a lot of them are the dysfunctional: the career criminals, crackheads, drunks, and psychos. Once the flood cut off the city from the world, it belonged to them. It’s a sort of combination prison and insane asylum, and all the guards are gone. I think it would be wrong to judge humanity or the rest of NO by their behavior.
Most of us rely daily on men (and increasingly, women) with guns to protect us from the people like this who live in our own communities.
September 1st, 2005 at 1:07:08 pm
Andrew hit the nail on the head. Do we want them to waste time trying to wade into the city stopping looters or do we want them using efforts to organize efforts to recover the city from the water. If the looters stay they will likely suffer from disease, hunger, bad water, etc. If they get evacuated they won’t get any of their loot. Let the ones who want to stay and loot have their fun for now, its best not to waste our time on them.
September 1st, 2005 at 2:16:52 pm
As a frequent visitor to New Orleans people would ask me what New Orleans was like. I used to always reply that New Orleans is what the USA would look like if it was a third-world country.
Decades of corruption and incompetence in the city and the statehouse has greatly contributed to this fiasco. The Morials and Edwards don’t look like such charming rascals now.
September 1st, 2005 at 3:22:07 pm
David, to the extent that the looters are hampering relief efforts, the looters have to be taken out first. I was simply pointing out that, look, you can drive into Fallujah, patrol the streets, take out insurgents and snipers, etc. How could something comparable be done in NOLA, which is underwater? Bridges and roads to and from NOLA are out; boats would basically have to be airlifted into the city; the resources and vehicles already present are insufficient for the task. It’s a nightmare scenario to which I see no easy solution. Not that I am absolving Blanco and Nagin of their horrible preparation and post-disaster actions.
September 1st, 2005 at 3:47:58 pm
Andrew - I’m a Brit who reads compulsively … is it not part of the whole ‘bayou charm’ of the area that the locals are almost amphibians ? You don’t need to airlift boats to the area - you need to tap into local skills and abilities …
Oh - and you start getting REAL biblical - in the current hygeinic conditions, you start keeping as kosher as you can … not cuz it’s the Deity’s Rules alone … but cuz it *works* ! Well, at least in what you eat … the rest, I’ll pass on …
I admit, as a Brit, I’m wondering where the local Boy Scouts are ?
I’m hoping that we just aren’t hearing about ‘em - cuz they tend to have the requisite survival skills as part of their system - and they tend to be locally-based …
Does anyone local to the disaster areas have any info on them ?
September 1st, 2005 at 3:50:33 pm
Oh I agree that any looters who get in the way of rescue personal, especially the armed ones have proven themselves to be a hazard and must be dealt with in an appropriate manner, but that doesn’t mean we can or should send in troops to try and civilize the whole city, it would be a waste of time and lives.