I can't get that song by the Foo Fighters out of my brain this morning. It keeps looping around and around.
My butt is dragging this morning. Can't get going. Drank coffee, took boy to school, read newspaper, started laundry, yada yada yada, but still not on all cylinders.
Interesting discussion this morning on a local radio station about the gradual increase in crime being reported in the city since our population has grown lately due to the hurricane. Houston was not crime free before the disaster, believe me, but any increase is troubling. For example, a day or two after the initial buses brought evacuees here, 10 cars were reported stolen by volunteers. All 10 were recovered in Baton Rouge. Hmm... A man was handcuffed after jaywalking the other day! He jaywalked and did not stop when the police officer told him to do so. He kept walking. When the officer caught up with him, the jaywalker decided to show a little too much attitude and was handcuffed. A bystander, also of the evacuated population, remarked about the strictness of the law here. That was the point the officer was making. Show the people they have rules to go by here. Our cops don't just look the other way here. And, no, the jaywalker did not go to jail. The point was made.
I am tired of the argument that the evacuees are poor and have nothing so they can't be expected to look at the world as everyone does. What about personal responsibility? For so long generations, especially in southern Louisiana, have remained in communities providing government housing, living on food stamps and expecting nothing more than the politicians and government taking care of them. Drug use and poor personal decisions are rampant. The war on poverty was lost a long time ago. Throwing federal money at corrupt state and local officials was never going to be a cure for anything. Politicians keep the system at status quo as it benefits them come election time. Load up all those school buses and city buses now under water and drive the people to voting places to pull the lever for them. Then after they do that drive them back to the projects and give them however many measly dollars they were promised. Senator Mary Landrieau knows a little something about this.
Anyhoo, I have gone to rationing the news coverage of current events I watch during the day. This is hard for me as I am a news junkie. Instead, I have switched to watching the confirmation hearings for Judge John Roberts. Yes, I am a geek. What can I say. Now if I can just keep my blood pressure down when some of these holier than thou types launch into their spiels...
3 comments:
Karen, I was just nodding and nodding in agreement throughout your entire post. I especially agree on the issue of personal responsiblity. Why don't their community leaders take a stand and start trying to change their culture? Why is it that they whine about the government not doing this or that, but they don't try to help themselves?
ok, I could go on about this subject for hours. lol
I hope the crime rate out there will stabilize after awhile. Doubltess it will go up for awhile, in light of all the evacuees moving in.
It happened in Miami when I was living there, when Castro released all of his prisoners from the cuban jails and sent them to the US. Our crime rate went through the roof at the time.
I just hope they get the message that it's NOT acceptable in Houston and they get the tail outta there.
Or better yet, that they find JOBS and start learning to live like decent citizens.
Karen, you are right on the mark here. The media and everyone has tippytoed around the issue of personal responsibility and the fact that a fair number of the evacuees were not exactly model citizens before the storm. As harsh as it sounds, I don't think Hurricane Katrina brought about some miraculous kind of "Come to Jesus" enlightenment to the New Orleans ghetto. population.
Oooo good post. I've been biting my tongue for 1 1/2 weeks so hard it's bleeding.
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