In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in Louisiana, Texans — and Houstonians in particular — were heralded for their response to those who needed help.
Now, as Houston prepares for Hurricane Rita just a few short weeks later, I’ve seen and heard numerous stories of Texans helping themselves and those around them.
People like the residents of The Woodlands (one of the Houston area’s wealthiest communities/cities), which is off of I-45 north of Houston, who are handing out water along the highway to motorists who are crawling up the freeway.
But you know what I haven’t seen in my home state? Looters.
There are a lot of places already evacuated and being left mostly-unprotected. But there have been no reports or images of lawless citizens breaking into stores for big screen TVs and armfuls of Nike shoes. Maybe it’s because a lot of Texans own guns. And Texans are noted for the ferocity in which they will protect their property.
What does that say about the citizens of Texas? What does that say about the citizens of New Orleans? And Houston has more than its fair share of poor people—black, brown, white, and otherwise. So “race” and “poor” cards are ruled out.
To my knowledge the looting in NO did not begin until the storm hit. And then it began with people taking essential items. In my memory the intense looting wasn’t until Wednesday or Thursday when it became apparent that there was no police or National Guard presence.
As for causes: I doubt that residents in NO were particularly less well-armed than Texans. I would suppose that looting would be highly correlated with social conditions- people who are connected to their community and have positive expectations for the future would probably be unlikely to destroy their own neighborhoods.
I certainly hope that it doesn’t happen in Houston though.
Left by Preston on September 23rd, 2005 at 2:39 pm