I’ve been watching the news coming out of New Orleans with horror, especially the now-world-famous Interdictor, whom you have no doubt heard of.
So many things about these events are just plain wrong. The fact that there was insufficient funding to properly protect the city from flooding (some are arguing this is a direct consequence of the Iraq war, but there’s no point banging on about it at this stage – there’s plenty of time for impeaching Bush later on). The fact that this crisis has been predicted for a long time (not a matter of if, but when). The fact that people are turning against eachother like barbarians. The fact that so many people chose not to leave the city because they had nowhere to stay, no money saved up, no insurance to compensate them when all their worldly possessions are taken by looters.
It’s a nightmare, and I sincerely mean it when I say that my thoughts are with the poor innocent people who have been affected by this, and are trying to maintain their dignity and help others, whilst around them civilisation crumbles. I’m not a religious man, so all I can do is be hopeful.
I hope for the restoration of sanity and order. I hope that those who are trying to deal with this without resorting to barbaric actions can maintain their spirits. And I hope that those who have descended to riot, murder, rape and violence will forever be haunted by guilt for their actions.