Blackmoor Vituperative

If you’re not burned out on the horror in New Orleans, you may want to check these out:

NEW ORLEANS: Ken Wayne Reports On Dramatic Forced Evacuations

CNN.com video: Refusing to leave

The thing that flabbergasted me the most was the newscaster who said that police would not physically drag people out of their homes, right after he showed a film clip of police physically assaulting an elderly woman and dragging her from her home.

On the other hand, I liked the lawyer who said he’d leave when he was dead, and not before.

Reason, as it often does, sets out the facts with clarity and precision.

The aftermath of the hurricane has featured prominent stories of citizens legitimately defending lives and property. New Orleans lies on the north side of the Mississippi River, and the city of Algiers is on the south. The Times-Picayune detailed how dozens of neighbors in one part of Algiers had formed a militia. After a car-jacking and an attack on a home by looters, the neighborhood recognized the need for a common defense; they shared firearms, took turns on patrol, and guarded the elderly. Although the initial looting had resulted in a gun battle, once the patrols began, the militia never had to fire a shot. Likewise, the Garden District of New Orleans, one of the city’s top tourist attractions, was protected by armed residents.

…

The Mayor and Governor do have the legal authority to mandate evacuation, but failure to comply is a misdemeanor; so the authority to use force to compel evacuation goes no further than the power to effect a misdemeanor arrest. The preemptive confiscation of every private firearm in the city far exceeds any reasonable attempt to carry out misdemeanor arrests for persons who disobey orders to leave.

(from Reason Online, Defenseless On the Bayou: New Orleans gun confiscation is foolish and illegal)

Personally, I’d leave. We have family and friends in other states we could go stay with. Not everyone is so lucky. I can’t fault people who resist being put into a “shelter”, to be subjected to deprivation, infection, assault, rape, and gods know what other inhuman treatment those people have suffered.

Last week, we saw an awful truth in New Orleans: A disaster can bring out predators ready to loot, rampage, and pillage the moment that they have the opportunity. Now we are seeing another awful truth: There is no shortage of police officers and National Guardsmen who will obey illegal orders to threaten peaceful citizens at gunpoint and confiscate their firearms.

(from Reason Online, Defenseless On the Bayou: New Orleans gun confiscation is foolish and illegal)

Should we be surprised?