I am still absolutely befuddled at how something like the scene in New Orleans could happen. Having done quite a bit of backpacking in my life, I am very respectful of Mother Nature's awesome power. But this situation has disintegrated into borderline genocide.

Here's how Anthea Butler put it (emphasis mine):

People are looting because they are tired of being at the bottom. If you don't have gas money, or a working car, or the government check that would come on September 1, you could not leave New Orleans. Never mind the fact that New Orleans, as a tourist capital, never funneled any of that money back into impoverished communities. Katrina didn't care that monthly stipend hadn't come yet. She came instead.

Read the rest here. The best video I have seen of the problem is posted here (load time a bit long).

I think it is important to remember that the poor and working poor cannot be ignored forever. It is not enough to simply throw money at them and expect them to stay in line. Unless communities like ours take steps to address the root causes of poverty (like creating industries that can employ underskilled workers), we are all a step away from looking like New Orleans. We need to invite the poor into the discussion about our policing, our developmental directions, and how we can best serve the needs of all our citizens.

What happened in New Orleans is lingering under the surface even here in C/U. We just don't have the water to bring it to the top. Yet.