Re: Mayor Ray Nagin has something to say.

On Mon, 05 Sep 2005 00:29:12 GMT, I said, "Pick a card, any card"
and Donna deMedicis <donnaspammenotdemedicis@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx> instead
replied:

>w.d.greene wrote:
>
>> Valid point Donna. After listening to some of the news today and some of
>> the talking heads, I've become sensitive the "blaming the victims" trend.
>> But you do raise a valid point.
>>
>But we all do idiotic things occasionally. I try to do one or two at
>least weekly.
>
>My youngest, 18 yrs. old and, of course, immortal, said, "That would be
>so cool. A Cat. 5 hurricane." She's an idiot. All 18 yr. olds are.
>
>BUT if anyone, anywhere, doesn't use this as an opportunity to stop and
>think how they'd handle a similar situation, they're terminally idiotic.
> I've got 3 dogs, 2 cats, 2 guinea pigs. Immediate family is all
>within 20 miles, so fleeing to an immediate family residence might not
>be practical. They'd be fleeing, too. Where'd I go? What route? Do I
>have the self-control to put a couple hundred dollars in my underwear
>drawer and not spend it? (Um, bil? Can I borrow a hundred dollars?).
>Forget "bottled water". I have water on tap ten feet from where I'm
>sitting, I can fill some jugs and stick 'em in the trunk of the car, and
>it's not paranoid or crazy survivalist to do it now. I'm not worried
>about food. I can live, quite well, in fact, on body fat for weeks
>(Note -- Gek will die, because she doesn't have enough body fat. There
>is poetic justice in that.)
>
>I habitually drive around with the car on empty because I can go 40
>miles once the "empty" light comes on, but what if there is no gas?
>
>I'll go out on a limb here and say that I think that women are better at
>putting themselves, mentally, in the place of others. I've got a 2.5 yr.
>old granddaughter. What if my options were to leave, and leave her?
>Screw that and call me an idiot, I couldn't do it. What would you do
>with a toddler who couldn't comprehend that we all might die? Would I
>break into a grocery store for her juice? Get outta my way, gimme a
>crow bar, and watch my dust. What if the place where I've worked for 24
>years all of a sudden existed no more? How would I provide the basics
>(food, shelter, utilities) for me and my daughter? My father's in poor
>health these days. Could I leave him? No. If I were stuck in some
>hell on earth, with feces on the floor, and small people who think I
>hang the moon looking at me to keep them safe, would I be tough enough,
>strong enough, mean enough to get them through to the other side?
>
>Dunno. Just dunno.

Donna,

None of the above is irrational or idiotic. Decisions based on your
criteria are made all the time. What troubles me is those people who
I have met in my lifetime who believe, as your 18 year old does,
that they are immortal and a hurricane won't bother them.

I was in Norfolk, Virginia stationed on an aircraft carrier during
the approach of a hurricane back in the '70s. I was ordered on short
notice to the ship to deploy as the winds could damage both the ship
and the pier if we remained. I dashed down to the store. My family
stocked up on food and water while I deployed. I was beside myself
with worry for them as we bobbed around like a cork fully at the
mercy of the winds and seas. An empty aircraft carrier is not the
most stable of devices.

When I got back, I discovered a tree had fallen smack into the
middle of my car which was parked over 100 yards from the tree on
the base at Norfolk. A clearly defined path showed where it
traversed the parking lot damaging cars along the way.

Before that, I considered myself immune to damage from a hurricane
as long as I was inside my house. Irrational? Yes. But based on my
knowledge at the time and a lack of understanding of the real power
of wind and rain, it was really dumb luck that I didn't suffer as a
result.

Those who remain solely out of a sense of bravado even after dire
warnings are posted and evacuations are ordered are truly idiots.
Those who remain because they rationally decide that they have no
choice are not idiots. Those who remain without any choice are
certainly not idiots.

No matter how they got left behind, ALL of America needs to get
behind the rescue efforts NOW!
--
Ray
.

Relevant Pages

  • Re: Best bicycle bell?
    ... I still shudder at the memory of a bike ride near Seattle--the scenery ... car swerving head-on into you. ... It was driving half a mile the wrong way through the City Park. ... a few idiots simply drive into the park by going the ...
    (rec.bicycles.tech)
  • Re: For the morons
    ... complaining for the same reason as me, ... Vista ships to techies, non techies, and yes there are idiots. ... You can load a car up with ABS, airbags, computers, seat belts, ... Now if someone brings dynamite in the car because they just ...
    (borland.public.delphi.non-technical)
  • Re: iPod and copy protected CDs
    ... If the idiots see that the copy protected CDs end up being *more* pirated than the non-protected CDs, then maybe they will get the message. ... prevent theft, but not stealing from media that does not is pretty twisted too. ... Sort of like "it's okay to steal a car if the doors are locked, but never steal a car with an open window and the keys in the ignition. ... Evidence points in both directions and information is skewed by the vast sums of money and huge news media influence the industry has. ...
    (comp.sys.mac.advocacy)
  • Re: Any thoughts?
    ... >> a 200sx and I'm always getting idiots in Hot Hatches trying it on. ... The driver in the case I brought up has admitted speeding but denied racing. ... He was behind the car that crashed and was apparently slowing down too so it ... Maybe the driver of the crashed car saw the 200sx speeding and thought 'I'll ...
    (uk.legal)
  • Re: Mayor Ray Nagin has something to say.
    ... >Well, yes, Josh. ... we're all idiots. ... before every storm. ... I don't think I'd ever ignore a hurricane warning, but then again, one ...
    (misc.writing)