New Orleans Children's Hospital Under Seige?

[Lex]

.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_08.html#075290


Tuesday, August 30, 2005

Children's Hospital under seige

Tuesday, 11:45 p.m.


Late Tuesday, Gov. Blanco spokeswoman Denise Bottcher described a disturbing scene unfolding in uptown New Orleans, where looters were trying to break into Children's Hospital.



Bottcher said the director of the hospital fears for the safety of the staff and the 100 kids inside the hospital. The director said the hospital is locked, but that the looters were trying to break in and had gathered outside the facility.



The director has sought help from the police, but, due to rising flood waters, police have not been able to respond.



Bottcher said Blanco has been told of the situation and has informed the National Guard. However, Bottcher said, the National Guard has also been unable to respond.


---------------



My comment is that people must be crazy and desperate for first aid, drinkable water, bedding, a clean and dry place to sleep.

This is madness!

[progressivebydesign]

1. We need our National Guard back in our Nation.

I've read so many reports tonight where they are sorely needed. Nice going, Bush.

That report is very disturbing, and scary. Don't those people in the hospital have enough to deal with? What is wrong with those people?

[Lex]

4. "Those people" are in desperate need of first aid, drinkable water,

clean and dry bedding.

Where would you turn for help? A hospital?

[Guaranteed]

5. Yeah, but so are the kids inside, who, on top of having

very little to no supplies, are probably scared shitless now.

[Lex]

7. I guess at some point one gets so desperate that they lose sight

of other people's needs around them.

Under other circumstances, they'd probably not dream of rattling the doors at a Children's Hospital.

[villager]

2. good Christ, it's turning into "Assault on Precinct 13"

writ very very large, down there...

[Guaranteed]

3. ?????

Looting food and other necessities is fine.

But it's a slippery slope. The mentality changes. The social fabric is broken. No one's working together. Problems get worse. Everything goes to shit.

Just throwing up my hands, here.

[Lex]

6. I think people are desperate for first aid, drinkable water, food

and clean and dry bedding.

I'm sure they think that the hospital will help them, but when they can't, they get freaked out.

[Qibing Zero]

10. Slippery slope is a fallacy, you can't just rely on that 'logic'...

I guess you considered the 'social fabric' okay before the storm struck? Such levels of crime and poverty seen in NO before all of this were not a result of a lack of police. If the only thing keeping people in line is fear, then we still have a very long way to go as a society.

[Guaranteed]

16. It's not a matter of logic. It's what's happened here.

And it's only going to get worse unless people start working together. Are you against people working together?

Society isn't based on fear. It's based on a social contract that is in the process of falling apart in New Orleans right now.

If the people of New Orleans want to start solving these problems, and stop creating new ones, they need to pull themselves together and do the absolute best they can to work toward something larger than themselves.

This isn't any kind of "judgment." There's no moralizing going on. This is problem solving.

[Qibing Zero]

27. Well, in that lies a problem or two.

First, you're assuming there can be rational thought in such a situation.

Second, you're also assuming that the reason the 'have-nots' weren't acting 'lawless' beforehand (and be sure that some of them were) was for some other reason other than fear.

No one has fulfilled their social contract to many of these people. They may feel let down and abused by the higher authorities, especially for this reason. I think we can safely say that the majority of them were born into poverty and have very little hope in 'moving up the social ladder'. Once the chance is given, they will definitely strike back at what they believe has been repressing them.


A good thread for reference: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=104x4520980

[Tsiyu]

8. Un-freaking believable

There is absolutely no reason things should have deteriorated to this point.

Imagine the billions spent by government officials waging war and providing welfare to the corporations and outfitting new offices and taking trips and fucking off, when they knew this scenario would unfold one day.

NO is truly ANY city - YOUR city- in this day and age come disaster.

[Lex]

9. The longer people go without drinkable water, food, first aid

and a dry place to sleep, the more things will unravel.

It is entirely predictable, but Homeland Security, FEMA, the Nat'l Guard, etc. apparently can't get in there or don't have a plan.

[Tsiyu]

14. Add to that addicts who can't get a regular supply of whatever

They become sick - physically and mentally - and desperate.

From what I heard on WWL, there is no coordination.

And it sounds like some folks ( sons and friends) have just arrived due to their power being out.

Not going to bed after all. But glad they came here.

I hope that that hospital can withstand. this is so sad.

G'night DU ( and Lex) f'real this time.

[Lone_Star_Dem]

11. Looters?

How do they know they are there to loot? I saw nothing in the brief report to validate that claim.

They could be scared (imagine what rumors must be flying around about the levy breach and possible flooding) in need of shelter or even seeking medical aid.

Think about this for one second if you will, they have no access to any news outlets, all they have to rely on is word of mouth rumors being spread by a panicked mass of people.

They have no leadership, no homes and are in a city that could for all they know be submerged at any minute.

I'll await further validation of this claim before I make any decisions on what transpired there.

[Zhade]

13. Very good point.

NT!

[Guaranteed]

17. They need to organize. nt

[Lone_Star_Dem]

18. Yes, they do

Scared people wandering around the streets is not going to lead to anything but bad news.

[Desertrose]

22. thank you ...finally common sense

and a willingness to reserve judgement.

We hear all these things and are real quick to judge these people.

They are wandering around in a city with the water levels rising and no way to get out...no way to find out what is happening...think I'd get a littel freaked out...maybe the hospital is the only place with lights on? Maybe they don't know it is a hospital? Maybe at this point they don't care if it offer help or hope.

Damn, its real easy to get all pissy and self-righteous while you safely type on your computer.isn't it?

[Lex]

23. Well, if you read my opening post, you'd see that

I specifically pointed out that the people must be desperate for first aid, drinking water, etc.

From my opening post: "My comment is that people must be crazy and desperate for first aid, drinkable water, bedding, a clean and dry place to sleep."

[Desertrose]

26. I wasn't putting down your OP...just so many on threads today

who are so quick to judge without any understanding of the situation....and I agree...it is madness for this to be happening in this country.

[MissMarple]

12. It sounds like New Orleans is in a state of chaos, of anarchy.

Desperation and lawlessness rules. Isn't that what Grover Norquist wants?

I am so embarrassed for our country. We should all be ashamed. And, I am angry ...and I feel so helpless.

[brettdale]

15. There are 140 Thousand Troops in Iraq

That could be doing a lot of good work in New Orleans right now.

[applegrove]

19. Hope that this gives people pause for thought on the availability of

guns. Not now... but in the future.

[Lex]

20. Yes, let's kill people who are desperate for first aid and

drinkable water.

That's the ticket!

[Mojorabbit]

25. I read that

they are looting the cars outside the hospital. I survived three hurricanes last year. We all pooled our food together as a community and shared till some sort of help came. I have seen shots today of people trying on clothes in the middle of downtown on the street outside of ritzy stores. Loot for food if desperate. I will agree with that. But this is not that.
There will always be people who ride the edges of society. I don't excuse it. Been there, been shellshocked, wasn't roaming the town on dry streets looking to throw bricks into jewelry stores like I saw on tv today.

[txindy]

21. I hope it gives them pause about the availability of the Nat'l Guard

The help and security needed in a natural disaster.

I want people around the US to come away from this tragedy demanding to know why our NG is not here where they belong.

[tedoll78]

24. My sister is a nurse there.

She had scheduled time off this week about a month ago, so she's in Houston (miraculous timing). But she has talked to them via cell phone; from what I gather, the hospital workers there are exhausted and stretched thin since many of their shift replacements aren't arriving. God help them. :cry: