Quote:
Originally Posted by Lebell
People for some odd reason didn't want their town looted.
|
The issue at stake is if we believe that the chance of negative consequences, such as looting, justify the closure of the only escape route for the citizens of a disaster area. This wasn't a national decision, so far as i can tell, but a product of our nation's larger discussion on class and society. Does a locality have the right to close public roads, especially for class related reasons?
Does this reaction deserve more press than the generosity and selflessness that we know to be one of the primary reactions to this disaster?
No. But it does not deserve to be forgotten, either. I'm sure the video is still floating around, but Hannity and Colmes had a clip where they went to Shep Smith and Geraldo on scene. Both Smith and Geraldo basically flip shit over this very issue. Geraldo holds a child and demands to anyone who will listen that these people need to be let go. Smith snaps at Hannity and makes it clear that there is no known reason for this road being closed, and that it is the only way out of the city. Fox News, folks. The closure of this road was, by most accounts, a major mistake, and an humanitarian disaster. Why it happened is an important question.