One Man's Perspective: A New Orleanian Documents Katrina

This photodiary created by an amateur photographer who also happens to be a resident of New Orleans is a must see. It's rather lengthy (~200 pictures plus subtitles for context), but it seems to me to be a far more insightful perspective than that which I have picked up from the MSM over the last couple of weeks. Admittedly, it's one man's perspective; one who wasn't corraled into the Superdome or the Convention Center without food and water. But nonetheless, it is one man's view.

I was left with a couple of impressions that I thought were notable. First, as the storm approached, a good number of people seemed to be taking it seriously enough to board up but not so seriously that they couldn't stop for a drink or go for pizza. Second, after the storm passed it seemed as though the consensus was that NO had dodged a bullet. People were selling and buying beer. Folks were out in the streets surveying the damage. In one memorable string of images, a group of people enjoy a cookout on a beautiful day and dusk approaches with a spectacular sunset. But the next morning brought floodwaters which turned the scene upside down. Panic, looting and confusion reigned. Cops turned a blind eye to all but the most major of infractions. The scene at the Convention Center was deeply disturbing and it is no small wonder that the photographer bailed on that particular escape plan.

As we come to grips with what happened in Katrina's aftermath and the government's response, I feel like this photodiary will help inform my thinking. It seems that once the storm passed, the community prematurely breathed a sigh of relief. Perhaps local and state officials did as well, limiting the sense of urgency they conveyed to the Federal government. And perhaps in hearing less urgency in those voices, the Feds concentrated more of their attention on the Alabama and Mississippi coastlines which endured a direct hit. But then the levee breaches threw everyone a curveball. So perhaps it wasn't outright neglect or racism. Perhaps it was more a matter of human naturein the sense of letting one's guard down a bit too early. That doesn't absolve anyone of blame. That is also not to say that the various governments fulfilled their obligations to their constituents. They did not. But in reviewing these images, it seems plausible that this example of human nature's reaction to passing immediate danger might have played a very major role in what happened in this unfolding tragedy. More plausible to me than the explanations based on race-motivated, intentional neglect or on sheer government incompetence.

Hat tip to a new discovery, Karol, at Alarming News.