So, I’m watching CNN , and they roll yet another story about a Hurricane Katrina survivor who was stuck in New Orleans when the flood waters rose too quickly for him to escape. What caught my attention was not the reason for the story, but the rationale this maroon employed for not evacuating prior to the storm- in spite of numerous warnings provided by governments and the media ahead of Katrina’s arrival.
To paraphrase the gentleman, his argument was “You know, I was just waiting to hear something from President Bush that made this warning different from every other hurricane warning we’ve ever received in the past.” Right; he ignored the ample and numerous warnings that were provided of the approaching storm, and now this man is whining because the government isn’t moving fast enough to put his life together. WTF?? Since when is government supposed to be the insurer of last resort when it comes to human stupidity and complacency?
So, in the interest of fairness, let me see if I have this straight…. You ignore numerous warnings of Katrina’s approach, you choose complacency and inaction over taking action to protect yourself and your family…AND SOMEHOW IT’S THE FAULT OF GOVERNMENT. Oh, and because this maroon is African-American, he’s also convinced that the government has defined him and his family as expendable because of the color of their skin. Don’t EVEN get me starter on that bit of monumental, self-absorbed lunacy….
Great; so you make a stupid decision, you suffer the consequences of your own inaction an complacency…and suddenly it’s the responsibility of government to rescue your sorry ass and put your life back together? Pardon me, but I DON’T THINK SO. There’s a point where we all have to be held responsible for the consequences of our own indecision and inaction. Not that this man deserves to be abandoned, but he CHOSE not to evacuate. He CHOSE to stay behind. At some point, we need to be able to say. “Look, you were given every opportunity and warning that we could reasonably have been expected to provide you with. YOU CHOSE not to heed these warnings. YOU CHOSE complacency and inaction. YOU CHOSE not to evacuate. We as government have limited resources, and we just feel it’s a better and more efficient use of those scarce resource to assist those who heeded the warnings and took action to protect themselves and their families. You, sir, are on your own, and you have only yourself to blame. Sayonara, sucker….”
I’m sorry, y’all, but I don’t care what color you happen to be. If you ignore warnings to evacuate, if you make a conscious decision to ignore the dictates of common sense, you have no right to expect govenment to come in behind you and make things all better. At some point, one must be held responsible for the consequences of one’s own ignorance, lethargy, and/or poor decision-making. That’s why it’s called “government” and not “nursemaid” or “stupidity insurance”. Get over it.
