Posted on 09/04/2005 10:39:33 AM PDT by joinedafterattack
"When he arrived at the Astrodome about 10 p.m. Wednesday, 20-year-old Jabbar Gibson modestly confessed that he had commandeered a school bus in New Orleans, then picked up about 70 passengers before heading out for the 13-hour trek to Houston." <!-- DIV.b2 { margin: .75em 0px; } -->
Jabbar Gibson rescues NO citizens on 8-31-05
New Orleans public transit buses:
Count 'em and weep...
(Excerpt) Read more at chron.com ...
give him a medal
"Improvise. Adapt. Overcome."
I said it before, I'll say it again, "Jabbour for Mayor!"
This kid didn't have to wait for Bush to tell him what to do!
I hope that sooner or later the MSM discovers that New Orleans did have a written emergency plan to cover the evacuation of the poor, but that the idiot mayor of New Orleans ignored it, and allowed the evacuation buses to be ruined by the flood, forgotten.
The city leaders had at least two full days to use these hundreds of buses to evac the poor, exactly as their own emergency management plan called for.
Here's the southeast Louisiana evac plan supplement, most recently revised in 2000. Go to page 13, read paragraph 5. It states:
5. The primary means of hurricane evacuation will be personal vehicles. School and municipal buses, government-owned vehicles and vehicles provided by volunteer agencies may be used to provide transportation for individuals who lack transportation and require assistance in evacuating.
Publish the pictures in every newspaper, Conservative columnists can run it if the papers won't.
The emergency plan indicated that these busses would (a) be moved out of the path of the storm, and (b) would be used to evacuate people who did not have cars.
Why was the plan not followed?
Jabbar Gibson, demonstrating for the Mayor of NO and the Governor of Louisiana what leadership and initiative are all about.
What a guy. He saw a need and did the deed. Good for him. Americans have resolve and resourceful.
The wrong ones are in power.
I just hope some two-bit bureaucrat tries to charge him with a crime for this. I double-dare them. There would be rioting in the streets across America.
Monstrous! I want Mayor Nagin tried at the Hague for crimes against humanity. Here in upstate NY, if there's a flood, we haul people out in road crew dump trucks if we have to.
You know, I stand corrected the plan calls on the Department of Transportation and Development to secure transportation assets and does not say what they are. I wonder who heads this Department?
Each day as they put out their propaganda pieces the bloggers, the web researchers and The NUMBER ONE WEBSITE for unfiltered news in America delivers the factual response in rapid fashion showing them to be the incompetent and biased slackers that they have always been. We just didn't have the bright light of the internet to shine on them before.
ping
No, no, no. He didn't steal it , he BORROWED it. We can rewrite the headline to say: Young, black hero borrows schoolbus; saves people, bus from death by drowning.
Now the school has at least one bus if it ever reopens.
Some people know how to get $hit done.
ping
Maybe the guys at MTV could "pimp" his new ride.
I wonder where his parents are.
GWB could make quite a statement by inviting this fellow to the White House and parading him infront of the cameras saying this is what American 'Can Do' attitude can accomplish.
I saw an interview with Jabbar Gibson on FOX News Channel. He is the genuine article. He saw something that needed to be done and he did it. Like a poster said above, he didn't need President Bush to tell him what to do. That's what makes heroes. I consider him an American hero. "When the going gets tough, the tough get going." He personifies that.
The question is: Will he be charged with a crime? I heard he might be.
Too busy exchanging 'yo da man' high fives and passing the crack pipe around?
he wasn't stealing.
The people stealing were the ones looting from stores before and after the hurricane.
This young man saw a resource that was unused and abandoned by an incompetent government. He commandeered the bus and did what the government failed to do- he acted.
New orleans could have used many more like him. Too bad nobody like him was in charge of the government down there.
ping
I REALLY LIKE this kid. There is hope ...
How about mayor ?
I hope GWB invites him to the White House to highlight his initiative and can-do spirit.
His Mom must be very proud! Very proud indeed.
Has anyone interviewed NO or LA bus drivers yet to see what they were told about evacuation potential for Katrina. I would think that some of them asked supervision what to do or expect. It would be very interesting to find out who passes the buck.
Just a bit of trivia: "Jabbar" means "Mighty."
"Mighty" Gibson, a man who refused to be a victim, who took personal responsibility, showed initiative, and got it done.
I think he's better suited for a career in business management, or human resources, or public relations --whatever he might be inclined to pursue. Somebody should organize that.
Technically, he rescued the bus from certain drowning.
give him a medal
___________________________________________
Eactly. He did something. And the bus was not stolen. It was used in an emergency. No one else was using it. And it is intact for its rightful owner.
I am guessing with 70 or so people he picked up some complete strangers and got them out of there.
The young man who took the bus to the Astrodome to save his neighbors deserves a presidential commendation for showing initiative in the face of chaos and local government failure.
Nary a chance missed by Norry to bash the President as millions listen in. The man is a great broadcaster IMO (I've listened to radio since the 1940s) but he is absolutely obsessed with hatred for "Daddy Warbucks Republicans" especially Halliburton. He goes ballistic at the mention of Halliburton as when a caller said Hallibuton had a contract to rebuild everything -- later proved to be false. Hallibutton had a long standing contract with the Navy Norry learned and told the audience.
My guess is that thousands besides me instant emailed Norry telling him that NO had buses! Lots of buses. He finally gave in and acknowledged it later in the hour.
Wonder if he will tell his audience about Mr. Gibson. Fat chance.
Why does it matter? As I said, millions listen in and many of them are apolitical yet they vote. They like Norry and Norry (an FDR Democrat?) hates "Daddy Warbucks Republican" Bush.
If the get the chance, Louisiana authorities will probably throw the book at him for making them look like the idiots they are.
"That's someone who needs to made an example of and taken down a peg or two."
At least that's what I think Jesse Jackson would say. "You leave the thinkin to us young man, you need my organization to bash Bush and hire them union drivers to rescue you."
At least 200 buses with 50 in each is 10,000. Would have helped some.
My boss wanted me to move my work truck from one center to another within New Orleans East. I refused to do that on Sunday. If he let me take it home with me the truck would still be around.
His loss.
I was talking to a person last week that works for the school system last week and mentioned the fact that school buses weren't used to evacuate people and she looked dumbfounded and said, "but who would drive them?' I just walked away.
???? On what planet?
In the face of disaster, this young man did what he had to do to save himself, and even better to save others and bring them to safety.
He did a courageous thing and should be recognized for it. He showed leadership and ingenuity. Something that was so desperately lacking from the elected officials in charge at the time ( and still now ).
Three cheers for Jabbar Gibson !!
Someone should pick him up and employ him. It would be a real bargain. He has proven that he can think "out of the box".
***GWB could make quite a statement by inviting this fellow to the White House and parading him infront of the cameras saying this is what American 'Can Do' attitude can accomplish.***
I said the same thing. What a PR op that would be. But the President should give him a medal, too. And have some of the people he saved on the stage with him. (Include the babies, that always works well.)
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.