Reflections on Ike: where’s the shooting and looting?

Townhall ^ | Sept. 26, 2008 | John David Powell

[TexanToTheCore]

The supply of ice is no longer a problem, so I don’t think it will be series.

Fema just had more ice than we needed.

[Redbob]

I think John David Powell was referring principally to the situation in Galveston, which, BTW, was much harder hit than Houston.
Houston shares entirely too much with New Orleans, from attitude to actual residents.

[Houston_Texans]

Respectfully, I find your comment SOOOO heartless. I witnessed first hand Katrina and it's destruction, also Rita several weeks later and finally Ike 2 weeks ago. I have as neighbors 2 Katrina families who chose to stay in Houston rather than go back to the madness that is New Orleans. How soon people (like you) forget the generosity and charity this state and, in particular, this area offered to the people of Louisiana after the debacle known as the aftermath of Katrina. I won't bore you with details but yes, in some areas houses were completely cleared for miles and miles and while we weren't under water for weeks all it takes is the initial drenching to ruin everything.

What I did see is a community come together and help each other out. I didn't see our governor and mayor whining about there being no FEMA assistance while they stood by and did nothing. I saw city, state and county officials roll up there sleeves and get right in the thick of things doing everything from working out logistics of fuel and relief supplies to handing out ice and water off of the back of trucks.

Today almost a million people are still without lights, tens of thousands are homeless, more live in what used to be a shells of their former residences. FEMA is here and I am grateful for the assistance they are providing to those in need. State and local officials continue to work hard to put our area back together. Trash and debris has been piled for pickup by the streets and neighbor is helping neighbor to put things back in order. I am proud to be a native Houstonian and privileged to live in a community like this.

By golly, we Texans are taking care of things with a little help for our friends. God Bless the United States and the Great State of Texas.

[anymouse]

Reminds me of a joke e-mail floating around the Internet about Texans.

Gabriel went to the Lord and said, "I have to talk to you. We have some Texans up here who are causing problems...

They're swinging on the Pearly Gates, my horn is missing, and they are wearing T-shirts instead of their robes; there's barbecue sauce and Picante sauce all over everything, especially their T-shirts; their dogs are riding in the chariots and chasing the sheep; they are wearing baseball caps and cowboy hats instead of their halos. They refuse to keep the stairway to Heaven clean, and their boots are marking and scuffing up the halls of Wisdom. There are watermelon seeds and tortilla chip crumbs all over the place. Some of them are walking around with just one wing; and they insist on bringing their horses with them."

The Lord said, "Texans are Texans, Gabriel. Heaven is home to all of my children. If you w ant to know about real problems, call the Devil."

So, Gabriel calls the Devil who answers the phone and says, "Hello---hold on a minute." When he returns to the phone the Devil says, " O.K., I'm back. What can I do for you?" Gabriel replied, "I just want to know what kinds of problems you are having down there with the Texans."

The Devil said, "Hold on again. I need to check on something." After about five minutes the Devil returned to the phone and said. "I'm back. Now what was the question?"

Gabriel said, "What kind of problems are you having down there with the Texans?"

The Devil said, "Man, I don't believe this ... hold on." This time the Devil was gone 15 minutes and when he returns he says, "I'm sorry, Gabriel, I can't talk right now. Red Adair has put out the fire; and, Brown and Root is installing air conditioning."

[Redbob]

"These comparisons are getting SOOO tired. ... By golly, them Texans will just take care of everything by themselves. Right?"

Here's one more comparison for you:

Gov. "Blank Stare" Blanco, vs Texas Gov. Perry?

Mayor Ray "Where are my Schoolbuses?" Nagin vs *ANY* Texas politician anywhere.

New Orleans entitlement mentality vs Texan Self-Sufficiency.

You're just disappointed that another Gulf Coast region got hit by a hurricane, and made N.O. look even worse (if that were possible) by comparison!

[gracesdad]

“You’re just disappointed that another Gulf Coast region got hit by a hurricane”

Well, you got this part right. I wish that nobody had been hit.

[anymouse]

Texans can also laugh about our troubles too. Here is the latest jokes going around.

You know you're from the Gulf Coast when...

1. You have FEMA's number on your speed dialer.
2. You have more than 300 'C' and 'D' batteries in your kitchen drawer.
3. Your pantry contains more than 20 cans of Spaghetti O's.
4. You are thinking of repainting your house to match the plywood covering your windows.
5. When describing your gutted house to a prospective buyer, you say it has three bedrooms, two baths and an open air feel to it.
6. Your SSN isn't a secret; it's written in Sharpie on your arms.
7. You are on a first-name basis with the cashier at Home Depot.
8. You are delighted to pay $3.50 for a gallon of regular unleaded.
9. The road leading to your house has been declared a No-Wake Zone.
10. You decide that your patio furniture looks better on the bottom of the pool.
11. You own more than three large coolers.
12. You can wish that other people get hit by a hurricane and not feel the least bit guilty about it.
13. You rationalize helping a friend board up by thinking it'll only take a gallon of gas to get there and back.
14. You have 2-liter coke bottles and milk jugs filled with water in your freezer.
15. Three months ago you couldn't hang a shower curtain; today you can assemble a portable generator by candlelight.
16. You catch a 13-pound red fish - in your house.
17. You can recite from memory whole portions of your homeowner's insurance policy.
18. You consider a vacation to stunning Tupelo , Mississippi .
19. At cocktail parties, women are attracted to the guy with the biggest chainsaw.
20. You have had tuna fish more than 5 days in a row.
21. There is a roll of tar paper in your garage.
22. You can rattle off the names of three or more meteorologists who work at the Weather Channel.
23. Someone comes to your door to tell you they found your roof.
24. Ice is a valid topic of conversation.
25. Your drive-thru meal consists of MRE's and bottled water.
26. Relocating to South Dakota does not seem like such a crazy idea.
27. You spend more time on your roof then in your living room.
28. You've been laughed at over the phone by a roofer, fence builder or a tree worker.
29. A battery powered TV is considered a home entertainment center.
30. You don't worry about relatives wanting to visit during the summer.
31. Your child's first words were hunker down.
32. Having a tree in your living room does not necessarily mean its Christmas.
33. Toilet Paper is elevated to coin of the realm at the shelters.
34. You know the difference between the good side of a storm and the bad side.
35. Your kids start school in August and finish in July.
36. You go to work early and stay late just to enjoy the air conditioning.
37. Your garage smells like gasoline.
38. You're more concerned about someone stealing your generator then your car.
39. You get excited when you see a CenterPoint truck in your neighborhood.
40. You get really excited when you see the cable guy.
41. You can create memorable meals with a can of SPAM and one gas burner.
42. You are prepared to wait in line at Starbucks for 2 hours to get a cup of coffee.

[gracesdad]

Heartless? My own parents got hit by Gustav. Because of their health they need air conditioning and so they had to evacuate for almost three weeks. They suffered some roof damage.

[dragnet2]

It would seem this writer/journalist needs an immediate course on conducting research.

You talkin’ ‘bout yourself again?

Huh?

The fact is there was looting, and other reports have over 150 arrests just in Houston for looting, and those were just the ones that happened to get caught.

If you can't handle the truth, fine, just don't take it out on me. It make ya look really bad.

Not exactly a crime wave, to my way of thinking.

No one suggested that. Of course you know this.

This is what the title of the article states:

Reflections on Ike: where’s the shooting and looting?

I posted an article that clearly proves that there was looting, and you attacked me without cause.

If they arrested 150 for looting, you can bet there were at least several hundred more that were not caught.

Again, if you can't handle the truth fine, just don't go after me for posting the truth. I even provided links for you.

I am sure that metropolitan areas in California of similar sizes have much, much lower burglary rates than 75 per week.

Why are you dragging Cal into this?

You want to compare major city to major city?

Houston has substantially more per capita crime than does Los Angeles in every single major crime category

Here ya go.

Houston and Los Angeles Comparative Crime Ratios per 100,000 People

Latest 2006 Crimes per 100,000 People:

	Dallas, TX	Los Angeles, CA	National
Murder:	15	12.4	7
Forcible Rape:	53.28	27.3	32.2
Robbery:	553.9	370	205.8
Aggravated Assault:	584.2	377.2	336.5
Burglary:	1734.7	524.8	813.2
Larceny Theft:	4006.4	1539.2	2601.7
Vehicle Theft:	1116	654.4	501.5

[PAR35]

Police Arrest 81 Looting Suspects After Ike

Sorry, to get full credit for your answer, you must report how many of the 81 lived outside of Texas at the time of Katrina.

[No Truce With Kings]

Thank you for making my point.

I stated that crime in Houston was down since Ike, and that 75 burglaries per week was comparable to what you would expect in any major city.

75 burglaries a week — which is the rate following Ike — annualizes to 3900 per year. This yields a per capita burglary rate (assuming it remains at that weekly rate with 2,000,000 people in Houston) of 195 per 100,000.

According to the figures you provided, the annual burglary rate in Los Angeles is 524 per 100,000. In other words, Houston after Ike has about 268% less burglary than Los Angeles on a normal day.

[dragnet2]

You obviously didn't like someone coming on here stating the facts. Anyone can read back on this short thread.

The Internet makes an excellent witness.

You can't handle the truth.

[A Texan]

That's a nice chart, but why does it state Houston under the graph and Dallas in the actual statistics?

[A Texan]

That’s a nice chart, but why does it state Houston under the graph and Dallas in the actual statistics?

You do know they are seperated by approximately 240 miles and I believe Dallas had the top crime rate of any major city in 2005 or 2006 (I lived there then).

[dragnet2]

Don't know. Let me fix that.

Latest 2006 Crimes per 100,000 People:

	Houston, TX	Los Angeles, CA	National
Murder:	18.2	12.4	7
Forcible Rape:	41.18	27.3	32.2
Robbery:	548.3	370	205.8
Aggravated Assault:	561.7	377.2	336.5
Burglary:	1295.7	524.8	813.2
Larceny Theft:	3524.6	1539.2	2601.7
Vehicle Theft:	1017.2	654.4	501.5

[dragnet2]

#35 should help.

Again, the statistic clearly indicate that Houston has substantially more crime per capita in EVERY major crime category than does Los Angeles.

But the fact was, this thread was not a comparison between the two major cities, or non-disaster related crime.

I posted an article above that clearly shows Hurricane related looting was going on in Houston. One poster above did not like me posting that article that clearly disputed the title of this thread.

Obviously, he could not handle the truth.

[Mila]

“reports of assaults and rapes; bullets fired at helicopters and rescue workers;....”

As it happens, those things did not take place in New Orleans either. Those incidents, as well as other stories of horrible violence that supposedly took place in those hellish days after Katrina, have since been disproved.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1568/is_7_37/ai_n15975589

[eastforker]

Did you notice that the statistics you posted was from 2006?? Guess who we had as our “guest” that year. That was a year of some very high crime rates and we all know why that was.

[No Truce With Kings]

“You obviously didn’t like someone coming on here stating the facts. Anyone can read back on this short thread.”

No, I don’t like people taking facts out of context and twisting them to create a misleading picture. Based on the statistics YOU provided, L.A. on a normal day has a bigger “looting” problem than Houston after Ike. That’s the bottom line.

“The Internet makes an excellent witness.”

It sure does. That’s what makes my statement so obviously correct — the facts you brought, gleaned from the Internet.

“You can’t handle the truth.”

Well, YOU have demonstrated that MY claims are correct. I’d say the problem is you have issues with being wrong.

[dragnet2]

Anyone can read back on this short thread.

You can't handle the truth.