The "Thin Veneer" Has Been Ripped Away: Savagery Rules the Day

Superdome exodus on hold after shots, fires
Looting worse, more National Guard arrive; storm deaths may be thousands
NBC, MSNBC and news services
Updated: 9:15 a.m. ET Sept. 1, 2005

NEW ORLEANS - National Guard troops in armored vehicles poured into New Orleans on Thursday to curb the growing lawlessness that included shots reportedly fired at a helicopter airlifting people out of the Superdome and arson fires outside the arena.

The scene at the Superdome became increasingly chaotic, with thousands of people rushing from nearby hotels and other buildings, hoping to climb onto the buses taking evacuees from the arena, officials said. Paramedics became increasingly alarmed by the sight of people with guns.

The operation to bus more than 20,000 people to the Houston Astrodome was suspended “until they gain control of the Superdome,” said Richard Zeuschlag, head of Acadian Ambulance, which was handling the evacuation of sick and injured people from the Superdome.

He said that military would not fly out of the Superdome either because of the gunfire and that the National Guard told him that it was sending 100 military police officers to gain control.

“That’s not enough,” Zeuschlag. “We need a thousand.”

He said medics were calling him and crying for help because they were so scared of people with guns at the Superdome.

Lt. Col. Pete Schneider of the Louisiana National Guard said the military — which was handling the evacuation of the able-bodied from the Superdome — had suspended operations, too, because fires set outside the arena were preventing buses from getting close enough to pick up people.

Zeuschlag said shots were fired at a military helicopter over the Superdome before daybreak, adding that when another evacuation helicopter tried to land at a hospital in the outlying town of Kenner overnight, the pilot reported that 100 people were on the landing pad, and some of them had guns.

“He was frightened and would not land,” Zeuschlag said.

This insane behavior is the direct result of this permissive culture and their tolerance of bad behavior. You can hear it today, people excusing the looting because "these people have lost everything and they are just trying to get it back." What utter garbage. These people are no better than predatory animals, and they need to be treated like that. Anybody caught in the streets with a weapon or looting should be shot on sight, no questions asked. For too long the whiners in this society have coddled the looters who come out during riots. When the first looters appeared during the Watts riots, they should have been shot back then.

Full Story: Shooting Stops Rescue Efforts

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