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'Caned

Thoughts on Katrina.

Date published: 9/25/2005

'Caned

Thoughts on the first of two punches

"New Orleans was really bad and devastated, but everywhere we went was as bad if not worse," Mr. Dennen told the news staff after his return. Even the towns that weren't hit hard were functioning abnormally, he said. At every turn people's faces were graven with tragedy. But the two had little problem getting residents to talk. "I was surprised," said the reporter, "how many people wanted to open up and tell their stories. It was cathartic." The stories and photographs these newsgatherers transmitted back are gripping. And while it is too soon to fully analyze the "what went right and what went wrong" in the response to Hurricane Katrina, never mind her sister Rita, one may make a few early observations.

In nearly deserted New Orleans, "all the rules of society were suspended," noted Ms. Sell. Traffic lights, signs, and one-way-street markers were irrelevant. Armed police and soldiers, rescue workers, and a few outlaw bands were the only inhabitants. "Big Easy feels like Wild West," our headline said. Indeed, noted Ms. Sell, when "there are no rules, you just have to keep to your own standards."

She was speaking specifically of a news photographer's ethics, but the statement holds true in a larger sense. When the social framework collapses, only internal restraints on behavior remain. Thus, harassing the activities and institutions that teach morals and build character (e.g., the Scouts, houses of worship) is risky behavior on a societal level--unless you like being trapped with packs of human pit bulls.

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Date published: 9/25/2005