Rumors and stories

An inevitable by-product of any mass confusion such as the aftermath of Katrina is that rumors, if they're juicy enough and fit neatly into pre-conceived notions, spread like wildfire.

Two of these which were very widely reported are now being said to be untrue.

First, as I said days ago, the reports of massive gangs of armed gangs controlling the city (used as an excuse for inaction) were of course, exagerated an largely untrue. As Mayor Nagin said, many were likely drug addicts desperate for a fix, many were the hard-core criminals who would have taken this as an opportunity in any city, and some were simply desperate people scared into thinking they needed guns for defense or to get what they needed to survive.

When you stop to think of the conditions these people were in, it's remarkable that there wasn't MORE lawlessness and gun violence.

But it's now clear that there were not nearly the amount of armed crooks roaming the streets.

The other story which has been said to be false is the reports that up to 60% of the police force abandoned their posts. There was a complete communication breakdown, with cops having almost no way to communicate with each other, which may have lead to the impression that the cops simply weren't there.

Of course, this could be an effort at damage control, and no doubt, many cops and firefighters did go A.W.O.L., but the initial reports of mass desertion appear to be untrue.

One story little reported is that there has been an enormous naval ship sitting off the coast with the capacity of making thousands of gallons of fresh water daily, with helicopters available and enormous search and rescue capabilities. But it's been sitting there idle and inactive.