The Real Natural Disaster
We like to draw stark lines between the widely-acknowledged "moral monsters" of our time -- Hitler, Stalin, Pol Pot, etc. -- and "decent folk" like ourselves.
That line is really about as firm as a Louisiana levee.
I recently sat down for a viewing of Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall (in German, with subtitles) which dramatizes the last days of the Nazi leaders as they huddle in their bunker and await an increasingly-certain defeat.
Hirschbiegel isn't interested in Hitler, the comic-book villain at the end of the video game's last stage. He believes, instead, that Adolf Hitler was a human being. Writes reviewer Matt McAllister:
In Hirschbiegel's movie, Hitler is often, well, quite a likable guy. He enjoys kids. He can be warm and generous. And he's darn sure of himself. It's not hard to see how his followers could become so emotionally attached to him, even to the point of irrationality.
On the other hand, we have the beleaguered citizens of New Orleans. Certainly the folks left behind in the Atlantisized city can be excused a great deal -- few people would condemn looting doomed stores for survival. But then we read an eyewitness account such as this one, and it becomes very hard to keep one's temper.
The present situation in New Orleans has been variously described as "downtown Baghdad" and "Lord of the Flies II." Stores are ransacked for guns and ammo, and armed gangs roam the streets. There is no one to keep order -- even the police are participating in the free-for-all.
It seems incredible that any US city could reach a point of such chaos, violence and dissolution. It's incredible that so many ordinary citizens could be so quickly reduced to their worst instincts. It is, in fact, the nature that always bubbles just beneath the surface veneer of social nicety and affected indignation.
It's the real natural disaster.
That line is really about as firm as a Louisiana levee.
I recently sat down for a viewing of Oliver Hirschbiegel's Downfall (in German, with subtitles) which dramatizes the last days of the Nazi leaders as they huddle in their bunker and await an increasingly-certain defeat.
Hirschbiegel isn't interested in Hitler, the comic-book villain at the end of the video game's last stage. He believes, instead, that Adolf Hitler was a human being. Writes reviewer Matt McAllister:
It was accusations of 'humanising Hitler' that saw the film become the center of a great deal of controversy when released in Germany last year. Certainly it does make Hitler a human rather than a simplistic emblem for evil itself; we see him as a complicated multi-layered man capable of moments of charm and gentleness as well as rage and hate. As Hirschbiegel has said, it is precisely the fact that Hitler was a man that makes the facts much more horrifying.
In Hirschbiegel's movie, Hitler is often, well, quite a likable guy. He enjoys kids. He can be warm and generous. And he's darn sure of himself. It's not hard to see how his followers could become so emotionally attached to him, even to the point of irrationality.
On the other hand, we have the beleaguered citizens of New Orleans. Certainly the folks left behind in the Atlantisized city can be excused a great deal -- few people would condemn looting doomed stores for survival. But then we read an eyewitness account such as this one, and it becomes very hard to keep one's temper.
Anyway we get to the city and it looks like a freaking war zone. The best visual I can give is the movie "Blackhawk Down" when all the Somalians are rushing the city. They are people EVERYWHERE, they are pissed off, and all have weapons, 2X4's, Axes, and guns. If this wasn't bad enough we are 2 white boys in a truck in a sea several hundred armed pissed off blacks. There wasn't a white person to be found. I couldn't get over the little 8-10yr old kids with weapons, I ever saw one carry a claw hammer!
These people were absolutely nuts rammed trucks (stolen I'm sure) in to jewelry stores stealing items, they were tearing apart Wal-Mart carrying out TV's, Playstations, DVD players, etc. One lady was wheeling out an entire rack of merchandise, not sure what it was but sure wasn't clothes for food. They were all laughing and carrying on like it's freaking Christmas.
The present situation in New Orleans has been variously described as "downtown Baghdad" and "Lord of the Flies II." Stores are ransacked for guns and ammo, and armed gangs roam the streets. There is no one to keep order -- even the police are participating in the free-for-all.
It seems incredible that any US city could reach a point of such chaos, violence and dissolution. It's incredible that so many ordinary citizens could be so quickly reduced to their worst instincts. It is, in fact, the nature that always bubbles just beneath the surface veneer of social nicety and affected indignation.
It's the real natural disaster.
posted by John at 8:24 PM
6 Comments:
We don't notice it in everyday life because of the omnipresent threat of law enforcement, but the NOLA looting and gangsterism are simply what happens when people know they won't get caught. As we know from scripture, one of the chief reasons for the law is to restrain evil. One might add "enforcement of." The NOLA situation should remind us of how precarious is the balance between relative order and outright chaos.
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Hello? (echo) Sure is quiet here... Did you guys forget to pay the bills?
Perhaps the media captured a story that would sell? A story, like Lord of the Flies, that would make history. A story told from a particular point of view, with a narrow point and purpose. Perhaps the real sin of society can be found in the stories in which we become fascinated?
Dear John, Eric, Jack
I noticed that you have another blog called 'TouchedWithFire', which has nothing posted to it. Would you be prepared to give this blogname to me...? or do you still have plans for it? I am particularly keen to have it.
Thanks
Karen
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