Jim Henley comments on this story:
Look, you can blame the Bush Administration for not exerting better leadership over the bureaucracy in this case and others, and you should. But this particular callousness is not Bush callousness or Republican callousness or even conservative callousness per se. It is instinct in the institution and the type of person drawn to serve it, whose first priority - and frequently its last - is control over its subjects. The irony - that every petty and large indignity is made with the conscious aim of preventing riots, and each guarantees incrementally that there will be one - appalls.
That's as good as any explanation as I've heard. It might be useful to remember it when someone suggests strengthening federal bureaucracy in response to the failures of the Katrina disaster.
Posted by Walter at September 11, 2005 06:13 PM"It might be useful to remember it when someone suggests strengthening federal bureaucracy in response to the failures of the Katrina disaster."
In response to a failing of -- call them either "small-town cops" or "suburban cops." Yes, it certainly follows directly that this teaches us something about the federal government.
Myself, I could as easily teach this as a lesson about cable tv companies.
Another view might be "don't overly generalize." That one is hardly any fun at all, though.
Posted by: Gary Farber at September 14, 2005 08:29 PMHuh? These links refer to to FEMA's handling of a specific situation.
Although, if you're trying to make a more general but not really related point about the local authorities' failures, well, they were often incompetent, too.
Or, if you're implying that FEMA behaved like small town cops, you might have a point, too.
But I don't think you read the links.
Posted by: Walter at September 15, 2005 12:10 AM
Completely, and, I'm sure, irritatingly, off topic: you coming out to play tonight, Walter?
Posted by: zombyboy at September 15, 2005 01:45 PM