Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands

FEMA has largely screwed up the response to Super Storm Sandy, just as they did with Katrina.  But that shouldn't come as a surprise.  Central planning by a distant federal government agency rarely works as well as local planning.  Think about it.  Who knows your neighborhood better; you, or some DC bureaucrat?

Granted, NYC screwed things up pretty badly as well, and Mayor Bloomberg deserves far more of the blame than FEMA, but just as Katrina did in 2004, Sandy demonstrates that local people organizing themselves voluntarily can accomplish far more than top-down, impersonal government bureaucracies.

"There's no leadership here, nobody knows what's going on," said Christopher Janusis, a Staten Island resident, whose house and neighborhood were badly hit by Sandy.

For Janusis and thousands of other Staten Islanders whose lives were so suddenly changed by Sandy, there are many reasons to complain. But rather than do that, and rather than wait for government help, the residents took matters into their own hands: They organized a volunteer-driven relief effort that could be an example for FEMA and other aid agencies might do well to study.

As ordinary people often do, they innovated in the face of crisis.

Cangiano and her fellow volunteers showed they could rip through the red tape that often stifles aid organizations, and focus on the calls for help.

"We were monitoring Facebook and other social media," she said. "As calls and messages came in for help, we responded by sending cars full of food and supplies to the areas that needed it most."

I doing so, they demonstrated what neighbors voluntarily helping each other can accomplish.

Cosentino  tells Fox News that the main thing to be learned is "that the people themselves on Staten Island saved most of the lives here and are doing most of the work, along with volunteers from other areas." He says "you have incredibly valuable resources here that need be pooled to get the job done."

...small businesses, neighbors and local leaders teamed up to ensure people had clothes, food, water, blankets and hot meals, as well as other survival basics.

Democrats accuse those who believe in small, limited government of saying to everyone, "you're on your own".  The obvious implication is that only government can organize people (by force) to accomplish anything good and decent, which is an obvious load of crap.  Left to their own devices, decent, free people naturally band together to help each other.  That is the direct opposite of selfishness, and fosters community and friendship among neighbors.

Yes, the federal government can play a role in disaster relief, but that should be the last resort, when it's clear that volunteers, local government, state government, and neighboring states are overwhelmed by the size of the disaster.

Always remember that, regardless of the competence of government's response, you are your own first line of defense, then your immediate family, then you neighbors.  See my post on disaster prep for great ideas from Popular Mechanics on how to make those lines of defence as effective as possible.

New Yorkers Without Electricity = Good

Can you imagine any newspaper - much less the NYT - writing this about Katrina?

If they wanted to talk to a friend, they had to do it in person. If their first post-storm instincts were to check a weather app, they resigned themselves to battery-run radios.

As the full scope of the storm’s damage became obvious, it was clear these inconveniences were hardly grave. And because most children, and adults, eventually found some kind of connection via an unaffected neighbor (or Starbucks), the withdrawal was often more of a tech diet than a total fast.

But the storm provided a rare glimpse of a life lived offline. It drove some children crazy, while others managed to embrace the experience of a digital slowdown. It also produced some unexpected ammunition for parents already eager to curb the digital obsessions of their children.

The question pretty much answers itself.  What a difference a president's political party makes!  Here's a picture of how people on Coney Island are struggling.

After traveling six miles by foot and by bus to bring food home to her five children in Brooklyn’s Coney Island neighborhood, Cherry Barnett broke down in tears.

"I've had it,” she said. “I don't want to live here anymore. We can't live like this."

Down on Surf Avenue, businesses are shuttered, leaving local residents unable to get basic necessities like food, medicine, or even do laundry. Once the sun goes down, residents say it’s too dangerous to venture out anyway.

"It's very hard,” said Mary Edwards, 69, who lives in the complex. “There are no stores here anymore. There's nothing. We can't even come out of our apartments at night. We need a curfew on Coney Island."

And let's not forget that, unlike New Orleans, NYC gets pretty damned cold in the winter.  But hey, according to the NYT, it's only a minor inconvenience.

New Yorkers Arm Themselves

Speaking of disaster prep and self reliance:

Aren't these the same people who, decade after decade, voted for politicians who forcefully disarmed them and turned NYC into one of the most draconian, anti-Second-Amendment cities in the US?  Why are they arming themselves now? 

When night falls in the Rockaways, the hoods come out.

Ever since Sandy strafed the Queens peninsula and tore up the boardwalk, it’s become an often lawless place where cops are even scarcer than electrical power and food. Locals say they are arming themselves with guns, baseball bats, booby traps — even a bow and arrow — to defend against looters.

Thugs have been masquerading as Long Island Power Authority (LIPA) workers, knocking on doors in the dead of night. But locals say the real workers have been nowhere in sight, causing at least one elected official — who fears a descent into anarchy if help doesn’t arrive soon — to call for the city to investigate the utility.

Why do they need weapons to defend themselves?  Isn't that the purpose of the NYPD?

Walter Meyer, 37, lives in Park Slope but often surfs in the Rockaways. He said it’s not the place it was before the storm.

"After sunset everyone locks their doors,” said Meyer, as he loaded up a solar panel from a factory in the Brooklyn Navy Yard to bring to local residents. "They're trying to find whatever weapons they can find. Some people are even using bows and arrows."

“If you are heeding into the Rockaway beach to assist, there is a request for firearms, hot food, and cold beer. These next 24 hours are critical for these folks, the government has really let them down,” Meyer posted on Facebook Thursday.

What?  They're actually asking people from areas that actually respect the Bill of Rights to violate NYC's disregard for it and import guns into the city?  New Yorkers have been telling us for decades that guns brought into the city are the problem!

And, "the government has really let them down"?  Who is this Right Wing extremist invading this North Eastern Left Wing paradise?

But wait, there's more.

“We’re all pitching in and doing what we can do for each other,” he said. “That’s the kind of neighborhood we are down here. The neighbors will be chipping in good sums of money, labor and food. Whatever it takes.”

Relying on voluntary assistance from neighbors, instead of government?  Oh, the humanity!

Funny how, when inescapably faced with reality, even "Liberals" turn to Conservative principles, like individual charity and the unalienable right to self defence.

Preparing for Disasters

Due to Superstorm Sandy, disaster preparedness is in the news again.  Unfortunately, few will heed the warnings and prepare for the next inevitable disaster.

A 2009 Red Cross study found that more than half of all Americans had personally experienced an emergency in which they’d either lost power for three days, had to evacuate or had to provide serious first aid to others. Yet the same survey found that only 12 percent of Americans had taken adequate disaster-preparedness steps.

For the wise few who take initiative, the Popular Mechanics Disaster Prep Guide is an invaluable resource.  It includes tips on how to prep your house for blackouts, floods and hurricanes, plus tips on clean-up and repairs post-disaster. 

If you feel overwhelmed by the thought of preparation, keep this in mind.  You don't have to prepare for everything.  It's impossible, so trying is counter-productive.  You only need to prepare for the disaster that is most likely to take place where you live.  For example, it would be silly for me to prepare for a hurricane living in Kansas.  Tornadoes are the most common disaster in Kansas, so that should be my prep focus.  Blackouts are fairly common and can happen anywhere, but fortunately, prepping for a blackout is fairly easy. 

Can a disaster strike your area for which you did not prepare?  Sure.  But with a little resourcefulness and ingenuity, you can adapt your preparations for a flood, for example, and overcome the challenge of an earth quake... if  you prepared ahead of time.  Good luck trying to do that with zero preparation.  You may end up like New Yorkers, dumpster diving for food.  That report published on 01 November 2012.  Sandy made landfall on 29 October 2012; only three days prior. 

That brings me to another point.  Self-reliance isn't selfish.

When it comes to large-scale emergencies, the country has a hidden weapon--and we can do more with this resource. I'm talking about a populace filled with self-reliant, community-minded individuals. During a major crisis, on the order of Katrina or a serious California earthquake, relief services can be overwhelmed [or, in the case of NYC, incompetent]. When individuals are prepared to look after themselves for a while, with food, water and medicine on hand, and alternative sources of heat or power, it makes a big difference. The government can't take care of everybody at once. If disaster-relief staffs don't have to worry about you, they can take care of others--which means that being self-reliant can actually help your community.

So get preppin'.  You'll be glad you did.

Further quick reads from Popular Mechanics:
How to Disaster-Proof Your Life
How Self Reliance Can Get You Through Any Disaster