Can someone explain to me why snipers.......

[O. L. T.]

What is the point of snipers shooting at people trying to help? What is the motive? What could possibly be the benefit? .......and where the heck did they come from? Who are they? Who do they represent?

They seem to have enough food and water to sit there and shoot at people day after day, could there be a conspiracy in this somewhere? Related to the levee breaking AFTER the storm has already passed? Maybe?

Snipers. I don't understand........ why? The news has made NO EFFORT to explain who they are or why.

[Captain Bone]

Originally Posted by O. L. T.

What is the point of snipers shooting at people trying to help? What is the motive? What could possibly be the benefit? .......and where the heck did they come from? Who are they? Who do they represent?

They seem to have enough food and water to sit there and shoot at people day after day, could there be a conspiracy in this somewhere? Related to the levee breaking AFTER the storm has already passed? Maybe?

Snipers. I don't understand........ why? The news has made NO EFFORT to explain who they are or why.

It's my understanding that the snipers have been put on roof tops to subdue the few people who feel having a gun and disrupting the rescue effort is their duty. They are from the National Guard and Army division. I could be way off though.

-Anthony

[O. L. T.]

Originally Posted by Captain Bone

It's my understanding that the snipers have been put on roof tops to subdue the few people who feel having a gun and disrupting the rescue effort is their duty. They are from the National Guard and Army division. I could be way off though.

-Anthony

I am talking about the snipers shooting at the caretakers and rescue officials.

[TLW]

sick twisted indiviuals

warped minds thinking this is the end of the world

[Vegassc400]

Originally Posted by Captain Bone

It's my understanding that the snipers have been put on roof tops to subdue the few people who feel having a gun and disrupting the rescue effort is their duty. They are from the National Guard and Army division. I could be way off though.

-Anthony

I think OLT is refering to the civilians who have taken it upon themselves to take pot shots at NG and rescue workers.

I don't have an answer to that. People are pissed and anyone representing authority is going to be the subject of their wrath. It's very sad.

[Pianoman72]

I think the newscasters are reffering to looters who stole guns or already had guns and they think that if they shoot at a rescue helicopter the pilot will say, "oh, hey, we missed those people let's go back and get them"

I didn't see the newscast but people at my office are calling them "snipers," too, but I don't think they mean that they actually have sniper rifles or whatever.

The levees broke because the mississippi river swelled as the storm moved farther north, and continued to swell after the storm passed the city, I would imagine. There were articles predicting that before the storm hit I think.

They interviewed the daughter of the a man who was involved with the design of the levees for some reason - anyway this was before the storm hit. His advice to her was tell everyone you can to get out of the city. So yeah it wasn't some big secret that the levees weren't the best around.

[O. L. T.]

there are snipers sitting outside hospitals shooting at people trying to leave the hospital, and hav e been for days.

Who are they and why?

[RON430]

My understanding is that looting started last Sunday. The 80% that evacuated started having their houses ransacked then. After the storm the power (and of course hindrances like burglar alarms, electronic locks, radios, lights, police, etc.) went off and the serious thievery began. This very small percentage of the people think it is to their benefit to keep the city theirs for as long as they can. A pot shot here or there can slow the efforts up. So can several fires. Eventually, the authorities, who have ordered the city to be evacuated, are not going to take very kindly to anyone they run across that isn't part of the reconstruction effort.

And we can't understand why Baghdad is such a dangerous place. A small amount of people with weapons can terrorize a large population. So treat them like the terrorists they are. These crud aren't trying to get water, food, and diapers from abandoned stores to last until they can get out. They have a lot deeper agenda and a hurricane is just an opportunity to them.

[O. L. T.]

Originally Posted by RON430

My understanding is that looting started last Sunday. The 80% that evacuated started having their houses ransacked then. After the storm the power (and of course hindrances like burglar alarms, electronic locks, radios, lights, police, etc.) went off and the serious thievery began. This very small percentage of the people think it is to their benefit to keep the city theirs for as long as they can. A pot shot here or there can slow the efforts up. So can several fires. Eventually, the authorities, who have order the city to be evacuated, are not going to take very kindly to anyone they run across that isn't part of the reconstruction effort.

And we can't understand why Baghdad is such a dangerous place. A small amount of people with weapons can terrorize a large population. So treat them like the terrorists they are. These crud aren't trying to get water, food, and diapers from abandoned stores to last until they can get out. They have a lot deer agenda and a hurricane is just an opportunity to them.

I think we have something to learn here.

[Cloud9]

i read on msnbc that these people were shooting at the rescuers because they were pissed off about the situation and slow response from the rescue team. while the rescue/hospital helicopter was landing, they heard gun fire and people yelling "got get my family! f***" or something like that. the choppers had to back off and cancel the rescue missions.
very sad..

[WhiteTiger]

Originally Posted by Cloud9

i read on msnbc that these people were shooting at the rescuers because they were pissed off about the situation and slow response from the rescue team. while the rescue/hospital helicopter was landing, they heard gun fire and people yelling "got get my family! f***" or something like that. the choppers had to back off and cancel the rescue missions.
very sad..

The unfortunate thing is that these morons don't understand that it also inhibits the rescue efforts that are there to help them. Really, do you actually think some rescue worker is going to say, Hey, they're shooting at me over here, maybe if I go down the block they won't...GET REAL!

[RON430]

Originally Posted by WhiteTiger

The unfortunate thing is that these morons don't understand that it also inhibits the rescue efforts that are there to help them. Really, do you actually think some rescue worker is going to say, Hey, they're shooting at me over here, maybe if I go down the block they won't...GET REAL!

Let's remember that the dimwits at the networks that put the idea out that people shooting at rescue helicopters were trying to softly get their attention and redirect their efforts in a more useful manner aren't the brightest people in the world. Of all the stupid tripe I have ever heard, this may be the tops. I guess if you are most concerned about bending over backwards to justify criminal behavior, this is the result. For those of you who want to swallow this line of reasoning, my compliments, the world must be a simple place to you. For me, shooting at a rescue helicopter probably means somebody is either drunk out of their mind or has something in mind they want and it isn't to be rescued.

[mikeloc24]

Originally Posted by RON430

My understanding is that looting started last Sunday. The 80% that evacuated started having their houses ransacked then. After the storm the power (and of course hindrances like burglar alarms, electronic locks, radios, lights, police, etc.) went off and the serious thievery began. This very small percentage of the people think it is to their benefit to keep the city theirs for as long as they can. A pot shot here or there can slow the efforts up. So can several fires.

Thanks Ron, I'm so sick of reading posts where people seem to be assuming the entire city is looting and rioting, when in reality it's a very small percentage of people. The worst people the city had living among it's citizens. I'm also sick and tired of reading about how they seemingly deserved this catastrophe because they "refused" to evacuate. They COULDN'T evacuate, except to the Super Dome.

[RON430]

Originally Posted by mikeloc24

Thanks Ron, I'm so sick of reading posts where people seem to be assuming the entire city is looting and rioting, when in reality it's a very small percentage of people. The worst people the city had living among it's citizens. I'm also sick and tired of reading about how they seemingly deserved this catastrophe because they "refused" to evacuate. They COULDN'T evacuate, except to the Super Dome.

I don't know whether it's overload or something else but you start to get numb to the press coverage. They concentrate on what they believe will get people to watch their pathetic images and inane commentary. Now that significant number of law enforcement personnel are on site there will probably be remarkably few arrests or deadly force situations. There were continuous reports of rape/murders taking place in the Superdome and now that the authorities have searched the place I don't think any raped bodies have been found. There was a small report on a section of NO that reported that the average annual income per capita in that area was $7500. Doubtless a large number of the riche and nouveaux riche on this site can't comprehend living on $7500 a year. Evacuating may have just been out of the question. Nobody deserved this disaster but it happened.

And if you want to add to the rants, I am sick and tired of hearing the governor of Louisiana and the Mayor of NO dump on W. They have nothing to be proud of in their preparedness and response to this disaster. To blame the awful response on W is blame shifting at its worst IMO. I am not saying W doesn't have his own shame but if you look at a disaster I think you count on yourself first, then family, neighbors, the city, the county, and the feds. If you could get out, you're concerned but you are alive and reasonably comfortable. For others, things aren't so good but the organizations that are closest (city, county, and state) need to be prepared.

Having said that, FEMA appears to be a joke. To blame the poor response on those involved being black is over defensive self victimization also IMO. If you look at FEMA response to the FLA hurricanes last year things were not any better, just not the scope of disaster as the flood in NO. I heard the director of FEMA the saturday before Katrina talk about how they had pre staged semis with supplies that would role in as soon as things were safe. This guy needs to be fired. Most people here don't realize the constitutional difficulties of our military operating within our borders but FEMA and the military need much closer ties. It seems to me that you can leave the useless top level of FEMA in DC but there need to be major FEMA installations throughout the US, depending on potential for emergencies. The south gets not only hurricanes but tornadoes. Midwest gets tornadoes, floods, and droughts. And the west has those pesky ground shakers to deal with. Come on guys, take a few closed military bases and make them FEMA action centers. And as I have said before, don't let those people back into the unsafe situation that they just left. The downside is they may not be able to move back to their neighborhoods once and if things are rebuilt. The costs are liable to be prohibitive for them. And the media will delight in covering that story. OK, end of this rant.

[bitkahuna]

Originally Posted by mikeloc24

I'm also sick and tired of reading about how they seemingly deserved this catastrophe because they "refused" to evacuate.

What media or other writing has said this!?

One thing I heard somewhere though was that the levees broke because barges hit them. Anyone know anything about that?