anarchy in new orleans?

the mainstream media have been quick to liberally, and inaccurately, apply the term 'anarchy' to describe the terrible situation in new orleans and the surrounding states, including this headline from the indy. shevek debunks this on indymedia. chaos certainly. anarchy - not likely. with national guard fresh from iraq being flown in to shoot to kill and armed gangs roaming the streets a definite hierarchy is present. in all the attention focussed on the threats to state authority, the real victims are being forgotten:

In times of crisis the seemingly peaceful social relations are violently exposed in their true light. While the rich quickly leave to their second homes, the poor were are left behind. Some reluctantly accepted help from the state and where ushered into the Superdome, not knowing what else to do. Others, unable to go, or unwilling to leave behind their only possessions remained, choosing to brave out the storm.

it's not hard to see that the poor and the black are the worst off in this situation. gary younge points this out in his guardian column:

[T]he lives and the livelihoods of the poor without cars to escape, sturdy homes to protect them and insurance to fall back on, were the most vulnerable. In one of the poorest states in the country, where black people earn half as much as white people, this has taken on a racial dimension.

in the midst of all this george bush is displaying his usual disdain for the dispossessed by not bothering say anything at all the first day, now calling for "zero tolerance" towards looters, who are often ordinary people desperate for basic food and drink. bush's promises of aid sound hollow given that it is rapidly emerging that resources have been diverted away from fema (the federal emergency management administration) towards much more important things, like attacking poor brown people in other countries, and enriching the already hyperrich at home. according to the independent:

The Army Corps, like every other authority charged with preventing the flooding of New Orleans, has had its budget cut repeatedly in recent years. The Federal Emergency Management Administration has had its resources diverted towards the Bush administration's "war on terror", and many of the National Guardsmen who might have been in place to intervene sooner have been diverted to Iraq.

the parallels between new orleans and baghdad were bound to be made considering yesterday's emerging dual tragedy, that dion dennis describes as the katrina-baghdad "strange attractor". how american's will view the situation in iraq, and how their attitude towards global warming will change in light of this tragedy is yet to be seen.

in fact important lessons for those intent on reminding us all that bloody revolution is the way forward can be learned from the situation. true anarchy +cannot+ come about in one fell swoop until the existing power structures have been dismantled and disarmed. otherwise the vulnerable are bound to be preyed upon, and the wealthy will send in their hired guns to maintain the law. until people are self-reliant shortages of state aid will be catastrophic. katrina has not caused anarchy, it has exacerbated the hierarchical system of pillage that rules our lives.