The Uses of Disaster (Harpers.org)

And when we look back at Katrina, we may see that the greatest savagery was that of our public officials, who not only failed to provide the infrastructure, social services, and opportunities that would have significantly decreased the vulnerability of pre-hurricane New Orleans but who also, when disaster did occur, put their ideology before their people.

She makes the point that looting of a superfluous or violent nature was overemphasized in the reports (and by the government). I wonder if that’s the case — I’m curious to see what various inquiries uncover later on.