The Aftermath of a Hurricane: Nova Scotia vs Gulf Coast

[Grumpy Cat]

So when my friends and I were sitting around after Earl trying to keep ourselves entertained, we were discussing why it is that when a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast, there is violence and looting, but when a hurricane hits Nova Scotia, people in the community, even in the major cities like Halifax, help eachother out by cleaning up debris, sharing food with neighbours, etc. and we never think of looting. There was no looting after Juan, Hannah, Bill, Noel, or Earl.

Why is that?

And before anyone implicates blacks, it should be pointed out that Nova Scotia has one of the proportionately largest black communities in Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Nova_Scotians), and even North Preston (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Preston,_Nova_Scotia), the blackest town in Canada, saw no looting.

[Sol Invictus]

I don't think it's fair to say that the Hurricanes that the Maritimes experience can be compared to the gulf, particularly Katrina which caused enough damage to the city to get opportunists up looting.

[Grumpy Cat]

I don't think it's fair to say that the Hurricanes that the Maritimes experience can be compared to the gulf, particularly Katrina which caused enough damage to the city to get opportunists up looting.

True. But Juan did the damage of a category 3 and power was out in Halifax for 2 weeks.

Yes, I did get robbed shortly after Juan, but I know the guy who robbed me and I think he would have done it hurricane or no hurricane.

There was so much damage to the upscale part of Halifax, particularly all the expensive boutiques and liquor stores in the South End, that the loot there was ripe for the picking.

Also, if a Katrina strength hurricane hit Halifax, I am confident it would not be pandemonium like New Orleans was.

[Curtis24]

Race is only one part of the equalion. Socioeconomic upbringing plays a significant role.

Furthermore, as someone pointed out, there was no breakdown in basic law enforcement and electricity(and thus, security systems) in Nova Scotia, as there was with Katrina.

[Grumpy Cat]

Race is only one part of the equalion. Socioeconomic upbringing plays a significant role.

Those raised in poverty simply tend to be more opportunistic, more shortsighted, and to possess less of an abstract moral code. These things contributed to the looting in the wake of Katrina.

I'm not specifically talking about Katrina. That is an exception, that was a large storm and caused a lot of damage. But I have talked to people from the Gulf Coast who get their guns ready when a hurricane is coming because of looters, even after a wimpy category 1. That doesn't happen here, and getting a gun out doesn't even cross my mind.

[Curtis24]

WEll then I would say obviously it is because of socioeconomic/cultural differences, which are way too complex for me to try to work out now. But basically, many black inner-city Americans receive shit upbringings that make them opportunistic and immoral.

[Cato]

Why is that?

You can take a nigger out of the jungle, but you will never be able to take the jungle out of the jungle.

The Curse of Ham be upon them, aye.

[Grumpy Cat]

WEll then I would say obviously it is because of socioeconomic/cultural differences, which are way too complex for me to try to work out now. But basically, many black inner-city Americans receive shit upbringings that make them opportunistic and immoral.

So they're different from black Nova Scotians?

[Curtis24]

Yeah. :p

[Grumpy Cat]

You can take a nigger out of the jungle, but you will never be able to take the jungle out of the jungle.

The Curse of Ham be upon them, aye.

Uh... did you read the part that I mentioned Nova Scotia had a large black population? Some of the oldest settlements of free blacks in North America are in Nova Scotia.

Lots of blacks in rural areas, though. Some in the inner city, but not as many as outside of it.

[Cato]

So they're different from black Nova Scotians?

Nigger is as nigger does. I don't consider fecal-colored hooligans to be human like some of the nice black people I know.

[Cato]

Uh... did you read the part that I mentioned Nova Scotia had a large black population? Some of the oldest settlements of free blacks in North America are in Nova Scotia.

Lots of blacks in rural areas, though. Some in the inner city, but not as many as outside of it.

Not all black people are niggers but all niggers are black people. :)

[Curtis24]

Uh... did you read the part that I mentioned Nova Scotia had a large black population? Some of the oldest settlements of free blacks in North America are in Nova Scotia.

Lots of blacks in rural areas, though. Some in the inner city, but not as many as outside of it.

The amount of looting that can be done in rural areas is quite limited....

[Grumpy Cat]

Well, I guess being from Nova Scotia is the reason I've never had a problem with black people, even when I was a racist. They're friendly around these parts.

Just don't go to their house for dinner, they'll feed you until you explode (it's kind of rude in white Nova Scotian culture to turn down a gift, including food, so this is a bad combo).

[Cato]

Well, I guess being from Nova Scotia is the reason I've never had a problem with black people, even when I was a racist. They're friendly around these parts.

Just don't go to their house for dinner, they'll feed you until you explode (it's kind of rude in white Nova Scotian culture to turn down a gift, including food, so this is a bad combo).

It's the same in the U.S. with blacks. Some of the most hospitable people, and the best cooks that I've ever met, have been black.

[Grumpy Cat]

It's the same in the U.S. with blacks. Some of the most hospitable people, and the best cooks that I've ever met, have been black.

Yeah black Americans can cook, but so can white folks in the South. I love Southern food and soul food. So fattening, though.

[Cato]

Yeah black Americans can cook, but so can white folks in the South. I love Southern food and soul food. So fattening, though.

:eek: Fried chicken, creole chicken, corn on the cob, mashed and gravy, grits, gumbo (mmm gumbo), dirty rice- soul food is good eating. :eek:

Granted, it's not all black cooking, but it's closely identified with them. I used to work with a black lady (from one of the Carolinas, can't recall which) who cooked soul food on the side as a personal business, and that was some good, good, good eating. :eek: She'd bring in leftovers often enough and, woah.

[Debaser11]

I've met some Katrina refugees. I'm not surprised by the looting that went on there. They were some of the most wretched people I've ever seen. Lucky for them, Houston went out of its way to be hospitable towards them. They've repaid us by increasing the crime rate in the area. I'm not surprised the blacks in Nova Scotia behave better. The ones from Nolas set the bar pretty low.

[Grumpy Cat]

:eek: Fried chicken, creole chicken, corn on the cob, mashed and gravy, grits, gumbo (mmm gumbo), dirty rice- soul food is good eating. :eek:

Granted, it's not all black cooking, but it's closely identified with them. I used to work with a black lady (from one of the Carolinas, can't recall which) who cooked soul food on the side as a personal business, and that was some good, good, good eating. :eek: She'd bring in leftovers often enough and, woah.

Yeah gumbo and dirty rice are Acadian dished. Gumbo is one of our ethnic slurs,

[Debaser11]

Yeah gumbo and dirty rice are Acadian dished. Gumbo is one of our ethnic slurs,

RACIST!!

L1RZO7e9OYU

I wonder how many "gumbos" he's even met? I suppose he thinks because one "picks pockets" that they ALL do that? Did he ever think that "gumbos" are merely acting out against a tyrannical system that dehumanizes them? I happen to know a very smart "gumbo." ;) Now if I can find the clip where he calls Storm a "nigger.":D Old racist white man. He had it coming.:rolleyes:

[Smaland]

In 2005, the U.S. Gulf Coast was also hit by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. In 2008, the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the looting after any of these storms; at least, the media didn't say anything about this.

When Katrina hit NOLA, a number of poor negroes were still there, who had either refused to or were unable to get out. The criminal activity after the storm was in a class by itself. The only reasonable explanation for the looting and violence that occurred was that the remaining negroes went wild (a lot of them, anyway).

[SwordoftheVistula]

You can't compare North Preston, a tiny village of 3700 in a province where 96.8% of the people are white and 3.2% are indian, with New Orleans, a city of 455,000 of which more than 2/3 were black.

[Curtis24]

Yeah, I think SwordofVistula hits it on the head. There simply aren't many opportunities for looting or criminality in rural areas, and even if people resort to that, they can be easily subdued by others in the area.

In a big city, however, there is plenty of merchandise lying around and the organized police force has to be responsible for maintaining order; it can't be done by local forces, as in rural areas.

[Psychonaut]

So when my friends and I were sitting around after Earl trying to keep ourselves entertained, we were discussing why it is that when a hurricane hits the Gulf Coast, there is violence and looting, but when a hurricane hits Nova Scotia, people in the community, even in the major cities like Halifax, help eachother out by cleaning up debris, sharing food with neighbours, etc. and we never think of looting. There was no looting after Juan, Hannah, Bill, Noel, or Earl.


In 2005, the U.S. Gulf Coast was also hit by Hurricanes Rita and Wilma. In 2008, the Gulf Coast was hit by Hurricanes Ike and Gustav. There was nothing out of the ordinary about the looting after any of these storms; at least, the media didn't say anything about this.


I'm not specifically talking about Katrina. That is an exception, that was a large storm and caused a lot of damage. But I have talked to people from the Gulf Coast who get their guns ready when a hurricane is coming because of looters, even after a wimpy category 1. That doesn't happen here, and getting a gun out doesn't even cross my mind.

NOLA is not the entire Gulf Coast.

I lived through more hurricanes as a Gulf Coaster than I care to remember. The straw that broke the camel's back was when Ivan (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hurricane_Ivan) (the tenth most powerful and, at the time, third most damaging) hit Pensacola (a large city by Gulf Coast standards), destroying in one day my home, car and place of business. Power/water was out in many areas (including mine) for more than a month, yet there was no mass looting, raping, or increase in criminality. Nor was there even a particularly large FEMA presence. The National Guard was there to hand out MREs and ice, but that was the only Federal presence I ever saw until well after cleanup was underway.