I grew up in New York City. I always thought that the argument that US citizens should be able to keep guns as a deterrent to the government taking away our rights was thoroughly ridiculous. Only wingnuts from Idaho or someplace would believe that, I thought.
This "strongly encouraged evacuation" in New Orleans is changing my mind about that.
I saw that lawyer on CNN the other day, I'm sure a lot of you did as well, talking about how self-sufficient he feels he is, and how he was prepared to defend himself with his guns if need be. Don't get me wrong, I would hate to see gunplay between that guy and the well-meaning (God, let's hope) people on the ground, but I had to sympathize with that guy. Why are they trying to force him to leave?
The authorities stated that it was for "their own safety as well as ours"? That seems weird to me. How is a person in a house over there threatening the authorities' safety? If you want to say, "Hey, we're not going to rescue you or give you food," that's one thing, but "threatening their safety" ??
It seems like the worst is over, doesn't it? The water is receding faster than expected. There are seemingly fewer dead than some expected. The lights appear to be coming back on. I konw there's a lot of cleanup and rebuilding ahead, but if someone made it this long, why force them out now?
I'll spare you the tin-foil hat explanations, and merely phrase it as a question - is there any reasonable explanation for the authorities trying to evacuate the people who don't want to leave and can fend for themselves?