CNN.com recently posted an article about a family possibly going through a divorce due to hurricane Katrina. In that article it stated that “Louisiana has kept figures on almost everything Katrina-related; the number of people who died, the number who were injured and the houses that were damaged or destroyed. But the state is not keeping statistics on the number of divorced in a post-Katrina world”. This caused me to think, what other statistics are being kept about post-Katrina activities? I have family that live in Houston and San Antonio and have been told many stories of the effects of Katrina victims moving in to town. Not that helping out those in need is a bad thing. Not at all but some of the stories told to me are similar to when you’re out and about you can point out someone who has been a victim of Katrina because they’re acting obnoxiously rude or they make it a point to stand out in a negative way.
Disclaimer: For the record, I mean no malcontent in the posting. I wish I didn’t have the ammo to load this weapon of malicious destruction (WMD).
Disclaimer II: I know I shouldn’t have made a funny out of the disclaimer but I couldn’t help it!
Normally, this is where someone would insert a story of empathy. Something like: “I can talk about this because my family is a Katrina refugee” or “The city I live in has experienced a significant increase in criminal activity due to the victims of Katrina moving in”. Well, I don’t. The closest thing I have is that the city that I’m from, San Anotnio, but no longer live in has experienced this. So I don’t have a specific reason to talk about it, it’s just that it seems like this is the big pink elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about.
It appears that if your city provided a safe haven for Katrina victims the crime rate jumped through the roof. Think about it if you were a criminal, let’s say you were on probation and lived in New Orleans and were displaced to a new city, it’s like a clean slate! But instead of taking that clean slate turning a new leaf, you figure no one knows who you are or your seedy past so you use that clean slate to start a new criminal life. From a criminal mind point of view it makes perfect sense. What better opportunity for a criminal who wants to remain a criminal than a clean slate in a new city with no ties to your former life? It’s similar to the witness protection program!
Have you ever been digging a hole and realized the dirt you’re throwing out of the hole is landing right back on you? Yeah, that’s how I feel right now…
So, back to my original question, is there a statistic out there that has tracked the increase in crime due to Katrina victims arriving in a given city?
El Cabrito aka The Goat 