Caviar at the Convention Center?
Tags: social organization, looting, convention centerThe 9/14 ABC report "Caviar and Camaraderie Found a Place Inside the New Orleans Convention Center" starts out like this:
The cultural spirit of New Orleans was experienced by some Hurricane Katrina survivors, who managed to dine on gourmet provisions and create a sense of community while waiting for help to reach the city's crowded convention center.
Where'd the caviar come from? Did people bound for the Convention Center take jars with them? Of course not: it and champagne were looted from hotels in the area.
The report goes on to detail the experiences of Brian Corey and his roommate Jeff Rusnack. They were going to ride out the storm at their apartment in the French Quarter but "given the dire security situation that surrounded them" they decided to get out of town. They found the bridges closed, then went to the CC. According to ABC they describe a more tranquil, cooperative scene than what you might have heard. They also say there was no media around to observe.
They describe how things were bartered for and how the gangs became the good guys (???) and passed out supplies to the needy. And:
But they didn't rest long. They're now in St. Louis preparing prints of their photos to be sold on eBay with proceeds going to hurricane relief, and are starting work on a book to detail their experiences and offer "a sense of what was lost."
