the Shackle Report

Another day of fun down in New Orleans…Joseph B. Treaster, writing for the NYT, suggested that the Superdome was not only “like a prison,” but worse…

more of this article, much

Superdome: Haven Quickly Becomes an Ordeal

They had flocked to the arena seeking sanctuary from the winds and waters of Hurricane Katrina. But understaffed, undersupplied and without air-conditioning or even much lighting, the domed stadium quickly became a sweltering and surreal vault, a place of overflowing toilets and no showers. Food and water, blankets and sheets, were in short supply. And the dome’s reluctant residents exchanged horror stories, including reports, which could not be confirmed by the authorities, of a suicide and of rapes.

…Once inside the dome, refugees were told that for their own safety they could not leave – the flood waters climbed four feet up the walls outside – and many likened the shelter to a prison.

Michael Childs, 45 and a housepainter, went a step further.

“It’s worse than a prison,” said Mr. Childs, who knew something about the subject, having spent three months in the Orleans Parish Prison on a drunken-driving charge. “In prison you have a place to urinate, a place for other bathroom needs. Here you get no water, no toilets, no lights. You get all that in prison.”

Al Qaida has promised that when they get through with us “the living will envy the dead,” and it’s surprising that most Americans don’t already, seeing as a majority of us imagine the dead as a jolly group of souls frisking in heaven with beloved relatives and pets. But for now, the living will have to be content with envying the incarcerated.

Although, we couldn’t help but notice that in building their “Superdome as prison” metaphor, The NYT didn’t interview any graduates of Abu Ghraib, Gitmo or rendition-friendly foreign “vaults” to see how New Orleans stacks up on a global scale.

If we keep praying, maybe we”ll find out.