| Acting Like Grownups |
18 August 2003
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50 Million North Americans Resist Looting
A quarter of a century ago, there was a blackout in New York City that resulted in injuries, arrest, and widespread looting. As one person put it at the time, "Christmas came to the ghetto early." Yet in 2003, shortly after the lights went out, the concern that the "wolves and jackals" were coming out after sunset never materialized. American society appears to have grown up a bit.
This is not to say nothing bad happened. There were a few arrests for attempted looting. But common thievery can happen any night, and the incidents were few.
Yet in New York, it was hard to find even a case of price gouging. The Snapple at the Queen's side of the 59th Street bridge (no one was "Feelin' Groovy") was $1 long after the power went out -- it's usually $1. Meanwhile, in Detroit, a city with a reputation for self-immolation every October, nothing appeared out of the ordinary despite lack of power and water. The mayor even bragged on CNN about how great the people were behaving.
Much has changed in 25 years, and some of it for the better. America has actually tried to revive its sense of community, largely thanks to Al-Qaeda's murder of 3,000. People are watching out for the pregnant, the disabled, the elder just a bit more when things don't work right. The teenagers who might have picked up a free TV 25 years ago were on the streets handing out free water to those who had 12 mile walks to their homes.
It was not, contrary to what many might have said in interviews, fun. It was not a party atmosphere. It was a damn serious situation dealt with in a damn serious way. Lots went wrong (or the darkness wouldn't have happened), but none of it was malicious. At 227 years-old, America may have finally grown up.
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