Gibson, the State, and the Chronicle

As most of you probably know, a young man from New Orleans named Jabbar Gibson stole a school bus, evacuated some fifty people from his city, and reached the Astrodome well before the"official" evacuation.

As most of you probably know as well, he faces prosecution for his act. But if you want to see something even more remarkable, consider the mess that the Houston Chronicle made of Gibson's story:

No good disaster plot is complete without a triumph of individual initiative over unfeeling bureaucracy, and this one's no exception. At the gates to the Astrodome, Red Cross officials initially tried to turn away the bus because it was not part of the officially sanctioned evacuation of the New Orleans Superdome. Earlier, that rationale had led authorities to refuse to help a young mother with five children and a 95-year-old woman passenger in the car when they sought entrance to the relief center.

Luckily, someone with a heart eventually got involved. After a half-hour delay, Jabbar and his plucky band were granted sanctuary inside the Dome...

Looting and violence are unconscionable but were invited by the failure of federal, state and local authorities to reassert order or even provide basic sustenance for storm survivors. Hurricane Katrina will be remembered less for its rampaging winds and tides than for the inadequate disaster preparations it exposed.

People like Jabbar Gibson show us humanity at its best in trying circumstances. The chaos in New Orleans is a chilling reminder that when government fails to protect its citizens, fear, hunger and desperation can quickly rip the fabric of our civilization.

Beyond the distinctly misplaced warning against looters, note how a story of government mismanagement--and private initiative--got turned into a sermon about the power of the almighty state.

[Crossposted at Positive Liberty.]