carrying at the mall, observations of katrina evacuees

[trapperjohn]

Well, I am definately carrying when I go to the mall these days for lunch. went there with a friend the other day for lunch and saw a bus pull up and unload. I noticed the front of the bus had a sign saying "FEMA USDOT". I didnt think a whole lot of it, I just noted to myself that they must be evacuees staying at the local base.
The next day I went back to the same place for lunch. Then I knew how to recognize the evacuees because they had nametags hung around their necks. I was slightly disturbed to see a large number of them at the bar. not that I have a problem with drinking, but I have a problem with people living off my tax money using it to drink rather than for neccessary items. $2,000 FEMA debit card anyone?
I made a comment to a waitress about them and got a Tirade. She told stories of them getting their cards then spending almost the whole amount on things like "tennis bracelets" . To top it off, she said most of them had now run out of money and would sit in the restaraunt waiting for paying customers to leave so that they could steal the tip money before the wait staff got to it .
I just dont get it! how can any group of people living off of other people actually steal working waitresses money.
I realized if these people where so selfish, uncarring and brash that they would do that, that they are capably of just about anything to get something they want. now i make it a point to always be armed at the mall

 

[longtab]

Check for the "no carry" sign near the mall entrances. Alot of malls don't allow weaons in them BECAUSE of the very people you mentioned. I feel you pain brother... but I would hate to see a law abiding citizen be detained for doing the "right thing" in the wrong way in the eyes of the law.

 

[wrangler5]

Slum people live in slums by choice - their choice of how to behave. It doesn't happen overnight, but after years of bad personal choices they end up isolated from decent society because they choose not to behave to the rest of society's standards. Take 'em out of their isolation (slums) and give 'em some cash and they'll exhibit exactly the same behaviors that got them living in the slums. Rebuild their housing in New Orleans (or wherever) and let 'em go back, and within a year or two they'll be slums again. You've seen this result before, when high rise public housing projects were built and first occupied - typically they were slums (damaged or destroyed infrastructure and unsanitary conditions) within weeks of being opened.

It's sad, but it's not your fault and it's not my fault - it's the fault of the people themselves, who choose to behave the way they do. We can feel sad for them and try to help them out, but we cannot give them money and then claim to be surprised that they act the same way they've been acting for years.

 

[Lupinus]

Im sorry. My mother was a waitress for many year's.

If I see you stealing tip money a I will notify someone before you have a chance to leave if I don't break your nose first.

Waitress have job's from hell. They do not even make minimum wage they live off their tip money and a pay check of maybe 80 buck's. They work their butt's off for you running back and forth cause you don't give a rat's arse. They are there to serve you but they are not there to make 20 trips in a row back to the kitchen cause you keep suddenly remembering something. And you are NOT their only customer. You will be gotten to in due time. If you are nto say something. But if the place is packed and the waitress does nto magicly apear the instant you sit down hold your horse's and give it a few minute's before you whine about it. And for those of you who never had a waitress mother- When the waitress ask's if she can get you somethign to drink....it screws up the entire rythem if you go "Oh well, we are ready to order to so I'll have such and such"

And then to top it off. Often the biggist pain's in the ass are the same *****'s that leave a dollar or two or no tip at all.

You try waitressing for a day, see how you like it if someone steals your tips or leaves you a dollar after pretendign you are their personal slave.

Ok...im done with my rant now lol

There should have been restriction's on the FEMA card's allowing you to only buy food. With exception's made to allow prepared food (foodstamp card's wont cover prepared foor like a deli sandwhich or a roteseri chicken) and other essentials like gas, etc.

Far as I know the only restrictions were alcohol and....have we guessed yet? Firearm's and ammo. If they can program it to not allow purcheses for those, they could have reversed it to an approved rather then restricted list.

 

[Janitor]

Check for the "no carry" sign near the mall entrances. Alot of malls don't allow weaons in them BECAUSE of the very people you mentioned. I feel you pain brother... but I would hate to see a law abiding citizen be detained for doing the "right thing" in the wrong way in the eyes of the law.

That may or may not be a concern.

It depends on the state he's in. Here, going into a posted establishment means they still have to request I leave if they want me to leave. They also have to do it in front of an LEO. I also have to refuse if there's to be trouble over it. And, on top of all that, concealed means concealed. If they don't know you're carrying, they can't ask you to leave.

If you got into trouble here, it means a petty misdameanor trespassing charge. Not much more than a fancy ticket. Not all that fancy either.

Need to use your sidearm to protect your life while you're at the mall? Fine - do it and then the mall people will now know you're carrying, and they can now ask you to leave. (The law may want you to hang for a couple minutes though.)


Better judged by 12 then ...

 

[geekWithA.45]

It's primarily a matter of socialization.

$2,000 all at once is a boatload of money for some people, more than they've ever had at once. It can seem like an inexhaustable amount, but we all know how fast it can go. If they've never learned any sort of fiscal discipline or priority management, they can get into trouble real fast.

A prudent man with 3 braincells and the clothes on his back can use 2k to get a whole new start on life, if he puts his mind and efforts to it.

 

[Working Man]

I agree there is a lot of reasons to be concerned with the Katrina evacuees,
just keep in mind the actions of some are not the actions of all. Some have
already started work in the DFW area and are now calling it home. No pat on
the back for that, that is what they are suppose to do (work to make
themselves better). I'm just stating that there is good and bad that came
with them.

 

[Mnemesyne]

I know not all of the evacuees are bad, but I swear they sent some real doozies here to SE Ohio/WV area......Hopefully some of them will attempt to better their positions in life.....other then that...I rarely leave the house unarmed anymore (unless going to church or some other non ccw friendly place)

 

[Working Man]

I rarely leave the house unarmed anymore...

With or without the evacuees you should go forth armed whenever possible.
It may be a long time resident that trys to mug you.

 

[thatguy]

A large number (not all) of the people from New Orleans are welfare leeches. I knew as soon as I heard about the $2,000 payment that a lot of it would be going towards booze and cigarettes. They have spent their lives living off others and why should they change now that we (via the federal government) are throwing massive amounts of money at them?

Barbara Bush was soundly trashed for suggesting that this disaster was the best thing that ever happened to some of these people but she was correct. Many welfare recipients will now prosper as never before.

If natural selection was working as nature intended these unproductive people would have drowned. Our society allows the lazy and stupid to survive and multiple. Lyndon Johnson bought the poor vote for the Democrats in the early 1960s with his "Great Society" (welfare) and the result is a generation of people who don't know how to work, have no interest in doing so, and think the rest of us owe them a living. Look at how these morons sat around awaiting rescue instead of getting out of the city when they had time. It's that "someone will take care of me" attitude.

 

[Standing Wolf]

how can any group of people living off of other people actually steal working waitresses money.

It makes no difference whether you're self-supporting or a bum: stealing is wrong.

I rarely leave the house unarmed anymore...

I don't ever leave the house unarmed.

 

[goose]

About 20 yrs ago, the fed gov'mint went into an Indian Reservation here in Minnesota and built 40 to 60 homes for the poor Indian people. Within 3 yrs, there was very little left of this little settlement that the U S taxpayers paid for.....everything was totally destroyed. Then in 1988 (?) it was ruled that Indian Resevations can have casinos. In 3 yrs, this resevation had one most glamorous casinos in the state. Since then, the casino has expanded tremendously and makes a tremendous profit. Has the Reservation paid us (Taxpayer) back the costs of the ill-fated housing project? No!

 

[dasmi]

A prudent man with 3 braincells and the clothes on his back can use 2k to get a whole new start on life, if he puts his mind and efforts to it.

And there's the problem with society today. Fewer brain cells, less common sense.

Then I knew how to recognize the evacuees because they had nametags hung around their necks

That's rather chilling.

 

[Tom Servo]

I've dealt with a few of these in my line of work. Word came down from our corporate office immediately after the debit cards were issued, telling us not to honor them for cigarettes, beer or lottery. Not our rules--these were the stipulations laid down by the Red Cross and explained to all the recipients. Guess what they all seemed to want to use the cards for? You got it. Many of them did so with children in tow, which made it even more disgusting somehow.

I refuse to bend on this, and I will not apologize. Many local volunteer organisations have stepped up to help out, and they've all reported being bilked or cheated one way or another by the evacuees. Many of these "refugees" have shown great initiative in integrating into the local criminal community, and the gangs have all moved business up to Atlanta. I've seen a few folks from New Orleans who are genuine hardship cases, but for the most part, the ones I've dealt with have been rude, dishonest and plain out thankless.

 

[Mr_Moore]

Thinly veiled racism.

I hope these posts are not thinly veiled racism. The majority of the Katrina folks I saw were African American.

I know African American nuclear physicists and Caucasian women and men on welfare.

Me, I jugde people on how they act, not their race.

 

[trapperjohn]

I hope these posts are not thinly veiled racism. The majority of the Katrina folks I saw were African American.
Me, I jugde people on how they act, not their race.

no one has said anything about race. As a matter of fact, the ONLY things I mentioned in the original post was how they ACT.

please do not try to second guess our motives.

 

[TrapdoorBilly]

I hope these posts are not thinly veiled racism. The majority of the Katrina folks I saw were African American.

I know African American nuclear physicists and Caucasian women and men on welfare.

Me, I jugde people on how they act, not their race.

And some of your best friends are black I bet.

You my friend were the first to mention race. What does that say about you?

 

[Alex45ACP]

I hope these posts are not thinly veiled racism. The majority of the Katrina folks I saw were African American.

I know African American nuclear physicists and Caucasian women and men on welfare.

You're talking about black "African Americans", right?

 

[Double Naught Spy]

Slum people live in slums by choice - their choice of how to behave. I

Im sorry. My mother was a waitress for many year's.

If I see you stealing tip money a I will notify someone before you have a chance to leave if I don't break your nose first.

Waitress have job's from hell. They do not even make minimum wage they live off their tip money and a pay check of maybe 80 buck's. They work their butt's off for you running back and forth cause you don't give a rat's arse.

And waiters and waitresses remain in such jobs by choice - their choice of how to behave.

---------

I was complaining to a buddy of mine about an older couple I saw on TV. My buddy had spent the weekend as a volunteer helping prepare meals for the hurricane refugees in Austin, Texas. I mentioned that the husband of this couple was complaining because he got off the refugee bus here in Dallas and was upset that all that we had to offer him and his wife were cots inside Reunion Arena. Here I am guessing, but I would say he was in his mid to late 60s. He was pissed. He explained to the news crew that he and his wife didn't want a stinking cot, but a good bed in a hotel room! He wanted to know why other refugees to free hotel rooms but why he and his wife were not getting one.

My buddy explained that a good portion of the refugees are kind and gracious about the help, but that one or two percent were asses.

For the record, the guy who was complaining about not getting a hotel room was a white guy.

 

[El Tejon]

trapper, I think you have described 50% of the native-born population of the country. I don't see how such behavior is symbolic of Katrina refugees only. We see it all around us everyday.

BTW, isn't Preacherman the most noted African-American here at THR? And he's kind of peach-coloured.

 

[MM]

I have met SatKongs with any skin colour you might care to name.
SatCong

 

[bogie]

One of the things I remember about the early coverage of the Dome Disaster was some woman bitching about the substandard food... Seems it was some sorta prepackaged stuff that could be eaten cold. Sounded suspiciously like an MRE. Personally, if it is good enough for soldiers day-in and day-out, it's good enough for the occasional disaster victim.

The sad truth is that a lot of the people expect to be taken care of. They're not going to lift a finger to take care of themselves tho. That's just pitiful.

Some of the folks are going to come out ahead. And the rest will just continue on the way they were.

 

[bogie]

SatKong, the use of the "n-word" may be frowned upon, but I do have to say that I agree... When I was in college, I lived for three years in an athletic dorm, and got along splendidly with many folks of all sorts of persuasions... But there was the occasional loser who'd really just stand out. And those folks varied all over a widely diverse spectrum - but the common denominator was that they weren't people who you wanted around.

I guess the caucasian version is poor white trash - There's lowlifes of many colors, nationalities, creeds, whatever. And due to the nature of the beast, one tends to notice the goblin-types more than the nice-guy-with-a-job-types...

 

[dasmi]

I hope these posts are not thinly veiled racism. The majority of the Katrina folks I saw were African American.

I know African American nuclear physicists and Caucasian women and men on welfare.

Me, I jugde people on how they act, not their race.

It is not thinly veiled racism.
It has nothing to do with whether or not someone is a nuclear physicist, or on welfare.
It has to do with a some people acting like a-holes, even in the face of the nation doing it's best to help them in a tough time.
Every judgement passed in this thread has been based on actions, not race.
You mentioned race, no one else. Perhaps you're the one with the hang-up?

 

[Hacker15E]

Me, I jugde people on how they act, not their race.

That's funny, because that's exactly what that first post was doing...judging people by how they acted.

Not sure how you could take from that post anything having to do with racism.