By Nathan Barton

In this degenerate and wicked generation, it comes as no surprise.

In 1900, Galveston (once the port city for Houston and now a major port and part of the huge Houston megaplex and “suburb” of Houston) was hit by one of the most horrific hurricanes ever to land on North America or the Fifty States.  The estimates of dead (many no doubt at the bottom of the Gulf) were between 6,000 and 12,000. Men, women, and children, of every age and race and social class.

Today, hours after the main blow of Hurricane Harvey, the mainstream media are screaming with huge headlines and much angst about the death toll of – get this – EIGHT people from supposedly the worst hurricane to hit Texas in fifty years, if not in recorded history – even worse than the 1900 hurricane (which has its own website).

And along with that, the media is screaming its condemnation and horror about the hurricane, the failure of government and everyone else to prevent these deaths, and all kinds of really stupid political nonsense.

My readers know that I do not shy from condemning any government for being stupid, tyrannical, and often, incredibly silly.  But this time, this commentary, I’m not going to condemn them.  And not just because that would put me on the same side as the media.

Houston and Galveston today have something like 50 times the population now than in 1900.  Houston alone had a mere 44,000 in 1900, and 2.2 million in 2014.  If only 8 (or even 100!) people died in this nasty natural disaster, that is amazing.  And government had at least SOMETHING to do with that low number.

(I’m not saying that private people and companies and volunteers didn’t have a whole lot to do with this, and I’m not saying either that (1) private efforts couldn’t do better and (2) that government didn’t make a whole lot of stupid mistakes in preparing and responding.)

Yeah, there were some very stupid things done.  That idiot (some mayor or councilman or something) screaming that anyone who didn’t evacuate should use a Sharpie to write their name and social security number on their forearm) is one example. (No, he didn’t specify that it had to be in Gothic script.)  The idiots who tried to force people to evacuate instead of using persuasion or spending their time getting ready are more idiots.  And I am sure that FEMA will be its usual, inefficient, ineffective government-agency self, just like the USPS and your local drivers’ license office and code enforcement agency.

But they must have done a little bit right – and the people out on the streets before, during, and after the hurricane and the continuing rains and flooding were doing good things, even if they were in uniform or driving some government (theft-funded) vehicle.  Part of that was NOT interfering with private people and companies and volunteer groups from helping. Another part of that was (and I realize this is a negative) not going out and looting and bullying and all the other things we saw with Katrina and Andrew and that SuperStorm.

But what we really are seeing is how “mundanes” – “civilians” who are ordinary people and NOT firemen and police and street workers – are helping others and helping the community recover.  About how people from all over the country are responding – voluntarily and without bothering to ask – to help people that they don’t know and supposedly don’t care about.

Not that things like that matter to so many people – the snowflakes of AntiFa and BLM and all the other Tranzi groups.  No, they are busy whinging over a boat rescuing black folks which was flying that evil, EVILLL Confederate Southern Cross flag, and about how this one black liberal would be glad to get a ride, but then turn around and spit in the face of the people spending their time and gas money to get them out of trouble, by tearing the flag down and throwing it into the water.

Or the college professor in Tampa Florida who says that the hurricane is Texas’ punishment for voting for Trump. (Funny, I think Florida too voted for Trump – but they don’t get punished by G-d for that?) He says that this also will help Texans “realize GOP doesn’t care about them.”  Don’t know exactly how he figures that. (Of course, he IS a sociology professor.  Sociology, by and large, is a cult masquerading as a science.)   (Oh, and one person pointed out that the Houston area voted overwhelming Democrat for Mz. Hillary.)

Other foolishness abounds of course, and that is no surprise.

But let us consider some important points.

In a free country, where people have liberty – and even in an unfree country with liberty in short supply, some people will make really stupid mistakes – and some will die for it.  That is no excuse for taking more liberty from them, or making them more and more sheeplike and bludgeoned into obeying the government.  Especially not since we know that government is very likely to order the people to do the WRONG thing.

The Fifty States (America), for all our faults, is a land of charity and Texas, especially – even in the inner urban ghettos and barrios – is a friendly place where people are willing to help other people.  Even when they are people who spend time in black hoodies and scream about black lives mattering and how you are all a bunch of fascists.  And when they know that at least some of the people whom they are trying to help would rob them blind in a heartbeat, given the opportunity.

Finally, notice that (so far, at least) we aren’t hearing about looting and rioting and such.  I credit that not just to Texan culture in general (what is left of it in cities like Houston, Dallas and Austin) but to the fact that even by American standards, Texans are armed to the teeth.  Y’all want bet that boat with the Southern Cross flag didn’t have AT LEAST two weapons (and ammo) for every volunteer crewman helping those people without being in the least picky about what color or accent or ID card they had?

There is hope.

Mama’s Note: I hope you are right about the hope, Nathan. I have been very surprised not to read about looting and so forth in this storm. Maybe that’s yet to come, but I suspect that the fact most Texans are armed will be a large factor. Can’t imagine any bunch of transients trying to stage riots or loot houses in Wyoming… whatever kind of disaster came along.