Op-ed:
Heroes and Villains: the Two Faces of
Houston
By: Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor /
American Political Radio
"Hunker down, hold tight, we
hear you, we feel you....
We know where you're at, know we're coming,
and this morning, sometime today, everyone should be recovered."
- Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo
Category 4
Hurricane Harvey came ashore late last Friday night in Rockport,
Texas, basically destroying the town of ten thousand people. Corpus
Christie, while sustaining wind damage, lucked out by staying on the
'dry side' of the storm with overall damage thankfully not as great
as expected. It was Houston, the fourth largest city in America, who
got the brunt of the most powerful storm to hit Texas in 50 years,
and as that storm settled over Houston for a much longer than expected
stay it dropped rain of epic proportions...52” and counting as I
write this...on a city already known for having flooding issues.
So while Houston remains a city where
major sections are still under water and will be for a long time, there were rays of sunshine
shining through the rain but not sunshine of the celestial kind.
This sunshine came in the guise of neighbor helping neighbor, the
young helping the old, and strangers helping strangers. And while
police officers and the National Guard of course were key in aiding
many to escape the rising flood waters, it was the
strong-willed...civilians all...local Texan men and women who risked
their own lives to come on boats, jet skis, and rafts to rescue
people trapped in their homes and cars...true everyday American
heroes not requiring a thank-you from those saved but heroes getting
a well-deserved collective nob of thanks from a grateful nation for a
job well done.
And while Houston's police officers remain dedicated in their
resolve to rescue the stranded, they are currently now being forced to also
have to protect their city from these above stated selfless and
miserable sorts, but know that as I write this 14 of those caught
looting have been arrested. But the sad reality of which few will
speak is that like with most other instances of looting...as in
Ferguson and Baltimore to name but two...those doing so in Houston
are for the most part black...young angry black men taking advantage
of the misfortune of others...taking advantage while both the police
and everyday heroes are still out risking their own lives rescuing
black, brown, yellow, and white people stranded on their rooftops, in their
homes, or in their cars regardless of their color.
And their taking advantage now has forced a midnight to 5am curfew to be
immediately implemented, because all these miserable sorts are not merely
looting but some have actually been armed robbers posing not only as
police officers but as officers from I.C.E. and Homeland Security's
Investigations Division in order to gain entry into people's homes.
And what did Houston's Mayor Sylvester Turner say about this..."the
reality is there are some people who might be inclined to take
advantage of this situation," he flatly said. Unacceptable
words of a “reality” that need not be if you ask me, for
it seems the mayor is accepting the actions of these vile sorts...and
dare I say that it sounds like he is even condoning it to some degree
making me question why this man is mayor.
The police chief also announced that his officers would soon begin pulling back from nonstop search-and-rescue missions "to focus on what the Houston Police Department does best, which is going after criminals and keeping the people of Houston safe...white Houston, black Houston, brown Houston, rainbow coalition Houston.”
"We've made it real clear to our community we're going to do whatever it takes to protect their homes and their businesses," Acevedo said. "And when people come from the outside to Houston, Texas, know we're going to be out in the city, we're not going to rest as a police department or law enforcement community until people restore their lives."
And know that the D.A.'s from neighboring counties have chimed in with similar sentiments including Montgomery county's D.A. Brett Ligon who announced that his office will seek prison or jail time in each and every case where the defendant stands charged with theft (looting), burglary, robbery, or any similar crime committed during Hurricane Harvey. “Leniency and probation will be off the table for these offenses committed during this time,” he added.
But
nothing can change the fact that those doing these vile deeds for the
most part do so under the dark cover of night...and no matter that
the state of Texas has now raised the penalty for looting from a two
year to a five year mandatory sentence...you really cannot stop these
sorts from doing what they do especially when one has to deal with
those whose entire identity is based upon the color of their skin...you
cannot not totally stop them except, like I said, by making an
example of a few.
And
when thinking of this selfless bunch has left me to wonder why with
aid and help pouring into Houston from almost all 50 states...like
for example Louisiana's all-volunteer 'Cajun Navy' formed after
Hurricane Katrina... and from the federal government as well...and
know that President Trump has done a great job by staying on top of
this nightmare disaster...why with Houston's large black community has
there not been one bit of aid or even one search-and-rescue team coming
to help
from black groups who love to shout time and again that black lives
matter...groups like Black Lives Matter, the New Black Panthers, the
NAACP and so many others...not a caravan of much-needed aid...not a
rescue boat in sight...nothing but silence broken by the occasional
shout of racism and of course the usual hate whitey, hate Trump
ad-nauseum sentiment.
But
for the most part, and something that must overshadow both the
negative and the so selfless sorts, is that what happened in Houston
truly did bring out the best in not only the majority of Texans but
in their fellow Americans as well...Americans who are rushing to send
aid to those hurting in any way they can...whether through monetary
donations, clothing drives, or even by their traveling to Texas to
help in the search-and-rescue efforts.
And a special shout-out must
go to both Texas Governor Gregg Abbott and President Donald Trump
himself. Governor Abbot has been hands-on and swift in responding to
the needs of those affected by the storm ever since the first
rummages of the impending disaster were known, and President Trump
who in his commitment to help the people of Texas recover from the
nightmare that was Harvey, traveled to Corpus Christi on Tuesday to
meet with Governor Abbott, relief organizations, federal, state, and
local officials to continue discussions on ways to improve even
further the already successful coordination of resources and response
efforts.
And we
must also recognize and honor the men and women in blue, the firefighters,
and the National Guard who have been working around-the-clock to save
as many as they can, and who must sadly now cry for Officer Steve Perez, one of their own
heroes lost. And never must we forget the everyday American heroes
who risked their own safety and lives to help strangers of all colors
with nary a racist word spoken...with nary a racist thought crossing
their minds...for these heroes know well that if we do not take care
of each other, especially in times of need, then the commonality of
humanity that unites us all is truly and forever lost.
Copyright @ 2017 Diane Sori / The Patriot Factor / All Rights Reserved
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Today, Friday, September 1st from 7 to 9 pm EST on American Political Radio, RIGHT SIDE PATRIOTS
Craig Andresen and Diane Sori discuss heroes and villains in Houston;
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