I'm heading back to New Baton Rouge this Friday. If any local NBR Killoggs heads have stuff they need help with volunteer wise, let me know in the comments. My mom works for Volunteers of America and I'll be helping them in whatever capacity they need, so I might have some jobs to fill if anyone is interested. Will post if that's the case.
loren [email] said at 5:14 PM 09-07-2005: Not according to the BR police dept. Regardless... shut up. Most of the reports in New Orleans of snipers and blah blah are turning out to be bullshit rumors. Spreading fear like that is useless and harmful.
rcaston said at 5:17 PM 09-07-2005: It has nothing to do with rumors or reports.
Baton Rouge just took in a large number of new people. It's cities infrastructure is only designed to sustain a certain amount, hence the increased traffic jams, food, and gas demands that it has been dealing with.
It reasons that as your population increases so does the amount of criminals in your city.
Therefore, Baton Rouge now has more criminals in it, then it did a week ago.
rcaston said at 5:37 PM 09-07-2005: All things being equal;
the percentage in question could in thoery be derived from the following sources:
Pre-Katrina Total Population of Baton Rouge
Pre-Katrina Criminal Population of Baton Rouge
Post-Katrina Total Population of Baton Rouge
Post-Katrina Criminal Population of Baton Rouge
Since yes, there are more criminals in Baton Rouge, but also more nice people as well, your chances of being assaulted while increased are also buffered by the additional nice people (aka targets) for the criminal to impact.
However, since New Orleans had a much worse crime problem then Baton Rouge, this weights the numbers further.
rcaston said at 5:39 PM 09-07-2005: I suppose I could add...
criminal behavior begets itself, so the incidence of criminal activity increases faster as criminal population rises than the increase in population overall.
josh [email] said at 5:46 PM 09-07-2005: This is some pretty ridiculous logic, bro. It still doesn't support your "much more likely" standpoint.
Especially when you consider the refugees are all on foot, and the areas they are all located have a heavy police presence under NORMAL circumstances (I can't recall how many times I have been hassled by LSU police)... your whole theory looks pretty weak.
rcaston said at 5:48 PM 09-07-2005: Also take into account the increased demands on law enforcement given this sudden increase in population. Do you think Baton Rouge has enough police to handle it?
josh [email] said at 5:49 PM 09-07-2005: Also when you add in the fact that none of the refugees, even if they are criminals, were allowed to bring guns with them...
I mean, the holes in your little theory just keep growing and growing.
If anything, the people MOST at risk are the refugees - at risk of being preyed on by Baton Rouge's native criminal element.
josh [email] said at 5:55 PM 09-07-2005: If you consider a toothbrush filed down into a knife, sure. How many people each year get mugged with sharpened toothbrushes, Rcaston?! It's an epidemic!
Considering that BR has concealed handgun laws, I would say anyone who tried to mug someone in BR with a sharpened toothbrush is pretty foolish.
ALSO - each prison is a social system that has existed for decades, with a core group of people who have been there for years (longer than any of the staff), and will never leave, and have plenty of time to figure out how to operate. All those refugees are new to the area, new to the shelters, don't have any contacts, etc.
laura [email] said at 10:19 PM 09-07-2005: Loren, there is a large number of New Yorkers who are from Louisiana who want to volunteer. Can you ask you mom what to do? Are there ways we can fly home to help for free, or are there ways to volunteer here? I called the Red Cross in NYC and they are turning many away saying they have all their "telphones" taken care of. The city has no coordinated donation location for clotes, therefore it is diffcult for would-be volunteers to go somewhere to sort donations, etc. You rock. Good for you going there. I want to go back to Louisiana so bad right now. I spoke with Jonathan Shieber today and he feels the same way. NYC is so out of it socially.
andrew [email] said at 10:31 PM 09-07-2005: I'm not sure who to give money to. I talked to my grandma about it and she said that if I gave money to the Red Cross, I'd just be paying somebody's salary; the Salvation Army is better. She said she might go down to the vet to walk some of the stray dogs.
shauna [email] said at 11:26 AM 09-08-2005: thing about giving to non-profits, esp big ones, is that some of them put all donated funds into a big pile to divide among operating costs, salaries, and actual on-the-ground stuff. i mean, you'd be paying a teeny fraction of someone's salary, and they do need to pay that person somehow, otherwise there will be no one to run any programs. the red cross, though, after 9/11, makes sure that you can designate where you want you funds to go. they have a special hurricaine fund in place. however, in the unlikely event that they have surplus funds after katirna, your $ might end up feeding people after the NEXT hurricaine.
basically, no one's gonna like go on vacation or get rich off your red cross doantion. their site gives a breakdown on how they spend it, too.
but the salvation army might be a better idea in this canse, simply bc they have more outlets in communities, so less $ is spent on transporting workers and such from a hub futher away.
loren [email] said at 2:02 PM 09-08-2005: Actually, just spoke to my mom about the Red Cross... she said the one really shitty thing about them is that... well for example: There is a barge loaded with stuff to distribute sitting in the River, but the Red Cross won't take it because the items aren't individually bubble wrapped.
Little stuff like that where the bureaucracy takes charge of common sense. That and she said they have taken over the shelters, and won't allow on Red Cross volunteers in and if you do sign up, they have restrictions like nothing less than a 12 hour shift. She said they have taken to just giving people stuff on the streets outside of the shelters.
shauna [email] said at 4:59 PM 09-08-2005: good lord! yeah, i was listening to the salvation army director on npr, and they seem better equipped on a neighborhood level. like, they already have toiletry packs and clean clothes and such ready for this kind of thing bc they make up packages through their thrift stores. so in that way they save $ and work fast. but giving to the red cross is never gonna hurt. well, the blood poke maybe...
loren posts to say he is going to BR to help out, volunteer, and get other people working if they want to, and what is your response?
bring a gun?????
SHAME ON YOU. josh did an excellent job of shooting your illogical and even racist arguments full of even more holes that they already had, so i am not going to continue with it.
i just wanted to let you know, on a level you can understand, that
if all you can think about is personal safety in the wake of all that has happened, you don't deserve to call yourself a compassionate person.
get the fuck out of killoggs.
i don't have time for you.
bradley said at 8:54 AM 09-08-2005: If I had to guess, I would say that the majority of the criminal element got evacuated to other parts of the state and country. Baton Rouge was full up on Sunday (before the hurricane). I would guess that the majority of the people who were able to find refuge in BR were those with means, and unfortunately in this situation that means whites. Fortunately, that also means those who are less likely to commit violent crime, so I don't think BR is any more dangerous - just more congested.
That being said, I now carry my gun in my truck with me - proving that I am a redneck.
denman [email] said at 11:37 AM 09-08-2005: If I was Caston I would be far more worried about Killoggers finding him than "criminal elements" from Louisiana.
ed [email] said at 11:49 AM 09-08-2005: Is it safe to say that Rodney is the new Texas Frank?
And was it a fever-dream, or have I actually seen replies from TF here that were, well... not idiotic? It's like the passing on of the torch to a new generation of trolls.
rcaston said at 12:49 PM 09-08-2005: Doubtful I'll stick around much longer. The novelty of this site will wear off for me as things settle down back in Baton Rouge.
josh [email] said at 1:30 PM 09-08-2005: Again, your evasive comments make it seem like you don't meet my criteria for success. Plenty of musicians who have sold 200,000 copies of a CD haven't recouped.
"Being able to consistantly make a middle class or better living while doing it exclusively."
josh [email] said at 1:41 PM 09-08-2005: I don't need to do research, I know what webcomic you were involved in, Jeff who posts here I believe knows you? Even if not, he is the reason I know about your comic. I would never have seen it otherwise, I hate 99% of web comics AND 99.9% of manga.
However, I don't think you meet my standard if your OWN comic projects (if any) didn't allow you to live off of them. Consistantly, as I said. The fact that you are a former comic writer implies that they didn't.
rcaston said at 2:05 PM 09-08-2005: Ironically, I also hate 99% of anime and 99% of anime. But I managed to put aside my hatred of it and 'l33t' in order to make some cash off those that do like it.
Though I have to admit, over time I really got sick of the people who were into my work.
pokey [email] said at 5:51 PM 09-08-2005: He quit the comic book business because he fell in love with a lesbian, and when his partner flipped out about it, he tried to make them have a threesome with him. It ruined both relationships!
Joe H. said at 3:55 PM 09-08-2005: I'm in Baton Rouge, work near the River Center -- largest concentration of evacuees in the city -- and travel the city pretty regularly. So far, no one has tried to rob or shoot me. So, using rcaston's logic, 100% of the people I've seen have not committed a crime in my presence, therefore the likelihood you will be a victim of a crime is negligible or at the worst just as likely as you would a month ago. I smell troll.
amy [email] said at 9:06 PM 09-10-2005: we are in baton rouge right now. other than being exceedingly congested, it does not seem dangerous. new orleans drivers were notoriously lousy so that doesnt help. it basically takes at least an hour to make it anywhere in the city. example: 20 minutes to get from perkins rd to the interstate on college drive. 40 minutes from lowes at cortana mall to calandro's on govt street. this is from 7am to around 8pm. night driving is reasonably normal. jack in the crack is backed up around the block, albertsons keeps running out of milk, and many times you can't tell if a passerby is really stylish or just homeless. lots of foot traffic in our area of govt street, which is kinda scary because are always trying to flag you down. hotels still all full, every other house is for sale (the market is currently overpriced about 30% and selling like hotcakes), if you drive down capital heights in mid-city instead of "for rent" signs on every street you will see "apartment needed" signs. many redlights still don't work and you've never heard so many sirens wailing and police cars flying. lots of mardi gras and new orleans based t-shirts in the grocery store. lots of smiling though. people seem happy to be alive and happy to be with their families. i gave birth last week and the hospital was filled with triage lying on the couches and floors, hosp beds in the waiting rooms for expectant moms who couldnt get a room but weren't in much pain yet.
the coolest thing is that btr has become a tent city. it looks like the "travelers" have moved in for a convention. every decent sized parking lot has been taken over by a delegation of somebodies from somewhere, here to help. at independence park the michigan police department is set up, and the finger lakes ambulances, you'll see police cars and ambulances from every state in the union. its a regular "I SPY" carnival. if you wanted to rent a u-haul anytime soon, don't bother, they are all in baton rouge.
