New Orleans, alcoholism and the next catastrophe
New Orleans, Alcoholism and the Next Catastrophe
The role that alcoholism has played in exacerbating a natural disaster has been completely ignored. Failing to properly deal with it could make the next disaster”natural or otherwise”far worse.
“I don’t understand how people can shoot at those who are trying to help New Orleaners in their hour of need.â€
“The sentiment of a number of reporters
Tragedy brings out the best and the worst in people. The catastrophe brought to the Gulf Coast by Hurricane Katrina is no exception. Heroes, at great risk to their own lives, have rescued countless strangers. Many are opening their doors to those they’ve never before met and charity has been given on an unprecedented scale. Yet, some survivors looted stores not for food, but rather for jewelry, guns, stereos and drugs. They raped helpless women, committed arson and threatened the lives of other survivors and even rescuers. What could possibly compel such individuals to add to the destruction and further impede rescue efforts”and what can be done to prevent such wanton destruction in future debacles?
The answer to these questions can be found in brain chemistry. The neo-cortex is the seat of reason and logic. This part of the brain, unique to humans, is responsible for restraining the pre-human emotions, instincts and impulses of the lower brain centers, the mammalian and reptilian brains known as the limbic system and basal ganglia. If the neo-cortex is damaged, leaving the emotions and survival instincts of the lower brain centers unrestrained, pre-civilized behaviors can result. But what can injure the neo-cortex?
It turns out, a build-up of poison on the brain occurs during every drinking episode. This build-up is far more pronounced in those with a particular biochemistry. This chemistry causes brain damage from the get-go, allowing the limbic system and basal ganglia free reign. This may explain most of the horrific behaviors that the reporters don’t understand. Just as some people cannot safely consume sugar, some cannot safely drink alcohol. While the former, who have the disease we refer to as diabetes, do not set out to harm others, the latter, who have the disease we call alcoholism, on occasion harm others in unimaginable ways, just as animals do to survive, without the neo-cortex acting in its role of restraint.
This build-up of poison may be responsible for the distortions of perception and memory every alcoholic experiences. A key distortion, particularly in the early and often highly functional stages, confers a sense of invincibility, resulting in an “I can do no wrong”attitude. This fuels ego inflation, which results in power-seeking misbehaviors ranging from a lack of consideration for the rights and needs of others to thuggery, rape and murder.
Recovering addict ex-cons believe that fellow alcohol and other-drug addicts commit 80-90% of the misbehaviors responsible for their imprisonment. More disconcerting in the case of catastrophes striking big cities, recovering addicts who are also ex-gang members believe that the percent of gang-bangers who are addicts is 100%. Power-seeking behaviors result in the wielding of power over others, taking form in misbehaviors. Many recovering alcoholics, not with two or three years’ sobriety but rather with fifteen, admit they would have been capable of, as they put it, “anything”if they had been in a position of power while drinking or using. This includes thievery, rape, assault, arson and murder, even in the face of human suffering on a scale not seen in the United States since the Civil War.
If most gang members are addicts and addiction causes misbehaviors that can take “any”form, the appalling acts committed by roving gangs in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina might have been more far reaching in a different situation. The New Orleans flood made it difficult to move around. Without flooding, but instead with damage inflicted by wind or, say, earthquake or terrorism, anarchy might have prevailed. Imagine Los Angeles in the aftermath of an 8.0 earthquake on a hot summer day with a Santa Ana wind. Consider the fact that one person exhibiting numerous behavioral indications of alcoholism”Rodney King”triggered a riot causing over $1 billion in damage to Los Angeles in 1992. Think of the damage that could be inflicted by hundreds or thousands of addicts whose misbehaviors manifest in violence or arson in the face of a giant earthquake, or in parts of a city not destroyed by a nuclear device.
The self-centeredness exhibited by those looting non-essentials, while others are in desperate need of help, are behavioral indications of brain damage caused by alcoholism. Many felt looters should be ignored while there were more pressing problems. Yet, those looting non-essentials are the same thugs who will opportunistically rape, assault, murder and commit arson, greatly impeding rescue efforts. Therefore, looters need to be properly dealt with from the get-go, not three days later. Furthermore, home and store owners, believing they can’t rely on government to protect any possessions surviving the initial onslaught of nature, might be more reluctant to leave the next time.
Better still, thugs need to be dealt with before catastrophe occurs. Disaster preparedness in an age of terrorism means that gangs must be neutralized. This can be accomplished by doing everything possible to restore damaged brains. Those who have proven to society that they cannot use alcohol or other drugs without harming others need to be coerced into abstinence. Lance Armstrong and other bike racers can be tested for performance enhancing drugs any time, anywhere. In a recent Playboy interview, he says, “It’s the ultimate in Big Brother, having to declare where you are 365 days a year so they can find you and test you.”If they can test racers 24/7, ankle bracelets, a new technology that continuously test for levels of alcohol in the system, can be used to do the same for criminals in prison and on parole. Former gang members, like other addicts, are usually kind, caring and compassionate in sobriety. It’s time to instill in as many of them as possible a desire to get clean and sober”before the next catastrophe occurs. Apprehending and offering a choice, proven sobriety or continued imprisonment, along with an emphasis on treatment in prison, will go far in accomplishing this goal.
Postscript: A belief in one’s omniscience conferred by alcoholism may also explain the actions of at least a few of the able-bodied people who didn’t leave New Orleans even though warned of a Category 5 storm bearing down on them, which everyone knew would be cataclysmic. Worse, a culture of alcoholism in public officials is capable of creating massive levels of graft and corruption. Huey Long, alcoholic governor of Louisiana in the 1930s, was one of many in a long line of corrupt”and likely alcoholic”public officials. Alcoholics have a need to wield power, regardless of consequences. The mindset that allowed construction of a 3/4 billion-dollar stadium in lieu of investing such funds in shoring up levees, along with a huge level of what appears to be blatant corruption in New Orleans and Louisiana, may have been at least partially responsible for setting the stage for the catastrophic aftermath of Katrina. Impaired judgment rooted in alcoholic biochemistry may also have had something to do with the fact that public officials failed to arrange transportation for the poor out of New Orleans, despite every indication they knew this was an essential part of dealing with an emergency of this magnitude. Alcoholism may have not only exacerbated the problem”it may have set us up for the initial problem magnifying itself many times.