Our church is running a shelter with about 120 evacuees, DFW area. Yesterday one man was overjoyed to find that his wife and children were in a Houston shelter, but he insisted they join him rather than traveling to meet them because "this place is like heaven. I've never been treated so good in all my life."
True story. (I'm sure his family was getting the same hospitality in Houston.)
Somebody will get their panties in a wad when I say this, but the silver lining in this very black cloud is that a degenerate and crime-ridden subculture has been disrupted and dispersed. With guidance and the right help, many of the evacuees may build better lives for both themselves and the next generation.
I've said the same on other threads. And as someone else pointed out, those that would try to raise themselves up are often pulled back down by their neighbors. This has cut the string for many of them. Has freed them from the neighborhood so to speak.
Our shelter has 60 today. I reckon I've met most if not all of them. The ladies are helping with the cooking and cleaning. The men are helping store supplies, set up tables, etc. Perhaps we just got the cream of the crop....but I doubt it. I'm done with this thread. Seeing posts that so openly discriminate against the poor is disturbing.
…so that they can start up again, independently, in a larger area. It's NOT like they're so centrally-organized that they can't make their own decisions/plans.
Take a double-handful of grubs and widely toss them all over your lawn. ARE they easier to kill now, or less of a threat, than if you had dropped them all together in one spot?
"With guidance and the right help, many of the evacuees may build better lives for both themselves and the next generation."
That's an admirable goal WHEN stated that way.
Many preachers in Dallas (black) churches were making exactly your point.
Among the general "God works in mysterious ways" points, several of them said directly to the LA visitors that God has delivered you to a place where you can take control of yourself and your destiny, if only you will make the effort to work at it.
One very emphatic pastor said "God saw the misery of his people in New Orleans and just shut the whole thing down! Now, are you going to fret and fear and complain or are you going to thank God for your deliverance?"
That viewpoint really made me stop and think.