Hurricane Ethics?                                            February 2005

Right and wrong typically surface during natural disasters, usually in the form of looting and rioting. But for those among us who experienced hurricanes Charley, Frances, Jeanne, or Ivan this past summer, one Biloxi, Mississippi evacuee had several unethical jolts. First, he telephoned the local lumber dealer to inquire about the availability and price of particle board to board up his house. The particle board was selling at $12 a sheet with plenty in stock. Two hours later, when he called back, the same particle board was selling for $14 a sheet--inflation? Most likely not. Gouging, most likely yes. Is this the way the market is suppose to work?

Second, after much hand wringing about whether or not to evacuate, he decided to load up his family in a rented automobile and head west on I-10 for Louisiana. Alas, he now found himself joined with a million residents from the greater New Orleans area who were also heading west. He had been forewarned that finding a vacant room in Louisiana would be difficult but what he didn't expect when he stopped at motels that had available rooms was the question: "where are you coming from?" When he replied "Mississippi", he was advised to proceed to Texas. Ouch! Evacuees from Alabama and Florida were greeted with the same advice.

He and his family eventually made it to Gilmer, Texas, where he and his family were treated with politeness and good will.  The three days in Gilmer, our Mississippi evacuee reports, "restored our confidence in the goodness of people."

Is there an ethical lesson here? What would you do when greeted as an out-of-state Third World-like refugee by the comment "where are you coming from?" 

Source: www.ethics.org/resources/article_detail.cfm?ID=862