Wanna B Victims

I have noticed a tenancy among a number of acquaintances to portray themselves as victims of crime related to Katrina. To be sure they were all affected by the events.

My barber told me shortly after reopening that he had been looted. I don't think so. His storefront window was broken and he had some damage, but most of his stuff was still there, including things I think most looters would have taken. His window was most likely broken by wind or flying debris. I was back before he was. I was at his shop within two weeks of the storm and saw the damage then. He was gone much longer.

My neighbor recently told me people were living in his gutted house. Odd, my trailer is right next door. I never saw anything, except the front gate open. As far as I can tell some people may have entered his house but no one was staying there. He also told me someone one had broken into his trailer and messed up the bed. The bed had never been made. The linens were never unpacked. These were very odd intruders, they left the battery and the propane tanks sitting on the floor.

I have theories but I can't be sure.

I'm not entirely sure what happened in either of these cases. Like many of rumors still circulating about the events following the flood. The stories I've been told don't seem to match the evidence.

I have, for example, recently been informed in all seriousness about second and third hand reports of wide spread FEMA favoritism and Superdome deaths numbering in the thousands. Then there are the more widely publicized rumors of all sorts of things.

Why do otherwise reasonable people want to believe these things?