Big Honkin Idiots

To say the residents of Greensburg, Kansas have had a rough week is an understatement. The town was practically obliterated by an F-5 tornado about 1.7 miles wide last Friday night. That was one big honkin tornado (according to Mike Rowe, "Honkin is a technical term"). I remember seeing pictures of the destruction that Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University encountered this past Christmas as an F-2 tornado cut a path through the campus, and it is difficult to comprehend the size and magnitude of the monster tornado that hit Greensburg. But amidst the heroism and sacrifices being made by the Greensburg residents and surrounding communities as they try to, literally, pick up the pieces, a news item I read yesterday upset me. It said that five uniformed people were arrested on Sunday on charges of looting cigarettes and alcohol from a store in Greensburg. The four soldiers from Fort Riley Army base and a reserve police officer had gone to Greensburg on their own to assist, and were not part of any official detachment. In another case, two people wearing Red Cross jackets, who were not actually part of that relief agency, were arrested Sunday on suspicion of looting. As if the people of Greensburg don't have enough to worry about, now they have to worry about looting by people in uniform. The assistance provided by military personnel, law enforcement professionals and relief agencies in the aftermath of a disaster is priceless. It's too bad that a few idiots chose to tarnish the commendable efforts of these organizations. Big honkin idiots! Thanks for reading, Joe Escobar