[KevinTheOmnivore]

I think you're on point about most of this, so there's no need to really debate.

The crime and "gang" type stuff supposedly was happening, at least according to the police superintendent.

I guess my overall thoughts on this are that New Orleans has/had roughly 1,500 cops. If even every singly one of those cops totally ignore violence and looting, they'd STILL be at an absolute disadvantage in meeting the disaster needs there. Now your talking about a city that already had one of the highest murder rates in the country, and a surging drug problem. It isn't too hard to believe that a degree of "anarchy" has and is going on.

With that being said, I think you're right, if needs were met sooner, violence probably would've been pretty isolated (more so than it presumably already is).