Peeves: "Every man for himself"

TV anchors reporting on the evacuation efforts out of Houston began using alarmist language such as one phrase I particularly dislike: "It's every man for himself." This phrase denotes panic, chaos and a Darwinian fractiousness that's odious and has nothing to do with the civil and largely neighborly, if stressed and outsized, evacuation of perhaps one-fifth of a coastal and metro region totaling six million.

This wasn't widespread looting and mayhem, it was an evacuation that for 36 hours outstretched the logistical resources provided until the final 12 hours, when people were provided gas or plucked off the roadways to established or impromptu shelters to ride out the storm that was Rita. Stranded motorists received free gas through corporate donations, and citizens combed the roadways to personally donate or distribute water, food and gas. This was not "every man for himself" in any way; it was typical Houston "we care for our own and our neighbors."

Yes, too many people evacuated, probably out of concern for the recent Katrina. This was understandable because two days before landfall, Rita was a Category 5 storm rated (at 997 millibars) as the second-strongest hurricane to ever hit the U.S. Coast. Yes, the Texas evacuation plan (while considerably better executed than the Louisiana plan) had supply chain flaws that could and should have been foreseen and remedied faster. (It seems a no-brainer that ramping up gasoline resupply beyond the normal schedule would be necessary.)

Yes, the evacuation was a pain in the ass; but evacuations and hurricanes are like that. Hurricanes require school and work closings at least two days before landfall in order to prepare a safe haven or leave for high ground. Next, the hurricane passes through for one to two days, when you're lucky not to be cloistered in a closet. Finally, if it's a polite storm, power may be out and streets may be hazardous for one to two days more; if it's not, the worst-case scenario is New Orleans. Houston pulled through Rita smelling like a magnolia. Our hearts go out to Galveston, Beaumont and every other area that endured high winds under the eye or the "dirty side" of Rita, including New Orleans with the fresh rain and levee breaks it has endured.

My point is that inconvenience is not chaos, and motorists' ill planning and frustration is no excuse for TV anchors to claim "It's every man for himself." Anchors may have to keep flapping their gums to fill the airwaves around the clock, but speaking responsibly is every journalist's solemn charge.