So irrationally violent were these "criminal anarchists" that they had supposedly even tried to shoot down a helicopter bringing much needed food. As the chaos played out in the media, it affirmed a grim "truth": that without the assistance government and its agents of law enforcement, ordinary people degenerate into a violent state of "anarchy".

The only problem was – it wasn't true.

As the New Orleans Times-Picayune reported, “the vast majority of reported atrocities committed by refugees - mass murders, rapes and beatings - have turned out to be false, or at least unsupported by any evidence, according to key military, law enforcement, medical and civilian officials in positions to know”. As it turns out, rumors produced in the chaos of the storm, exaggerated from the very real suffering of the victims, were picked up and sensationalized by the media to paint a picture of, “African-American masses of flood victims resorting to utter depravity, randomly attacking each other” the Times-Picayune continues. The only actual homicide, along with the vast majority of the violence, occurred in and around the Superdome where the police and national guard presence was at its strongest, not out in the "anarchic" streets.

But what is anarchism and what does it have to do with chaos and violence? The answer is nothing. Anarchism is the belief that without government, rather than degenerating into chaos, people will generally find ways to work together and help each other out. Rather than a product of human nature, anarchists view most violence and crime as the result of people being forced into desperate situations by irrational orders from distant politicians who know little of our daily needs and desires. Most fundamentally, anarchists believe that if we were given the freedom to control our own lives and communities directly, we could rebuild society in a way that respected everyone's diverse needs, not just the needs of the privileged few.

A far cry from violence and mayhem, many of the stories coming out of NOLA over the last few weeks attest to the anarchist belief in the ability of people to cooperate without government for their own survival. One of the most widely publicized stories is that of Jabbar Gibson, an 18 year-old from New Orleans. Taking matters into his own hands, Jabbar borrowed a bus from the Orleans Parish and drove over 70 of Katrina's victims to safety in Houston, Texas. When asked how he paid for gas, Jabbar replied that “we passed a hat around until we had enough money”. Ironically, this hero is now being threatened with criminal charges for driving a bus without a license.[2]

Another example of mutual aid in action is the Common Ground. Set up in Algiers, a predominately African American and historically neglected neighborhood in New Orleans, it began as a first aid clinic run by a group of anarchist doctors. The project quickly became much more. Fueled by volunteers from both without and inside the community, the Common Ground quickly began to rebuild the infrastructure of a government who had abandoned Algiers. Within days volunteers had set up a garbage pick-up program, mobile kitchens to provide free hot meals, a school and daycare for local children, a low powered radio station, and a bike donation program in response to the oil shortage.

..[1] news.independent.co.uk Anarchy in New Orleans 3, October 2005

..[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jabbar_Gibson