Kel's Friday Editorial

Hello fans,

Mom, Dad, Kathy--this means you.

On this wonderfully muggy Friday morning in D.C., I'd first like to send a cyber kiss and hug to my husband of nearly two months, who's been out in San Francisco since last Sunday. Marley and I can't wait for you to get back.

Now on to the news. I lead with the following story. Am I reading this right?

AP reports: a 73-year-old diabetic grandmother and church elder who fled Katrina's floodwaters for the safety of a hotel ended up in prison instead for more than two weeks — all over a bite of food.

Police in this New Orleans suburb arrested Merlene Maten the day after the hurricane on charges she took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli. Though never before in trouble with the law, her bail was set at a stiff $50,000 and she was shipped away to a state penitentiary.

Family and eyewitnesses insist Maten's prison odyssey was unwarranted, claiming she only had gone to her car to get some sausage to eat when officers cuffed her in frustration, unable to catch younger looters at a nearby store.

Prison officials planned to release Maten by this weekend. She must still face the looting charge at a court hearing in October. But the family, armed with several witnesses, intends to prove she was wrongly arrested outside the hotel.

Christine Bishop, the owner of the Check In Check Out deli, said that she was angry that looters had damaged her store, but that she would not want anyone charged with a crime if the person had simply tried to get food to survive. "Especially not a 70-year-old woman," Bishop said.

For anyone who thought my previous diatribe on the hurricane aftermath was a bit cynical, please reread the above news brief, for this is exactly the sort of power trip to which I was referring. And then reread about the ridiculous bond of $50,000. If she was stealing food, it was because she and her family had lost everything and were hungry, so scrounging up that bail was going to be tough. Thank goodness the judge that ordered her release was more sensible.
It bothers me that the term "looting" was used to describe the actions of desperate people who were trying to survive after having been deprived of food, water and hygiene for days. "Looting" is what I witnessed as a teenager watching the riots in L.A. after the O.J. verdict, and the word carries with it negative connotations. It is stealing for the sake of stealing, and taking advantage of a situation so chaotic that cops are rendered helpless. While elements of the aforementioned statement ring true for Katrina, there is one glaring distinction these cops clearly missed: New Orleans "looters" were stealing food to survive; to nourish children or elderly parents or grandparents who may have been struggling in the heat and toxic atmosphere. How on earth could a policeman handcuff a grandmother and take her away in the midst of what was going on around them? It's just like the stolen Taurus of which I wrote in the City of New Orleans entry. I've read other stories like this, and it saddens me that the cops couldn't be more humanitarian to these poor souls, and trade the power trip for helping hands--even if just for a day.

On to other news: Kenny Chesney and Renee Zellweger split up? Quelle surprise. The actress who always looks as if she's been sucking on lemons and the goofy country star who's been stalking her since Jerry Maguire didn't make it? I think I'm in the wrong business, as my prescient cynicism had this marriage pegged as a sham from day one. Why, you ask? Two reasons. First, in the one released photo from the ceremony, she doesn't look how I felt on my wedding day; and that's how you have to feel if it's going to last. Two, it is *no coincidence* that Renee's Cinderella Man opened to critical acclaim but tepid ticket sales right around that time.

And Britney named the baby Sean Preston? Damn, I was so excited about the reports of his name being London.

I'd also like to send a shout out to my buddy Lauren Davis, who turned me on to Woody Allen this week. Annie Hall was one of the smartest, funniest movies I've seen in a while, but that is no revelation to movie buffs. I never realized how much a lily-white girl from Virginia Beach could have in common with a neurotic, paranoid (read: perceptive) Jew. LED, I'm saving that Coppola wine for Sleeper!

The unbearably wonderful Kelly Brooks signing off.