posted on Sep, 6 2005 @ 12:41 PM
I just don't know what to say. My first inclination, however, is to dismiss the story as some sort of unsubstiated report. My reason for this is
that the report takes place in New Orleans, after all. The city is famous for, among other things, its' infamous Mardi Gras and Bourbon Street
custom/tradition of women baring their breast in exchange for beads.
If the story is as reported, then I would find this unexcusable but could understand it happening in the context that this was some perverse attempt
at levity in a rather inappropriate context. However, I doubt that anyone would levy any sort of official sanction against the rescuers in the light
that they were performing their duties beyond what was expected of them given the degree of stress, pressure and fatigue that they were operating
under.
Nevertheless, if true, this behavior was unacceptable.
(I wonder how many beads the women survivors ended up wearing?)